Music Trade Review

AUGUST
25, 1923
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
5
Basis of Reproducer Merchandising
Good Music at the Bottom of the Average Sale of the Reproducing Piano and Thus Can Not Be Neglected
by the Salesman Who Handles the Prospective Purchaser- Ignorance of What Constitutes
Good Music One of the Great Defects of the Average Salesman at the Present Time
\\llat i, tllc fundalllcntal tllc['chandi , in, ~ prin­
c iple of the '-"p,'o du c in l,; pi a noo Goo d Ili lis ic i
Th c ,,"o rd , had better be printed with capit;d s,
(;ood mu s ic illlpli e s and connot es not llicr e l \' a
lk ,ni l'tion but a , t;r tc 0 1 affail's , \Vh c n ~ne
s p c'a k , of ~ o od l11u s ic it is of a n instituti o n , of
a >'l ate of lJ1ind exi , rillg alll o n )..! certain p e opl e
which ind ee d ou g ht to exi s t amoll ~ a ll peop le
and whi c h alone iurnislre s th e rea s() ns for th e
ex is t c n ce of tbe r e produ c in g piano,
1 n o th e r word s, it would be sim p ly usele s s t o
try to float th e reprodu c in" piano upon the
foun da tion s upplied b y e ven th e m o st e mincnt
ex po ne nts o f piani s ti c s y ncop a tion, Eve ry one
lik es to h ea r l)aul \\/ ilitelllan' s Orcllc st ra , but
i e vi I' ould pa y a hi g h pric e fo r a g ra nd pian o
0 1 cc< th c pl ay ill ~ of th e pialli s t of that o r c he s tra
EI'e l \'O n e lik es t o hear J{ oy llar gy o r lJel can l\>
or Art Kahn o r C:opcl a nd or, in fa ct, any of
th e sy ncopatin g prod i/;;es ; but no one w ould
pay $2,O( iO or $3,000 fo r an in s truillent w hich
co uld do n o be tter th a n m a nif es t Iller e ly the' c
artists' c lfo rt <, In o ther word s, po pul a r Illusic
is 1I1); , t a ll thc world likes; but th e w orld do cs
n o t res pe ct, do cs n o t r c,'e r e ncc, d ocs not in ·
stinelil' e ly turn t o popular mu s ic. l 'o pular IllU
~ ic e ntertains us, but it is not th e s ort at thin,;
(or whi c h w e s h o uld b c w illing t o make a g r eat
sa c , iJi ce , () n e deles n o t ~ o in d e bt to tlt e cc<
t e nt o f o n l" s s pare cas h ior t wo o r thr ee y ear ~
in tl",! so rt o f a ca u sc ,
What the Advertising Shows
On th c o ther h a nd, as we a ll know, the g r ea t
1I1anufa c turer s of reprodu c ing pian os have bu ilt
up th e ir lar ge e nt e rpri ses throu g h thc s u cc e s s
lui ur ;.; e of g oo d lllu s ic, They have sho w n p c r
si'>t e ntly and with mu c h s ucc c,s that th e bea uty
o f the r e pr o du c in g pi a no lie s in its ability to
g il e 10 ey e r y Jllu s ic lo ver th e be s t mu s ic at ali
lin les, tlt e b est mu s ic, more ove r, as r eco rded b )"
the b es t pi :J ni s t s, thc li\' in g interpr e tation , o f
the gr eate s t th o u g hts in pi a no lit c ra ture by I' h e
g reat es t livin g interpr c t e r s ,
It is only n e cessar y t o read thc ae"'c rti s ing
lit e r a ture of the ,\m e rican Pi a n o Co., o f th e
A eo lian C o , or of th e 'Nelte int e rcsts to under ­
s ta nd exa c tly ho w pr e cise the foregoin g analy­
s is r e all ) i", \V c :' r e h e re deal i n g \\' ith " Ia t ( ­
1I1ent s whi c h ca n be cor ro b o rated in the mo s t
positil' ~ wa y b y all who have an y co ncern with
th e r e producin g pi a no , Salesmen a r e tau g ht to
dClll o n s trat e the be s t music, m e rchants are
ta u g ht tll :1 t the be s t mu s ic mu s t be kcp t in
s t oc k,
l'r o s pec tiye purchaser s arc p e r s uaded
to bu y up o n the r e pr e~ en( a tion and d e monstra­
tion that the be st lllusic i s a vailabl e fo r th e i r
benefit a nd plea s ure at an y and all times, G oo d
lllu s ic is the foundation of the r e pr o ducin g pi­
an o; a nd without g ood mu s ic it w o uld not ex is t,
Where We Fall Down
In the face of su c h ob l' ioll s fa cts wh y is it
th a t the oe n e ral pe r so nal attitud e o [ th e trad e
tow ard s goo d ll1u s ic is s o d ep lorabl e i VV h y ar c
manufa c tur e rs \\,h ose ad ve rti s ing d e partm e nt s
turn o ut we e kl y a nd m o nthly s u c h e xcellently
con ce ive d spe c im e ns of musical a pp ea l u s u a lly
so to t a lly obli v iou s to th e practi ce of g ood mu­
."i c in th e ir personal r e lation s? Vvhy ar c so
fe w piano m er chant s s tead y s upporter s o f good
J11u s ic in th e ir communities?
VVh e n (he Chi cag o Op c r a was in bad s trai ts
and a s ub s cription list w as thrown o p c n t o th e
publi c the Chi cago Piano C lub p le dged its e lf
t o r;lis e $1,000 it nece ssa ry durin g th e p e ri o el of
th c ,;ua ra ntc c , namel y , three ye a r s . ,\part from
til e Club th e individu a l mu s ic tr a de gu arant o r s
w c r e pitifull y fe w and most o f the mu s ic hous e <,
we re simply not represented a t aiL
E \T Il the tUll ch, wh o co me so c on s tantly in
per " " ,, ;;\ t o u c h \\ ith mu s ic, i1 re usually con s pic­
u o u s at co n ce r ts , and at lllu :; ica l event s gen
(:rall y, only b y th e ir a l)s encc. \Vhat is the rea­
SO il i o r thi ,'> ?
It i.s ll "e less to talk about sd lesm e n, fo r th ey
11 0 10ri o U51.\ ;i r e a p paren t ly t.he la s t persons in
the world (sp eak in g ill ge neral t e rm s ) to care
a r;\p a bo l.lt g o o d ,nu :,ic , It is evid e nt that the
pian o trad e d aCe; not numb e r many d ev ot e es
of tlte art for which it furni s h es t he raw mate­
rial.
O ll e ' l1i l:' ht Il1;d" c lll a n y g u esse s as to the r e a­
,o n", but ~~ u e .-se s a r e of ver y s light importanc e
o r int e r cst.
\ -\ h a t should inter es t us is th e
, ta t c o i alLlir s reve aled,
Let Us Be Consistent
.\ 0 1\" tht, p o inl to b e mad e is that th os e
\\h o ,, ('II 1I 1US;( h ;1\'e 110 risht to ig nor e music,
E ope e ially 1 h os e wh o ,e ll tire r e produ , in g piano
h ave itO r ig ht to i!" n o re it Th" incon s is tency
i< loo g r e a t.
"1 0 ', ''' n el : ' i,s t ire ad ve rtisin g
II biclt bri ng·, to th e ir sto res th e prospecti ve
cu s tom e r based up o n th e idea of s preadin g the
cult of g o od lll11 s ic thr o u g h o ut th e h o mes o f thc
cOI11 i1 IL1nit\" but tile d (' lll o ns tr at ion it se lf is
i o unded on cxac t Iy t h l' S ;ell1 c id ea , Til e s<: 1,' ;' ­
1I!;ln, ther efo re, is o bli '~ c d, in th e natur e o f the
~'; ":'"I (' , 10 --; 0 lllruu t. :- h l 1, ( ll j ()! i o l1 ~ at lea s t o f ini­
tiating th e c u s t o 111 c r into lit e deli,'llts oi go o d
1I1USle. l:o rtultat c ly, he ha s n o mor e t o do t!t a n
: 0 il hc l't 'O'" C 11' 1"ic l'c1\1 and turn on the
"witc h, Y et it J11ust b e a dmitted that a littl e
aeCju a i lI(all c e w il h tir e s ubj ec t-l1l a tter, a little
p erso nal in te r es t In t he J11u s ie ibelf, would
mak e lhe \Vlt o le tran sa ctioll v e ry Illu c h e asier
fo r ;"1 co ncer ned, Ca ta lo gs m a y do much and
the grol\·in c: p e rf ect ion 01 r ec ording s may d o
J:lorc; but nothin o ca n Cjl1it e tak e lh e place in
th e s al e s ilian's cqulpment o f a cert a in per s on a l
acquainta nce w il hand 10 ve of the music w hi c h
IS e x h ibited,
H e r e, in th e la c k o f SLlch a familiarity and
il1t e r c ~l, li c.< the w cake s t featur e of th e m o dern
s y s t c m of mer c handi sing th e r e produ c ing piano,
,\11 the a r (,' II 111l' llt s ill I' he w o rld cannot convinc e
~, s en s ible man that a s a le s man is better o ff ,
or a s w ell off, \\' i(hout a n a ctu:ll ac quaintan c e
lIith tli e go o ds h<'. sell s, It is (rue in eve r y
oth e r line; and it is m o re completely tru e 111
th c mu s ic;tl li ne t h an in an y' oth e r whi c h ca n be
n a m e d,
Profession vs. Practice
l)roba bly the g r oss ig no r an c e whi c h piano
s alesm e n g e nerall y s eem to e xhibit in all mat­
t e r s w hi c h r e lat e to g ood mu s ic is to be tra ced
to th e pr eval en t beli ef th a t a m a n who knows
an y thin g ab o ut mu s ic is not ca pa ble of b e ing
a g oo d bus in es s m a n , But eve n if thi s were
t r u e, whi c h it is not , t hc trade w ould sta nd con­
v ic ted of g r o s s in eo tl , is ten cy , For in our ad­
\'I~ rtisin o we st r ess the v a lu e of mu s ic to the
t ir e d b u s iness l11an , \ Ve t e ll !to \\· mu s ic, and
thi s J11 e;,ln s , pl ease rcmemb e r, go o d Illusi c, w ill
lIlak e him a b c ttn bu si ne,s ll1 a n by so o thing
hi s n e n'Cs and hi s fe e lin g s and b y making him
r e lax und e r t h e \v it c h er y of its 1l1a ~ i c s tr a ins,
A ll o f w hi c h is per fect ly s ound a rc:um c nt. Mu­
s ic \\ill d o ;til I h c;e thin e" a nd,. a s th e ad v er­
t i ~ cllleni S (Jf th e r C [lI'oducil1'~ pian o ri g htly sa y ,
" ,ill b e 0 1 the utl no s t ,' alu e , menta ll y and eve n
ph ys ica ll y , 10 th e t ir ed bu s in e ss m a n, /\11 thi s ,
in L~ l't , is b o t h e ffcclil'c a nd tru c; but on e ca n
h;; rd l,\ ;,:~ Ul' , in fa ce o f this, t h a t the business
i1Il' l1 o f th e ve ry tra d e which m a ke > and sells
I'III C ho",,' n u"ie d o not n ee d that w hi c h is
;' o ocl fo r a ll o th e r " Tl,is s il11plv wo n't do. '\nd
n o t only lIill it 11 0 t do, bu t , w hat is worse, b y
pre te ndin g that Ollr p r o f('ss ion and o ur pra c ti c e
n ee d not a g l'e e, we a r c s imply hurting our own
1I1Cl'chandi s in g syst em and r e ducing th e quan­
t it y of Ollr sal es,
In oth e r word s, salesmen
who ar e very ni ce ly dress e d and s oft spoke n,
but w h o s tall a nd bluff whrn it comes to ta lk ­
ing au o ut th e v ery thing they are selling, who
d Cl1l o ns(rate without d a ring to go beyond the
let t e r of the in s truction s , are bluff salesmen and
un fi t to b e in the work they are presuming to
undertak e,
That m ay seem like hard language; but it is
n o t. O ur trade is a music trade, our industry
a !Ilu .- i c industry, It is shameful, it is disgrace­
ful, th at th c· m e n of thi s trade and industry
~ lt o uld hold a lo of from the very art for which
tb ey furnish the in s trumental means. What­
c l'er llla y at o ne time have been thought about
it, the fa c t r e mains that to-day no musIc mer­
c hant c e rt a inl y ca n a fford to neglect, or even
a pp ear t o neglect, th e support, both by check­
book a nd b y per s onal att e ndance, of the musi­
cal a c tiviti es o f his com m unity, The time for
"hard-boiled" lllu s ic trad esmen is past and gone,
It is ti1111' for m e n who know something about
th at \\hi,1t th e y sell t o come forward and put
.il e :gllor;) nt (0 " 11 ;, 1:;<, , ~ot until w e have a
; I':; dc cdu catul t o the level of appre c ia ting the
r r p r odu ci ll ; pian o w ill th a t piano com e into it s
o wn.
GOVERNMENT TAKES PIANO CENSUS
Census Bureau Now Preparing to Cover Pro­
duction During the Present Year
V\ ,\ S HI N<.. TON, D, c., Augu s t 22,- -Plans are now
being m a d e in th e Census Bureau for the taking
o f th e n ext ce n s u s of pi a no production, whi c h
\" ill co Ycr th e o utput and activity of piano
l11 a nuiac tur e r s ior th e y e ar 1923. This work
. i'i under the s upervision of E, F Hortley, chief
,' ,(;lti s tician for manufa ctures, who has practi­
,a ll y completed hi s plans,
The schedule on
which th e censu s will be put is now in the
hands of the Government printer and it is
plann e d to distribute copies so that each manu­
fa c tur e r will h a v e his qu e stionnaire by January
1 next,
The 1923 manufactures' census will cover the
s ame ground as did that of 1921, namely, the
o pe ration of manufacturing plants having an
annual pr o duction valued at $5,000 or more ,
The seh e dule s u se d will b e very similar to those
used i" 1921, onl y such changes being made as
wer e found d es irable as a result of experience
in th e last census.
The 1923 c e nsus will provide the industry
with a report showin g the number of establish­
m e nts, th e numb er of persons enga ge d in the
industr y, segregated so as to show proprietors
a nd fir m membe r s , minor officials and salari e d
clerk s a nd w age -earners; the percentage of ac­
ti v it y in the indu s tr y ba se d upon the number of
day s operated by eac h pl a nt, salaries and
w agb, co s t of mat e rials and contract work and
thc total produ c tion , both b y value and quan­
tity ,
L. O. PERRV IN NEW ENGLAND
L. D, Perry, treasur e r of Ludwi g & Co" New
'/ork, is at p re sent t o urinR New England with
hi s famil y , His lett e rs indicate delightful con­
ditions for motorin g in that country, Mr, Perry
will r e turn in a w ee k or ten days,
Consult the Universal Want Directory of,
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions,