Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The Piano Dealer's Vacation a Prudent Investment.
When Robert Alexander Wason wrote "Friar
Tuck" he prefaced his book with a few remarks
in which this was the initial paragraph: "Many
there are who respond to the commonplace, mon-
otonous call of duty, and year after year uncom-
plainingly spend their lives on the treadmill of
routine, but who still feel in their hearts the call
of the open road, the music of the stars, the wine
of the western wind, and the thrilling abandon of
a mad gallop out beyond speed limits and grass
signs to where life has ceased to be a series of
cogs and—a man is still a man."
Wason must have had in mind a group of fel-
lows of my type. Not that I had any hankering
for a complete rest, but only for a chance to prove
true the old saying that a change is as good as a
rest. I made up my mind to get away, for a time,
from pianos and piano prospects; away from talk-
ing machines and records; away from correspond-
ence and all that goes to make up the daily grind.
To be candid though, from the time I commenced
business it has always seemed like running away
from business to take a vacation. But my last
year's outing dispelled all such views. This year,
at least a fortnight's holiday has been as much a
part of my plans as ordering early for fall
trade or attending the annual convention of the
N. P. M. A. From the time I grasped an ade-
quate conception of what a real holiday could do
in the direction of positive assistance I have been
ready to take time to attend conventions, associa-
tion meetings, or visit the factories simply as a
prudent investment.
From the standpoint of physical recreation no
one denies the benefit of an annual vacation. But
apart from that phase of the question, I claim in
a direct business way it pays, if only one is a good
mixer and exercises reasonable powers of obser-
vation. In support of this statement, let me re-
count in the following paragraphs some of the
opinions, views and suggestions that I have gath-
ered to my profit while I thought I was going
away from business. These include, of course,
what has been gained from conversations with
men while traveling either by train or boat.
Cost of Doing Business.
In getting away where my nose was not at the
grindstone, I found business men in other lines
paying considerable attention to cost systems.
Printers, hardware men and other retailers seemed
to get on to this subject very readily. So ap-
parent was this that I began to ask myself, "what
does it cost me to sell a piano this year?" I really
had given that subject some thought and had read
a great deal about it, but incidents came to my
attention that had the effect of my afterwards fix-
ing upon a more exact and satisfactory answer.
It meant revising my prices, but it paid.
Along the same line I heard of a piano dealer
in a certain town who is fortunate enough to have
a long lease on a store building at very low rental,
he having his store free of rent by letting out the
flat over the store. He isn't married either, and
this being his first business venture, he doesn't
figure on overhead expenses and he is underselling
his competitors, doing them as well as himself an
injury.
An experienced business man told me that one
of the biggest commercial houses in the United
States figured that more businesses fail through
lack of foresight in allowing for overhead charges
than for any other cause.
Cash Sales.
The railway and steamboat ticket offices are good
places to get *ome pointers in cash sales. I have
seen it and it is nothing unusual—three men, one
after another, go up to the wicket. The first
bought a $130 ticket, and, by the way, they did not
throw in any berths, meals or give any guarantee
against tips. Nor did they allow him to make a
cash payment of $10 and pay the balance in
monthly payments of $4. It was cash. The sec-
ond got transportation for six people at $90.25
Written for The Music Trade Review
by One Who has Formed This Decision
as a Result of Actual Experience.
each, making $541.50. He did not get the odd
$1.50 thrown off because of getting the six tickets.
The third paid out over $80 on the spot. Of
course, these persons while not, or likely not mil-
lionaires, may have been well-to-do—possibly they
were, but it just occurred to me how diffident we
are usually about putting forth an effort to secure
cash sales of pianos, player-pianos and talking ma-
chines. And, on the contrary, how eagerly and
quickly we offer the inducements of the instal-
ment system. Don't misunderstand. I don't claim
that all piano business should be on a cash basis,
but there is value in keeping in mind that monthly
payments are only desirable where a cash sale is
out of the question. A good doctor's strength lies
in diagnosing a case; so a good piano salesman's
reputation is increased through his getting cash in
every possible instance.
Maintaining Proper Balance.
While holidaying I have drawn out in conver-
sation outsiders who know nothing and care less
regarding the trade end of the piano business.
Most of these people have bought at least one
piano or player-piano and sometimes a talking ma-
chine, too.
Their comments regarding the man who tried to,
or did, sell them their instruments, emphasized, in
some cases, the extremes to which people go. In
some cases the instrument was sold exactly as if
it were a washing machine, a safety razor, a stove
or any other article that a person perhaps saw no
immediate need of. The idea of art, tone or
beauty was not mentioned. It was simply some-
thing that was nice to have, that would last, for
the least possible number of dollars.
In contrast, other cases showed that the talking
points were all art and artists, artists and art, and
then art and artists over again. The commercial
spirit was entirely absent. I remember a dealer
saying: "In musical instruments music and art
must ever be uppermost; but having attained the
high ideal of tone and rich sound, there is no rea-
son why that quality cannot be maintained, al-
though following business principles in its manu-
facture and distribution, just the same in another
commodity. The retail dealer in selecting instru-
ments for stock is no doubt benefited much by the
possession of a highly-cultivated musical taste, but
his love of music may sometimes carry him into
another extreme, and cause him to overlook the
strictly commercial principles on which his busi-
ness is to be conducted." It is just a question of
maintaining the proper balance.
Other Retailers and Talkers.
On the last holiday trip I took I was in one
town where four retailers featured talking ma-
chines and only one of them was a piano dealer.
O n e , was a hardware store. The situation is
worthy of note. It urges the piano dealers, to
whom the manufacturers and jobbers favor by
giving them the first chance, only placing it in
nther stores where the piano dealer does not show
himself aggressive, to greater activity. Other
classes of retailers cover the talking machine and
record business. It is, therefore, good business to
give this department good representation so as to
head off the possibility of outside opposition. In
this connection it is interesting to read the follow-
ing, which appeared in one of the' leading
trade papers published in the interests of the fur-
niture trade:
"The principal profit in handling talking ma-
chines does not seem to be in the initial sale of
the instrument and the first order for records, but
in the orders for records that follow. In other
words, it is in the records and not in the machines
that the volume and profit comes in, although the
profit made on the machine is about the same per-
centage as on the records. While talking with a
dealer who handles them, a gentleman entered the
store, walked up to the dealer and handed him a
slip of paper with four numbers on it, saying:
'Send those up to the house, will you?' The dealer
handed me the slip, saying: 'Now, here's an ex-
ample for you right here. This order is for four
$5 records. Could I have sold any $20 piece of
furniture in this store with so little trouble, in so
short a time, and at so small a cost for advertising
and handling? The chances are that I haven't even
got those records in stock, but I'll have them here,
in two days. I'll get my money out of them be-
fore 1 have to pay for them, and my 40 per cent,
net is all velvet.'"
Music Trade Slogans.
Some members of the music trade have adopted
a slogan for their general literature and advertis-
ing. Many favorable expressions have been given
regarding the value of such a step, and one does
not need to search long to find supporters of the
opinion that a trade slogan is in the same class
with the trade-mark. It is not my object to urge
the adoption of a slogan by every music house.
But there are firms who have a slogan that is not
used for all it is worth, and there are cases in
which a suitable slogan might be profitably
adopted. The illustration which follows is not
chosen with the assumption that the principle un-
derlying the marketing of pianos, player-pianos,
organs or talking machines is the same as in the
case of baked beans, but because it points out
clearly least one phase of what a suitable slogan
is designed to accomplish.
The writer was told recently of a firm whose
specialty was baked beans. One officio! oif the
company in question was of the opinion that the
keynote of selling baked beans was their flavor,
and he therefore recommended copy centering
around "their rich piquant flavor." Another mem-
ber of the staff favored talk about the nutritive
value, comparing beans with beefsteak, talking of
proteids, fats, etc. A third wished to analyze the
process of cooking, suggesting that cooking by
electricity should be dwelt upon. "I'm not selling
instantaneous custard powder, or canned soup, or
clam chowder in capsules," said the general mana-
ger. "I want to sell beans, and the advertising
I do must advertise beans. The trouble with my
last advertising man was that he tried to advertise
beans and rhubarb as an after-the-theatre lunch."
"What you want, sir," interjected a new copy
writer, "is a slogan. Careful and mature thought
convinces me that this is one of those occasions in
which the slogan is the sine que non. Let your
competitors tell of the patented processes which
are followed in the baking of their beans; let them
tell of the fabulous sums they spend to secure only
hand-picked beans grown in Virginia by red-
headed planters who own cross-eyed bird dogs;
let them dilate upon the ambrosial deliciousness of
the product; let them assert that each can is steri-
lized inside and out before being filled and that
the labels are put on with antiseptic paste. We
will immortalize the quality of our beans with an
appropriate slogan."
A poor slogan is worse than none, 'but if a piano
dealer can summarize the claims he makes for his
lines, or his store service in a phrase or expres-
sion that is apt and will readily stick in the pub-
lic's memory, when his competitors use several
sentences or paragraphs to get at the same thought
he stands to gain by so doing.
WURLITZER STORE ALTERATIONS.
(Special to The Review.)
LOUISVILLE, KY., July 28.—The Rudolph Wur-
litzer Co.'s branch store in this city is undergoing
extensive alterations. A new front is being in-
stalled and other changes in the interior which,
when completed, will make this establishment one
of the most attractive in this section.