Music Trade Review
Issue: 1920 Vol. 71 N. 25 - Page 4
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
REVIEW
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
President and Treasurer, C. L. Bill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Vice-President,
J. B. Spillane, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Second Vice-President, Raymond Bill, 373
Fourth ATC, New York; Assistant Treasurer, Win. A. Low.
J. B. SPILLANE, Editor
RAY BILL, B. B. WILSON, BRAID WHITE, Associate Editors
WILSON D. BUSH, Managing Editor
CARLETON CHACE, Business Manager
L. E. BOWERS, Circulation Manager
Executive and Reportorlal Stall
EDWARD VAN HARLINGEN, V. D. WALSH, E. B. MUNCH, C. A. LEONARD,
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, SCOTT KINGWILL, THOS. W. BRESNAHAN, A. J. NICKLIN.
WESTERN DIVISION:
BOSTON OFFICE:
Republic Bldg., 209 So. State St., Chicago.
JOHN H. WILSON, 324 Washington St.
Telephone, Wabash 5774.
Telephone, Main 6950.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 1 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall St., D. C.
NEWS SERVICE IS SUPPLIED WEEKLY BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS
LOCATED IN THE LEADING CITIES THROUGHOUT AMERICA.
Published Every Saturday at 373 Fourth Avenue, New York
Enured as teetnd-clats matttr September 10, 1892, at the port office at New York, N. Y..
under the Act of March 3, 1879.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
Canada, $3.50; all other countries, $5.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $6.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising pages, $150.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill, Inc.
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
anil
ailU
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
p
are dealt with, will be found in another section of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Medal. ..Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma....Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Gold Medal
St. Louis Exposition. 1904
Gold Medal—Lewis-Clark Exposition, 190S
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES—NUMBERS 5982—6988 MADISON 8Q.
Connecting all Departments
Cable address: -KlbllL New York"
Vol. LXXI
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 18, 1920
No. 25
PROPOSED TAX SCHEDULE PROTESTED
HE recommendations for the revision of the present war
revenue taxes, as presented in his annual report by Secretary
of the Treasury Houston, have naturally aroused a storm of protest
from business men and individuals throughout the country, but it
must be stated right here that there is no element that has a more
legitimate reason for protesting than the music industry, which has
been laboring under a discriminatory excise tax of 5 per cent, has
been the victim of a number of embarrassing and costly rulings
relative to the levying of the tax, and now is faced with the proposi-
tion that this war excise tax be doubled.
The industry, through the Music Industries Chamber of Com-
merce, has been fully cognizant of the danger that lies in the at-
tempts of various official, or unofficial, bodies, and individuals, to
shift the burden of taxation from certain favored elements to those
not so favored, and in the matter of taxation it appears that music,
although acknowledged to be a necessity, has not been among the
chosen arts for special consideration in tax matters.
It is to be assumed that during the hearings on the question of
tax revision before the Ways and Means Committee the music in-
dustry will be able to prove the justice of its claims and have the
excise tax remain.as it is, if not eliminated altogether. Certainly
the recommendation to put a heavier burden on the industry is pre-
posterous and should be fought to the limit by every element in the
trade.
T
THE REVIEW'S TELEGRAPHIC SURVEY
T
HE constant shifting of business conditions throughout the
country and the unexpected, in a business way, happening over-
night as it were, a review of the trade situation in any location made
last week is as liable as not to be useless this week in gauging the
situation. The enterprise of The Review, therefore, in presenting
in last week's issue last-minute telegraphic reports from every section
of the country setting forth conditions as they actually existed on
December first, has been highly commended by those who are en-
deavoring to keep their fingers on the pulse of the trade. Following
DECEMBER 18,
1920
the general survey of conditions throughout the country made at the
opening of the Fall season, this last-minute pre-holiday telegraphic
survey ties up with it most admirably and it should prove a distinct
service to those who are seeking some information to guide them in
the preliminary plans for 1921.
NEW YORK'S FIRST MUSIC WEEK
complete story of New York's first Music Week, which
has just been told in an elaborate volume by the National
Bureau for the Advancement of Music of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce, is not only interesting, but has a deep sig-
nificance that should not be lost on. the trade as a whole, or upon
the great host of music lovers among the public. The many thou-
sands who helped make Music Week a success through their active
participation, or who were brought in contact by one means or
another with the great work, were naturally impressed, but even
some of these have no idea of the real scope and benefit of the move-
ment.
The story of Music Week, however, told in connected form and
with all its details, should serve as an incentive to public officials and
the public at large to carry out the music idea in other localities.
The telling of the story itself represents a great task for which
C. M. Tremaine deserves full credit, and it is to be hoped that the
work has not been done in vain. A movement that can enlist-the
aid of public officials, some hundreds of churches, business institu-
tions, s'chools and clubs, as well as the leading newspapers and maga-
zines, is certainly deserving of all the consideration that can be ac-
corded it.
LESSONS FROM GYP DEALERS
PROMINENT and successful Western piano merchant who
A gets
around the country quite frequently for the purpose of
getting a line on how the other fellow is doing business declares that,
barring the question of trade ethics, there are a number of features
in the methods followed by some of the more persistent "closing out"
and "special sale" artists that might well be adopted by the legiti-
mate piano merchant for legitimate purposes after these methods
have been cleaned up a bit.
To make a profit on their sensational advertising, these special
sale merchants must do plenty of business and do it fast, and,
therefore, the methods adopted by their speedy salesmen may be cal-
culated to interest as well as shock the merchant who follows along
more conservative lines. This particular piano merchant takes oc-
casion to point out that there are few methods followed by the
special sale dealer that cannot, after some refinement, be used to
advantage in the regular piano store.
There is a sharp line of demarcation,, he declares, between the
sensational methods of the special sale man and the languid attitude
of the salesmen in some of the select piano salons. The legitimate
retailer who succeeds in combining in just the right measure the
snap and pep of the special sale artist and the hauteur of the "salon"
product is likely to develop a selling method that will boost business
while keeping his trade reputation clean. Obviously these Western-
ers are observing "cusses."
FINANCING OUR EXPORT TRADE
of the meeting in Chicago on Friday and Saturday
A S of the last result
week, as announced in a special article in The Review,
there was organized the Foreign Trade Financing Corporation, hav-
ing back of it the support of the American Bankers' Association and
some of the leading business interests of the country. At the meet-
ing a committee was appointed to proceed immediately with the
details of organization.
The success of this movement is of great interest and impor-
tance to all those engaged in the export trade, particularly at this
time when the question of financing the export business is paramount
and is complicated by the problem of varying exchange. With a
capitalization of $100,000,000, an amount sufficient to warrant the
handling of a billion dollars in foreign credits, the new corporation,
operating under the Edge Law, should prove a vital factor in
stimulating export trade to a great degree and thus tend in no small
measure to improve domestic industrial conditions. It is a move
that bears watching, for it may mean much to the music industry
as well as to other industries.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
REVIEW
PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc.
President and Treasurer, C. L. Bill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Vice-President,
J. B. Spillane, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Second Vice-President, Raymond Bill, 373
Fourth ATC, New York; Assistant Treasurer, Win. A. Low.
J. B. SPILLANE, Editor
RAY BILL, B. B. WILSON, BRAID WHITE, Associate Editors
WILSON D. BUSH, Managing Editor
CARLETON CHACE, Business Manager
L. E. BOWERS, Circulation Manager
Executive and Reportorlal Stall
EDWARD VAN HARLINGEN, V. D. WALSH, E. B. MUNCH, C. A. LEONARD,
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, SCOTT KINGWILL, THOS. W. BRESNAHAN, A. J. NICKLIN.
WESTERN DIVISION:
BOSTON OFFICE:
Republic Bldg., 209 So. State St., Chicago.
JOHN H. WILSON, 324 Washington St.
Telephone, Wabash 5774.
Telephone, Main 6950.
LONDON, ENGLAND: 1 Gresham Buildings, Basinghall St., D. C.
NEWS SERVICE IS SUPPLIED WEEKLY BY OUR CORRESPONDENTS
LOCATED IN THE LEADING CITIES THROUGHOUT AMERICA.
Published Every Saturday at 373 Fourth Avenue, New York
Enured as teetnd-clats matttr September 10, 1892, at the port office at New York, N. Y..
under the Act of March 3, 1879.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
Canada, $3.50; all other countries, $5.00.
ADVERTISEMENTS, $6.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising pages, $150.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill, Inc.
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
anil
ailU
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
p
are dealt with, will be found in another section of
this paper. We also publish a number of reliable technical works, information concerning
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Medal. ..Charleston Exposition, 1902
Diploma....Pan-American Exposition, 1901 Gold Medal
St. Louis Exposition. 1904
Gold Medal—Lewis-Clark Exposition, 190S
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES—NUMBERS 5982—6988 MADISON 8Q.
Connecting all Departments
Cable address: -KlbllL New York"
Vol. LXXI
NEW YORK, DECEMBER 18, 1920
No. 25
PROPOSED TAX SCHEDULE PROTESTED
HE recommendations for the revision of the present war
revenue taxes, as presented in his annual report by Secretary
of the Treasury Houston, have naturally aroused a storm of protest
from business men and individuals throughout the country, but it
must be stated right here that there is no element that has a more
legitimate reason for protesting than the music industry, which has
been laboring under a discriminatory excise tax of 5 per cent, has
been the victim of a number of embarrassing and costly rulings
relative to the levying of the tax, and now is faced with the proposi-
tion that this war excise tax be doubled.
The industry, through the Music Industries Chamber of Com-
merce, has been fully cognizant of the danger that lies in the at-
tempts of various official, or unofficial, bodies, and individuals, to
shift the burden of taxation from certain favored elements to those
not so favored, and in the matter of taxation it appears that music,
although acknowledged to be a necessity, has not been among the
chosen arts for special consideration in tax matters.
It is to be assumed that during the hearings on the question of
tax revision before the Ways and Means Committee the music in-
dustry will be able to prove the justice of its claims and have the
excise tax remain.as it is, if not eliminated altogether. Certainly
the recommendation to put a heavier burden on the industry is pre-
posterous and should be fought to the limit by every element in the
trade.
T
THE REVIEW'S TELEGRAPHIC SURVEY
T
HE constant shifting of business conditions throughout the
country and the unexpected, in a business way, happening over-
night as it were, a review of the trade situation in any location made
last week is as liable as not to be useless this week in gauging the
situation. The enterprise of The Review, therefore, in presenting
in last week's issue last-minute telegraphic reports from every section
of the country setting forth conditions as they actually existed on
December first, has been highly commended by those who are en-
deavoring to keep their fingers on the pulse of the trade. Following
DECEMBER 18,
1920
the general survey of conditions throughout the country made at the
opening of the Fall season, this last-minute pre-holiday telegraphic
survey ties up with it most admirably and it should prove a distinct
service to those who are seeking some information to guide them in
the preliminary plans for 1921.
NEW YORK'S FIRST MUSIC WEEK
complete story of New York's first Music Week, which
has just been told in an elaborate volume by the National
Bureau for the Advancement of Music of the Music Industries
Chamber of Commerce, is not only interesting, but has a deep sig-
nificance that should not be lost on. the trade as a whole, or upon
the great host of music lovers among the public. The many thou-
sands who helped make Music Week a success through their active
participation, or who were brought in contact by one means or
another with the great work, were naturally impressed, but even
some of these have no idea of the real scope and benefit of the move-
ment.
The story of Music Week, however, told in connected form and
with all its details, should serve as an incentive to public officials and
the public at large to carry out the music idea in other localities.
The telling of the story itself represents a great task for which
C. M. Tremaine deserves full credit, and it is to be hoped that the
work has not been done in vain. A movement that can enlist-the
aid of public officials, some hundreds of churches, business institu-
tions, s'chools and clubs, as well as the leading newspapers and maga-
zines, is certainly deserving of all the consideration that can be ac-
corded it.
LESSONS FROM GYP DEALERS
PROMINENT and successful Western piano merchant who
A gets
around the country quite frequently for the purpose of
getting a line on how the other fellow is doing business declares that,
barring the question of trade ethics, there are a number of features
in the methods followed by some of the more persistent "closing out"
and "special sale" artists that might well be adopted by the legiti-
mate piano merchant for legitimate purposes after these methods
have been cleaned up a bit.
To make a profit on their sensational advertising, these special
sale merchants must do plenty of business and do it fast, and,
therefore, the methods adopted by their speedy salesmen may be cal-
culated to interest as well as shock the merchant who follows along
more conservative lines. This particular piano merchant takes oc-
casion to point out that there are few methods followed by the
special sale dealer that cannot, after some refinement, be used to
advantage in the regular piano store.
There is a sharp line of demarcation,, he declares, between the
sensational methods of the special sale man and the languid attitude
of the salesmen in some of the select piano salons. The legitimate
retailer who succeeds in combining in just the right measure the
snap and pep of the special sale artist and the hauteur of the "salon"
product is likely to develop a selling method that will boost business
while keeping his trade reputation clean. Obviously these Western-
ers are observing "cusses."
FINANCING OUR EXPORT TRADE
of the meeting in Chicago on Friday and Saturday
A S of the last result
week, as announced in a special article in The Review,
there was organized the Foreign Trade Financing Corporation, hav-
ing back of it the support of the American Bankers' Association and
some of the leading business interests of the country. At the meet-
ing a committee was appointed to proceed immediately with the
details of organization.
The success of this movement is of great interest and impor-
tance to all those engaged in the export trade, particularly at this
time when the question of financing the export business is paramount
and is complicated by the problem of varying exchange. With a
capitalization of $100,000,000, an amount sufficient to warrant the
handling of a billion dollars in foreign credits, the new corporation,
operating under the Edge Law, should prove a vital factor in
stimulating export trade to a great degree and thus tend in no small
measure to improve domestic industrial conditions. It is a move
that bears watching, for it may mean much to the music industry
as well as to other industries.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).