Music Trade Review
Issue: 1921 Vol. 72 N. 1 - Page 4
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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 Ave.. 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. I). WALSH, E. B. MUNCH, C. A. LEONARD,
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, SCOTT KINCWILL, THOS. W. BRESNAHAM, 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, Basinghail 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
Bnttrtd at tttonddatt
matttr Stpttmber 10, 1892, at thi pott pffict at New York, N. Y.,
under tht Act of March 3, 1879.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
Canada, $3.50; all other countries, $5.00.
ajDTERTISElfENTS, $6.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Adrertising pages, $150.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill, Inc.
P I • VOI* P l f l n A a n d
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
r i f l J C l ' l U I U U ailU
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
T p i * h n i r n l I t o n a r l m p n t e regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
lCCUIIlCHI Vep
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Mtdal.. .Charleston Exposition. 1902
Diploma
Pan-American Exposition, 1901
Gold Mtdal
St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Mtdal— Lewis-Clark Exposition. 1905
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES—NUMBERS 5982—5988 MADISON SQ.
Connecting; all Departments
Cable address: "Elblll, New York"
Vol. LXXII
NEW YORK, JANUARY 1, 1921
No. 1
MUSIC W E E K IN N E W YORK
T
H E R E have just been announced preliminary plans for the
holding of a second Music Week celebration in New York
during the week of May 1st to 7th, and although there will be at that
time no National Music Show upon which to center interest it is to
be expected that, with the growing appreciation of music generally,
this new Music Week in New York will prove sufficiently successful
to attract countrywide attention. Since the Music Week celebration
in February of last year the movement has spread throughout the
nation and many cities, large and small, have taken occasion to follow
In New York's footsteps and devote a week to carrying music's
message to the public at large. The recent elaborate program carried
out so successfully in Little Rock, Ark., is a shining example.
That the Music Week idea is far from being a trade movement
is indicated by the interest and support that have been given and will
be given the program by music lovers in every walk of life. The
acceptance of the honorary chairmanship of the new Music Week
Committee by Otto H. Kahn, who presided so successfully over the
destinies of the first Music Week, and the selection of Berthold
Neuer as active chairman and C. M. Tremaine as secretary of the
committee, places at the head of things men who may be said to be
qualified by experience to put over the program to the best
advantage. It is up to the members of the local trade to lend their
full support to the Music Week program and to enlist as many others
in the work as they possibly can.
A PROGRESSIVE MOVE
T
H E appointment of advisory committees, made up of prominent
members of the industry, to confer with the officials of the Music
Industries Chamber of Commerce, and particularly with the per-
sonnel of the various Bureaus of the Chamber in connection with
matters of moment in the industry and in general, is a most excellent
idea.
The directors of the various Bureaus of the Chamber are com-
petent men and have proven their competence, but that two heads
are'better than one applies in organization work as in any other
JANUARY 1,
1921
direction, and with the views of the committeemen to draw upon,
reflecting as they do the attitude of the trade and its various divisions,
the Chamber of Commerce officials will be able to guide their work
along lines that will not only pr.ove acceptable to the majority, but
will be based upon sound advice and opinion.
In selecting J. H. Shale as chairman of the Legal Advisory Com-
mittee, Paul B. Klugh of the Finance, Edmund Gram of the Better
Business, and Ben H. Janssen of the Music Advancement Advisory
Committee, excellent judgment has been shown in choosing the
proper men for the proper places, and the same judgment has been
shown in the naming of the personnel of the various committees.
T H E PROVINCIAL PIANO
DEALER
T
H E comments by Marshall Breeden in The Review last week in
reference to the status of the provincial piano dealer and the
present attitude of the average piano manufacturer towards that type
of merchant are enlightening, to say the least, and should give food
for thought to some piano makers and their travelers who have been
inclined to regard the small dealer as not worthy of their attention.
As a piano traveler Mr. Breeden has covered many sections of the
country, particularly in the West, and has been in close touch with
the small-town dealer. His views, therefore, should smack of
authority.
In early issues of The Review Mr. Breeden will discuss the
status of other types of piano dealers, the urban dealer and the
itinerant dealer, for instance. His articles on these subjects should
receive attention and consideration even though the manufacturer
may not be guilty of the inattention charged to some members of the
craft and although certain individuals may not perhaps agree with
the sentiments offered. It must be remembered that it takes all kinds
of retailers, and for that matter all kinds of manufacturers, to make
up an industry.
T H E PENNSYLVANIA
ASSOCIATION
NE of the moves of importance during the early weeks of the
New Year will be the effort in Pittsburgh on January 17th and
18th to organize a State association of music merchants, an effort
that will meet with success without question. The development of
the new Pennsylvania association will be naturally watched with
interest, because it has as a nucleus a very active Pittsburgh associa-
tion and, as an example that is most worthy of emulation, the Piano
Merchants' Association of Ohio right next door, as it were, to which
not a few Pennsylvania merchants belong.
Despite the work of the officials of the National Association of
Music Merchants during the past few years the work of organizing
State associations has not progressed as rapidly as might be, although
the value of the State association has been proven on numerous
occasions. It is hard to assign any reason for lack of interest in
many States, but it is probable that as State associations increase in
number the work of bringing together the music men in other States
will prove easier. Certainly the effort on the part of the national
officers is not lacking.
O
RUMORS B R E E D PESSIMISM
W
HEN general business conditions are a bit uncertain, as in the
present situation, for instance, there is-a decided inclination
among many otherwise sane business men to flirt assiduously with
Dame Rumor and to absorb most willingly every report, whether
well founded or not, to the effect that this or that is about to happen
or has happened to competitors in the trade. Rumors are bad enough
under any conditions and even when they have some foundation in
fact, but all too many rumors are without reason and are calculated
to, and do, work incalculable harm to the concerns against which they
are directed. More than one concern have fallen victims to rumors
when they might otherwise have weathered the business storm safely.
Rumors tending to discredit business houses or a trade at large
develop pessimism. What is needed now to help the trade are facts
upon which accurate calculations may be made. The man, whether
he makes or sells pianos or something else, who is having his own
troubles is inclined to welcome stories to the effect that his competi-
tors are also having difficulties. He forgets that if the stories are true
the whole trade is in bad shape and the chances of himself pulling
through safely are minimized. Let's forget rumors and demand
facts. It is the surest way to discourage the rumor-monger.
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 Ave.. 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. I). WALSH, E. B. MUNCH, C. A. LEONARD,
EDWARD LYMAN BILL, SCOTT KINCWILL, THOS. W. BRESNAHAM, 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, Basinghail 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
Bnttrtd at tttonddatt
matttr Stpttmber 10, 1892, at thi pott pffict at New York, N. Y.,
under tht Act of March 3, 1879.
SUBSCRIPTION (including postage), United States and Mexico, $2.00 per year;
Canada, $3.50; all other countries, $5.00.
ajDTERTISElfENTS, $6.00 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or
yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Adrertising pages, $150.
REMITTANCES, in other than currency forms, should be made payable to Edward
Lyman Bill, Inc.
P I • VOI* P l f l n A a n d
Departments conducted by an expert wherein all ques-
r i f l J C l ' l U I U U ailU
tions of a technical nature relating to the tuning,
T p i * h n i r n l I t o n a r l m p n t e regulating and repairing of pianos and player-pianos
lCCUIIlCHI Vep
which will be cheerfully given upon request.
Exposition Honors Won by The Review
Grand Prix
Paris Exposition, 1900 Silver Mtdal.. .Charleston Exposition. 1902
Diploma
Pan-American Exposition, 1901
Gold Mtdal
St. Louis Exposition, 1904
Gold Mtdal— Lewis-Clark Exposition. 1905
LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONES—NUMBERS 5982—5988 MADISON SQ.
Connecting; all Departments
Cable address: "Elblll, New York"
Vol. LXXII
NEW YORK, JANUARY 1, 1921
No. 1
MUSIC W E E K IN N E W YORK
T
H E R E have just been announced preliminary plans for the
holding of a second Music Week celebration in New York
during the week of May 1st to 7th, and although there will be at that
time no National Music Show upon which to center interest it is to
be expected that, with the growing appreciation of music generally,
this new Music Week in New York will prove sufficiently successful
to attract countrywide attention. Since the Music Week celebration
in February of last year the movement has spread throughout the
nation and many cities, large and small, have taken occasion to follow
In New York's footsteps and devote a week to carrying music's
message to the public at large. The recent elaborate program carried
out so successfully in Little Rock, Ark., is a shining example.
That the Music Week idea is far from being a trade movement
is indicated by the interest and support that have been given and will
be given the program by music lovers in every walk of life. The
acceptance of the honorary chairmanship of the new Music Week
Committee by Otto H. Kahn, who presided so successfully over the
destinies of the first Music Week, and the selection of Berthold
Neuer as active chairman and C. M. Tremaine as secretary of the
committee, places at the head of things men who may be said to be
qualified by experience to put over the program to the best
advantage. It is up to the members of the local trade to lend their
full support to the Music Week program and to enlist as many others
in the work as they possibly can.
A PROGRESSIVE MOVE
T
H E appointment of advisory committees, made up of prominent
members of the industry, to confer with the officials of the Music
Industries Chamber of Commerce, and particularly with the per-
sonnel of the various Bureaus of the Chamber in connection with
matters of moment in the industry and in general, is a most excellent
idea.
The directors of the various Bureaus of the Chamber are com-
petent men and have proven their competence, but that two heads
are'better than one applies in organization work as in any other
JANUARY 1,
1921
direction, and with the views of the committeemen to draw upon,
reflecting as they do the attitude of the trade and its various divisions,
the Chamber of Commerce officials will be able to guide their work
along lines that will not only pr.ove acceptable to the majority, but
will be based upon sound advice and opinion.
In selecting J. H. Shale as chairman of the Legal Advisory Com-
mittee, Paul B. Klugh of the Finance, Edmund Gram of the Better
Business, and Ben H. Janssen of the Music Advancement Advisory
Committee, excellent judgment has been shown in choosing the
proper men for the proper places, and the same judgment has been
shown in the naming of the personnel of the various committees.
T H E PROVINCIAL PIANO
DEALER
T
H E comments by Marshall Breeden in The Review last week in
reference to the status of the provincial piano dealer and the
present attitude of the average piano manufacturer towards that type
of merchant are enlightening, to say the least, and should give food
for thought to some piano makers and their travelers who have been
inclined to regard the small dealer as not worthy of their attention.
As a piano traveler Mr. Breeden has covered many sections of the
country, particularly in the West, and has been in close touch with
the small-town dealer. His views, therefore, should smack of
authority.
In early issues of The Review Mr. Breeden will discuss the
status of other types of piano dealers, the urban dealer and the
itinerant dealer, for instance. His articles on these subjects should
receive attention and consideration even though the manufacturer
may not be guilty of the inattention charged to some members of the
craft and although certain individuals may not perhaps agree with
the sentiments offered. It must be remembered that it takes all kinds
of retailers, and for that matter all kinds of manufacturers, to make
up an industry.
T H E PENNSYLVANIA
ASSOCIATION
NE of the moves of importance during the early weeks of the
New Year will be the effort in Pittsburgh on January 17th and
18th to organize a State association of music merchants, an effort
that will meet with success without question. The development of
the new Pennsylvania association will be naturally watched with
interest, because it has as a nucleus a very active Pittsburgh associa-
tion and, as an example that is most worthy of emulation, the Piano
Merchants' Association of Ohio right next door, as it were, to which
not a few Pennsylvania merchants belong.
Despite the work of the officials of the National Association of
Music Merchants during the past few years the work of organizing
State associations has not progressed as rapidly as might be, although
the value of the State association has been proven on numerous
occasions. It is hard to assign any reason for lack of interest in
many States, but it is probable that as State associations increase in
number the work of bringing together the music men in other States
will prove easier. Certainly the effort on the part of the national
officers is not lacking.
O
RUMORS B R E E D PESSIMISM
W
HEN general business conditions are a bit uncertain, as in the
present situation, for instance, there is-a decided inclination
among many otherwise sane business men to flirt assiduously with
Dame Rumor and to absorb most willingly every report, whether
well founded or not, to the effect that this or that is about to happen
or has happened to competitors in the trade. Rumors are bad enough
under any conditions and even when they have some foundation in
fact, but all too many rumors are without reason and are calculated
to, and do, work incalculable harm to the concerns against which they
are directed. More than one concern have fallen victims to rumors
when they might otherwise have weathered the business storm safely.
Rumors tending to discredit business houses or a trade at large
develop pessimism. What is needed now to help the trade are facts
upon which accurate calculations may be made. The man, whether
he makes or sells pianos or something else, who is having his own
troubles is inclined to welcome stories to the effect that his competi-
tors are also having difficulties. He forgets that if the stories are true
the whole trade is in bad shape and the chances of himself pulling
through safely are minimized. Let's forget rumors and demand
facts. It is the surest way to discourage the rumor-monger.
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).