Music Trade Review

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
NEW YORK, JUNE IS, 1918
Comments by Xhe Man on The Street
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In spite of war conditions, or perhaps due to for the sole purpose of teaching t h e soldiers t o
such conditions, the first six months of the sing in unison popular songs of t h e day. W i t h
present year have proven most satisfactory in this example before it t h e public cannot fail
all ways with the majority of music publishers to show continued interest in the matter.
Working for American Music
and dealers, and particularly so to those engaged
in the publication and handling of popular and
The campaign being carried on in various sec-
production numbers.
tions of the country, and with particular activity
All items connected with music publishing— in Boston, looking toward the stimulation of in-
printing, paper and general overhead—have ad- terest in, and appreciation for, American music,
vanced materially in cost, but at the same time has aroused interest on the part of publishers
the publishers have advanced the wholesale of standard American works of the better sort.
price on the leading numbers, giving the dealer The campaign should, and in fact does, re-
thereby the opportunity to realize a larger ceive the support of these publishers, for they
margin of profit and to do business on a better see in it an opportunity to place American music
basis altogether. The regular dealer—the man on a pedestal from which it cannot be knocked
who must depend upon his music sales for his down when the war is over, and it is the hope
living—has again come into his own after some of those interested that the war will at least
years of stiff competition with the 10-cent free America from the domination of European
houses.
music of any kind, giving to American com-
posers and publishers a status to which they
The Flood of War Songs Continues
During the season, and for that matter during are actually entitled and which they have striven
the past year, there has been no abatement in hard to obtain.
the volume of war songs or near-war songs.
Artists who have long favored German and
They have been offered in ballad, novelty, com- Austrian works, as well as other foreign works,
edy and march form. There have been good have been compelled by necessity to feature
ones and bad ones. Some have even reached the American compositions in their programs, and
point of attracting Government attention to their have met with such success that it is extremely
character. Tn fact, the war song, or semi-war doubtful that they will return to programs of
song—it would be hard in many cases to say European music after the war, even should
"patriotic" songs—has been a big factor in the public sentiment tolerate such a change, which
business. Tt is a noteworthy fact that with the will become less likely as the war is prolonged.
exception of march numbers such as "Over
Influence of Dealers' Association
There," and one or two others, the trend of
The National Association of Sheet Music
favor seems to have been toward the songs of
Dealers has not been heard from to any great
the ballad type, such as "Long, Long Trail," extent since the last convention in New York,
"Just a Baby's Prayer at Twilight," and dozens but nevertheless the influence of the associa-
of others that could be mentioned in the same tions has been felt throughout the country, and
class.
its accomplishments have been much in evidence
in the better relations between the dealers and
Good Season for Production Music
The flood of musical comedies and operettas the publishers, and in the changed conditions
during the season, and the large proportion that that have been brought about in the matter of
have been successes, have served to bring pros- prices, production and selling methods through
perity to the publishers of production music, al- its influence. The association is now a recog-
though it cannot be said that they have been in nized factor in the music trade in the country,
a position to realize the full fruits of their ef- and therefore its convention this week serves
forts, owing to the difficulties of musical comedy to attract a full amount of attention.
companies in keeping on tour, due chiefly to
The subjects considered were pertinent, and
transportation problems. .The long-run shows the various questions were handled intelligently
in the big cities, however,-have stimulated a de- and effectively.
Judging from precedent the
mand for production numbers, and the pub- recommendations of the association made to the
lishers can look forward to some of these shows publishers and members of the organization will
at least getting on the road next year and be accepted seriously and followed consistently.
creating a demand for the various production This is due probably to the fact that the rec-
numbers in the smaller communities throughout ommendations have been carefully thought out,
the country.
and been framed by men who actually know
conditions.
Value of Music in War Recognized
Music publishers a n d dealers have had the When Good Business Practices Should Prevail
satisfaction of seeing music officially recognized
The study of methods for the conduct of re-
by the G o v e r n m e n t authorities, particularly mili-
tail business was especially interesting and ex-
tary officials, as a necessity in p r e s e r v i n g t h e
tremely pertinent. This is the time of all
morale of t h e soldiers in c a m p s a n d canton- times when good business practices should pre-
m e n t s , and have been called upon t o contribute
vail, and any systems that will tend to econ-
sheet music a n d o r c h e s t r a t i o n s , a n d have re-
omize space, whether on capital or adding to
sponded liberally.
T h e y have seen musicians
efficiency and income, are well worth while.
of note appointed as song leaders in t h e camps
Although the National Association is prosper-
ous, it is regrettable that local associations,
with few exceptions, have not met with greater
success. Of course, we have the Boston Music
Publishers' Association and the Greater New
York Music Publishers' and Dealers' Associa-
tions, which have been and are successful, bujt
the Boston Association has very little to do
with the problems of the retailer, and the New
York Association is chiefly for social purposes.
It is regrettable, therefore, that the Sheet
Music Dealers' Association of New York has
been compelled to suspend, due to lack of in-
terest among the retailers themselves, which in
turn developed into lack of interest on the part
of the publishers who had promised to support
the project.
For a few men to attempt to improve condi-
tions throughout the trade as a whole is an
almost impossible task, as the earnest workers
in New York have discovered, which leads
one to a serious consideration of whether a good
proportion of the music dealers, particularly in
the larger cities, really have the interests of
their business at heart, and whether they have
a proper understanding of trade conditions and
proper business methods. Their attitude would
not indicate much interest.
What the Future Promises
Just now it is difficult to predict for the fu-
ture. Conditions are changing over night, and
a prediction made in all earnestness to-day
might have no real basis in fact to-morrow.
The general situation in the publishing field,
however, leads one to the belief that the
future should hold no terrors for either the
music publisher or the dealer. Both are now
in a position to get their prices for their
music, and the public
has shown that
even in the stress of war it must have music,
and beyond the difficulties of securing supplies
and making shipments, it is not likely that the
sheet music trade will face any official or un-
official curtailment. War brings with it many
troubles for the business man at home, and the
only thing is to keep going to the limit while
the going is good without placing too much de-
pendence on the future.
The Question of Help
The war has brought with it, however, a
problem, particularly for the retailer, in the
matter of help. He has seen his staff depleted
by enlistments and by the call of the draft, and
has been hard put to get trained men to fill
the gaps. It will probably be that the retail
music dealer will have to depend upon men
well beyond the draft age for a permanent or-
ganization and endeavor to train women for
sales work.
Further, music selling requires
knowledge that the ordinary type of clerk does
not possess, and is not capable of assimilating.
Therefore, special types must be sought out for
the service.
It is likely, however, that the
music dealers will solve this problem as they
have solved other problems of almost equal
striousness.