Music Trade Review

THE
VOL. LXXVII. No. 15 Published Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N. Y. Oct. 13, 1923
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Music and the Music Merchant's Store
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HE music store in any community which is not linked closely with the music and concert activities in that
territory is missing- what is perhaps its strongest and closest point of contact with the class that are the
best type of prospects for the merchandise it sells.
.
This has been proven time and again by the experiences of some of the leading houses in the
retail trade. It is impossible to mention very many na mes of merchants who are known to practically all men
in this industry who have not consistently pursued this policy as one of the fundamentals of their selling
methods. The experience of years has taught these concerns the direct results, at comparatively small expendi­
ture, that are obtained from this policy.
MereJy mentioned as an incident, but a striki~ one nevertheless, is the statement that the I heher Piano
Co., of Cleveland, expects, through linking its warerooms closely with one of the local concert courses in that
city, to draw approximately 200,000 people to its store between now and the end of the musical season. Is
there any other method which could place that number of people already interested in music in contact with
the warerooms at a lower investment?
According to present prospects, the musical season which we are just entering will be one of the greatest
which the country has ever experienced. This, of cou rse, is something' that is annually said, but this year
there is a far more accurate basis for the statement than is usually the case. The work which has been con­
sistently done in arousing popular interest in music has at last reached a cumulative stage where its results are
direct and apparent. It is not meant by this that they come to the merchant's warerooms without effort upon
his part; but it is meant that the popular state of mind is such that it responds readily and directly to ex­
ploitation work which takes into consideration the present-day psychology and uses that as a guide.
There should not he a city in the country in which local concert courses are held wherein the music mer­
chants do not playa prominent part in thei r promotion and support. They should do more than merely lend
their support financially; they should use their own personal efforts and be active, individually or collectively,
in this work. It may be frankly said that there is nothing philanthropic in it nor is it simply a contribution to
community betterment, no matter how great the results may be in this direction . It is one of those rare in­
stances where self-interest and public interest 'are in the same channel.
It is trite to say that the basis of all sales of musical instruments is music. But it is a truism that
cannot be repeated often enough, and one which can never be driven home forcibly enough to the music mer­
chant and to the salesmen who come in contact with his prospective customers. .'\ny sales plan which in the
long run disregards this fundamental fact is false in its relation to the problem that confronts the dealer. .\nd ·
this falsity is expensive in that the overhead cost represented therein cannot bring its due proportion of re­
sults when disregarding it.
There is another angle to this entire situation which should not be disregarded. Musical activities in
any community work directly to the benefit of all music merchants "vho draw sales from the peopl e within the
radius of their influence. Therefore, no music merchant can afford to disregard, or to be deficient in support
toward these events, no matter what instruments may be used. If his competitor's piano appears upon the
platform, and it is often the case that it does, that is no reason for the merchant to retire into his shell and be
inactive. Instead, it is all the more reason for him to support the concert, or whatever the musical event
may be, for it makes prospects for all pianos, his as well as his competitor's.
If the music merchant fails to link hiS warerooms as closely as possible with the musical people and the
musical events of his community he is invariably failing to take advantage of what is probably his one best
selling approach . And there is no merchant, no matter how great his voltime of business may be, who can
afford to do that.
T