Music Trade Review

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FKBRUARY 7,
1925
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
The Weather and the Sales You Make
Weather Days, Seasons, All Affect the Volume of Sales of the Retail Music Merchant—"Shut-In" Weather
Usually Good for Business—Some Merchants Find Monday a Better Day Than Saturday
—Meeting the Seasonal Dullness by Better Methods—An Article by J. H. Duncan
UT of the wails and shrieks of Winter
winds, out of the long days and nights
of the silent sifting down to earth of the
ever-deepening snows, out of the reverberation
of thunder and the torrential downpours of
Springtime rains—out of all the capers with
which the elements grimly keep households
prisoner in the hours when pleasures abroad
beckon comes the call to the music store.
Strange idea, is it? You don't quite grasp it?
Then all you need to set you straight on the
psychology of it is to talk with almost any of
Baltimore's keen, observant music store sales
managers. Just broach the subject in any of
these stores along famous old Charles street or
Lexington or Howard. It's a business proposi-
tion with them and they are posted on all an-
gles of it. They are even ready to delve deep
into the psychological causes of the ups and
downs in their seasonal sales records. But
nearly all of them agree that bad weather
makes good music business, and the longer the
bad weather lasts the bigger the music business
that comes in its wake. And some of them
have discovered that right in the midst of bad
weather is one of the best times to set about
getting new business.
"There is no, doubt that people kept longer
than usual in their homes and cut off from
their customary diversion by ugly weather turn
more than ever to their musical instruments,
and if they have not one their thoughts turn
more than ever to the lack of it," said W. L.
Roberts, assistant sales manager of the Kranz-
Smith Piano Co. "We have had proof of this
again and again in the rush business that has
come to us after a spell of dismal weather.
Persons who had talking machines had used
their records so much that they wanted new
ones, and those families who had no talking
machine and wanted one had suddenly felt the
urge and found means to get one. Those who
had pianos wanted new music, and those with-
out one evidently had come to a decision long
deferred. Many of them were downtown on
musical missions bent almost before the rains
or the snows had dried on the streets. Some
of them even braved cold or rain or snow to
come down to the store for new records or
music. Most of them want dance music or jazz
or spirited airs. Few inquire for the senti-
mental pieces at such times.
"All this," continued Mr. Roberts, "is just
the psychological reaction of people to the im-
pression bad weather makes upon them. Most
people, whether home-bodies or votaries of the
night life, feel a restlessness of mind, a subcon-
sciousness of being thwarted by nature's ugly
moods when bad weather compels abandon-
ment of any thought of going out. They have
a sense of impotency against it and they want
distraction. The usual recourse of conversa-
tion or reading does not dim the sounds of rag-
ing elements without, the dash and patter of
rain against the windows or the moans and
shrieks of winds about the house. The conver-
sation grows fitful, forced, and somebody will
always stop to say: 'Ugh—just listen to that
wind!' Or the mind, trying too hard to hold
itself to. the printed page, can't help jumping
from it to visualize that last terrific gust that
swept past. Yet, on a calm evening in pleasant
weather this same home circle might not have
the least difficulty in making itself a contented
or even merry one with its own devices.
"But on those dismal evenings the human
soul cannot shake off a sense of depression.
Then, as most humans have ever done, they find
O
that deep down in their souls what they want
is music. If there is a musical instrument or
talking machine in the house, more often than
not it will be resorted to by the entire family,
or some member will ask another to play.
"Nor is there anything to be marveled at in
this quick turning of the human soul to music
for solace when the elements rage. Think of
some of those great tragedies of the sea. I
dimly recall one in which a troopship—British,
1 think—was foundering in a storm while bring-
ing home men who had been serving long in
some colonial possession. It was seen by all
that she must soon make her final plunge. Word
went through her that they would show they
could go down to death gallantly. The regi-
iment was massed before its commander. The
band was ordered to the quarterdeck, and with
the exultant strains of a spirited march, ded-
icated to this famous regiment, defying the
roaring tempest, they cheered until the waves
closed over ship and men. Helpless there, it
was music that susta ned them."
Good on Fair Days
Another thing peculiar to the music business
which Mr. Roberts has noted is that ordinarily
in fair weather business is better on Mondays
and Saturdays, and between the hours of 10:30
and noon and 3 and 5 in the afternoon.
T account for the days named being the
busiest," said Mr. Roberts, "by the fact that
over week-ends members of families can con-
fer more leisurely about their musical tastes
and needs and reach a decision, and on Monday
some member attends to the buying. The Sat-
urday buyers are those who neglected to carry
out the previous week-end's decision until the
next week-end's arrival spurred them to it. Just
the difference between prompt persons and pro-
crastinators. As for the hours mentioned, I
think this is merely a matter of convenient
shopping hours for most people.
"It is noticeable also that the fifteenth of
1 lie month, or thereabouts, brings a certain in-
crease in business, which I attribute mainly to
the fact that families which have been discuss-
ing among themselves the purchase of an in-
strument usually know about that time what
their budget for the month's necessities will
be, and a musical instrument being in the na-
ture of a luxury they can make up their minds
as to whether they will purchase or not.
Busiest Months
"On the whole I may say that our busiest
months, outside of the Christmas season, are
September and October and March and April.
During the first two people are settling them-
selves for the Winter and providing for home
entertainment. During the latter two they are
planning for entertainment at their Summer
places, such as country houses, camps and
shore-houses. With each seasonal change of
abode they think of getting new music or they
fancy some new instrument.
"The Summer months are really our dullest
period. Then we turn our attention to pushing
specialties as a means of developing business,
such as cleaning devices for instruments and
special attachments. By this means we also en-
deavor to have our salesmen ascertain what
households are without musical instruments of
any kind and what kind they would like. All
this information is filed and 'prospects' are
listed and worked upon then or at any time.
Tt all helps to get business and get the most
possible out of the dull season."
Harry H. Juelg, manager of the Lexington
Talking Machine Shop, Inc., dealer in general
musical merchandise, firmly believes that the
music business wouldn't be nearly so enormous
a part of the nation's commercial and industrial
life if it were not for all the worst stunts that
Old Boreas, Jupiter Pluvius and Mother Goose
can pull singly or in concert as the unrivaled
joy-killers.
"Why, think of it," he said, "if the stingiest
man that ever made his wife have to ask him
for a dollar to buy herself rouge and lipsticks
with were tied up in his home by a storm for
three nights, and couldn't sit in the little penny-
ante game with the boys, he would be likely to
tell her to step to it if she suggested that a
talking machine or player-piano would be nice
to have in the house on such a night. This
kind of a man would be just that irritated and
uncomfortable at having to sit and talk to his
wife alone on such evenings that he would leap
to the suggestion of something that would
make him forget they were alone. And she—
wouldn't she be tickled at the prospect of not
having to sit and talk to the old bear, but just
turn on the music and let it find its way into
the void where his soul ought to be?
"That's one kind of a home that suddenly
gets filled with the sound of music in the eve-
nings after several rapidly recurring spells of
bad weather. Just think then of the thousands
of other homes that one after another want
music in them, but for happier reasons, when
the weather howls. At least that's the way I
look at it when I see how brisk business gets
after a lot of bad weather."
Killing the Dullness
In addition to joining with other executives
in the view that bad weather and lots of it,
with occasional intervening fair days, makes
business vastly better for the music stores than
would long stretches of good weather, Leo J.
Driscoll, manager of the Peabody Piano Co.,
dealers in general musical lines, expressed the
opinion that the dull period of late Spring and
Summer can be made to yield good business by
the employment of original methods.
"Last year," said Mr. Driscoll, "I hit upon
the idea of using the school teachers of the
entire State to start a campaign for good 'pros-
pects.' Through the Board of Education we
got the names and address of all of them.
We* sent a nice letter to each one and asked
her to accept the accompanying song book as
a little present from us. Then we reminded
her that music is a refiining influence in the
home, and that such a home influence makes
better school children. We concluded by ask-
ing her if she would not, at her convenience and
in her own way, learn which of her pupils'
homes were without musical instruments of
any kind and send us a list of them. Of course
all the teacher had to do was to ask the ques-
tion of the class and have the children whose
hands shot upward give the names and ad-
dresses of their parents.
"The result was we received nearly four hun-
dred lists of such homes. With these we
started salesmen to working each town. The
business we got far exceeded our expectations.
In one small town alone our salesman sold
twenty talking machines right around a local
music store that had been in the business
twenty years. During this campaign we also
secured a considerable number of additional
'prospects' which we are turning into sales from
time to time.
"Really," concluded Mr. Driscoll, "these dull
periods are just fine times to do some vigorous
brain-cudgeling. It is likely to pay."