Music Trade Review
Issue: 1920 Vol. 70 N. 7 - Page 3
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
^fH^
VOL. LXX. No. 7
II
•
Ml
•
•
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman BUI, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
W W
Feb. 14, 1920
* ln *%.Sfi!S
A Real Chamber of Commerce
T
HE adoption of a $100,000 budget for the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce, covering the work
for music advancement and for trade development during the coming year, and the appointment as
general manager of a man of wide and successful experience in organization work represent the
outstanding accomplishments of the Conventions last week.
A $100,000 budget in itself really means very little. It is what the money is expected to buy and what it really
will buy that is of paramount interest. The sum of $100,000 spent in a way to bring tangible results to the
industry represents greater economy than $10,000 or $20,000 distributed haphazard and not according to any
definite or fixed plan.
The plans call for the development of a real Chamber of Commerce—an organization that will be represent-
ative of one of the big industries of the country, and that will prove a center for trade development work and a
clearing house for a great mass of valuable and helpful information. Through the efforts of Alfred L- Smith,
the new general manager, it is hoped to bring these plans to fruition within the year, and in carrying on this
work it is quite evident that the Chamber of Commerce officials will have the full support of every division of the
industry, manufacturers and merchants particularly.
The next few months will not be the time for members of the trade to stand aloof and criticise, but rather
it will be the time for them to put their shoulders to the wheel and help. If the organized effort of the trade,
properly directed, does not accomplish the desired results by the time of the next Convention then criticism will
be in order and any desired changes can be made, but the plans as they stand deserve a thorough trial.
The time is coming when the industry will welcome the services of some central organization to solve
problems connected with the marketing of surplus stocks. The contemplated export department for the manu-
facturers and the trade service department for the dealers are but two of the bureaus that have been designed to
meet that particular situation.
The trade has had practical evidence during the past of-what the Chamber of Commerce can accomplish.
'1 he work of the Bureau for the Advancement of Music has already carried this message to the far reaches of
the country. The legislative work in connection with the war excise taxes, and in other directions, has saved
real money for the trade and headed off considerable legislation that would have proved harmful.
By continuing the official stamp plan, which has raised a fund in excess of $25,000 during the first six
months of operation, the National Association of Music Merchants has shown that it is strongly supporting the
Chamber of Commerce work, and the adoption of a similar stamp plan by the manufacturers, in co-operation
with the merchants, promises to produce a revenue that will meet all possible requirements and provide a liberal
margin for emergencies for the future, at the same time raising the money on a basis that will be fair to every
individual in the trade.
The industry is now ripe for putting the Chamber of Commerce idea over in its fullest sense. Conditions
are prosperous, money is more or less plentiful, and there is time saved from selling that can be devoted to
development work. When the Chamber of Commerce, with its new and broader organization, is developed to the
desired point of efficiency it will be a comparatively simple matter to maintain it as it should be maintained.
Once it has been brought to the final point of development the permanence of the Chamber on a broad,
efficient plan would seem to be assured, for should any untoward situation arise it would be this big central organ-
ization that would be relied upon to handle the problems which such a situation would present.
To sum up, if there is to be a Music Industries Chamber of Commerce as a permanent factor in the trade,
let it be a real Chamber of Commerce—one that will reflect credit on the industry and compare favorably with
similar organizations in other lines.
^fH^
VOL. LXX. No. 7
II
•
Ml
•
•
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman BUI, Inc., at 373 4th Ave., New York.
W W
Feb. 14, 1920
* ln *%.Sfi!S
A Real Chamber of Commerce
T
HE adoption of a $100,000 budget for the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce, covering the work
for music advancement and for trade development during the coming year, and the appointment as
general manager of a man of wide and successful experience in organization work represent the
outstanding accomplishments of the Conventions last week.
A $100,000 budget in itself really means very little. It is what the money is expected to buy and what it really
will buy that is of paramount interest. The sum of $100,000 spent in a way to bring tangible results to the
industry represents greater economy than $10,000 or $20,000 distributed haphazard and not according to any
definite or fixed plan.
The plans call for the development of a real Chamber of Commerce—an organization that will be represent-
ative of one of the big industries of the country, and that will prove a center for trade development work and a
clearing house for a great mass of valuable and helpful information. Through the efforts of Alfred L- Smith,
the new general manager, it is hoped to bring these plans to fruition within the year, and in carrying on this
work it is quite evident that the Chamber of Commerce officials will have the full support of every division of the
industry, manufacturers and merchants particularly.
The next few months will not be the time for members of the trade to stand aloof and criticise, but rather
it will be the time for them to put their shoulders to the wheel and help. If the organized effort of the trade,
properly directed, does not accomplish the desired results by the time of the next Convention then criticism will
be in order and any desired changes can be made, but the plans as they stand deserve a thorough trial.
The time is coming when the industry will welcome the services of some central organization to solve
problems connected with the marketing of surplus stocks. The contemplated export department for the manu-
facturers and the trade service department for the dealers are but two of the bureaus that have been designed to
meet that particular situation.
The trade has had practical evidence during the past of-what the Chamber of Commerce can accomplish.
'1 he work of the Bureau for the Advancement of Music has already carried this message to the far reaches of
the country. The legislative work in connection with the war excise taxes, and in other directions, has saved
real money for the trade and headed off considerable legislation that would have proved harmful.
By continuing the official stamp plan, which has raised a fund in excess of $25,000 during the first six
months of operation, the National Association of Music Merchants has shown that it is strongly supporting the
Chamber of Commerce work, and the adoption of a similar stamp plan by the manufacturers, in co-operation
with the merchants, promises to produce a revenue that will meet all possible requirements and provide a liberal
margin for emergencies for the future, at the same time raising the money on a basis that will be fair to every
individual in the trade.
The industry is now ripe for putting the Chamber of Commerce idea over in its fullest sense. Conditions
are prosperous, money is more or less plentiful, and there is time saved from selling that can be devoted to
development work. When the Chamber of Commerce, with its new and broader organization, is developed to the
desired point of efficiency it will be a comparatively simple matter to maintain it as it should be maintained.
Once it has been brought to the final point of development the permanence of the Chamber on a broad,
efficient plan would seem to be assured, for should any untoward situation arise it would be this big central organ-
ization that would be relied upon to handle the problems which such a situation would present.
To sum up, if there is to be a Music Industries Chamber of Commerce as a permanent factor in the trade,
let it be a real Chamber of Commerce—one that will reflect credit on the industry and compare favorably with
similar organizations in other lines.
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