Music Trade Review

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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
JULY 4, 1925
A. L. LaMotte Discusses the Player—(Gont. from page 3)
poisoning -the minds of his entire circle of
friends agaitut the player-piano.
So, you see that in the great desire to force
business these houses .have failed to deiiver
musicur.sa'iigfact'ion and.By. so doing have de-
stroy eil fhc^ fevtiiity. of iWc .rield in whi^h the
instrument wa?- sold.
Just picture- to.yourself for a moment what a
hopeless thing it is ior us to expect continued
growth in the player-piano field when we are
making no effort whatsoever to cultivate the de-
sire for good music in the customers who have
already purchased. It is just like picking fruit
from the trees green, advertising it as sweet
and luscious, and delivering it to customers who,
we know, are sure to find only bitterness.
The solution to profit-making from the inex-
pensive player (which is, after all, our most
fertile field) could more easily be solved if it
were possible for all those engaged in the sale
of these instruments to see the possibilities of
building up rather than tearing down. To sell
these instruments as musical instruments, to
base our appeal entirely from the standpoint of
music—let the price and terms be simply inci-
dentals in the completion of the transaction.
The big thing before our trade to-day, if we
are going to continue in public favor, is to sell
music—that is what we are selling, not furni-
ture, not rolls, not benches, not scarfs, not piano
lamps, not strings, felt and wood, but music.
If every salesman, every store and every adver-
tising man would always think in terms of mu-
sic, the one great thing which we have to offer,
the one thing of which the people never tire,
the one thing that will endure long after we
are all gone, then and only then will we be
building for the future.
has arranged a series of entertaining as well
as educational concerts for the Stieff repro-
Let the stores that think the only way to ducers, which will include prominent vocal
Miss Betty Spencer, the talented
supply the demand for players is to buy some artists.
cheap thing mark it high, cut it down in spe- daughter of the manager of the Philadelphia
cial sale, face about and try selling a higher branch, who recently gave several recitals at
the Stieff store, is now touring Europe.
grade of merchandise at an honest margin of
Among the larger dealers in this city who
profit, giving the people exactly what they pay
for, but letting their selling appeal be entirely have made preparations for a vigorous Summer
from the standpoint of music. Pledge that no campaign in the outlying territory is the Wur-
one will ever buy a player-piano who is not litzer Co., Eleventh and Chestnut streets, under
taught to operate it and operate it musically. the direction of Manager Cassell. There has
Take the money which the free rolls and free been added to the Summer forces an organiza-
cabinets and free bench have cost and put that tion of twenty men who will act as canvassers
money into the services of a capable man who for the various towns and cities where the
will make return calls upon every player owner, drives will be centered. The work will be qon-
for the purpose of instructing that owner in the ducted by crews working in conjunction with
proper use of the instrument—then you will be the salesmen assigned to the various places and
doing constructive work and will be legitimately who will offer the Wurlitzer instruments from
entitled to expect public approval, enthusiasm the piano and talking machine, radio and other
and continued patronage.
departments of the local branches.
What to Expect
New models of the Kranich & Bach in the
What right has any house to expect popular period styles now are being displayed at the
demand for any article sold as the player-piano salesrooms of G. Herzberg & Son, 2042 Chest-
has been sold during the last few years? You nut street. Among the very latest models are
can't fool all the people all the time. Any trans- the Queen Anne, Oriental, Cordovan, Louis XV
action, in order to be successful, must be profit- and William and Mary periods. The Herzberg
able to both parties. Surely we cannot justify firm has been disposing of a considerable number
ourselves in selling player pianos from any of the period styles during the past Winter and
other standpoint than the standpoint of music. the newest group has been much admired by
Salesmen must be taught to talk music, think the visiting patrons to the piano headquarters
music and sell music and every house should of the Kranich & Bach representatives in this
feel it their responsibility to see that every city.
owner of a player-piano is capable of deriving
Baron's Music Shop, Thirty-first and Berks
from their instrument all the music which it streets, just has added to its sheet music de-
possesses.
partment a complete line of the Century Edi-
Let us, therefore, in selling player-pianos, de- tion. The new music stock has been installed
vote ourselves to selling the real, enduring thing in the enlarged section of the reconstructed
that everybody wants—music. Let us forget store devoted to the sales of musical publica-
everything but that one great appeal.
tions.
Philadelphia Dealers Conduct Sales
New Members of the
Sonora Directorate
Drives in Territory About that City
Report That Preliminary Summer Sales Campaigns Have Sfeen Fairly Successful—W. H. Neilan
New Starck Manager—New Period Kranich & Bach-r Models Meet With Favor
P H I L A D E L P H I A , PA., June 29.—The music
trade is in the Summertime resting period
with but little activity centered in the city
stores. A few of the larger central city dealers
have been moving a limited number of the high-
er priced grands, but most of the other types
of instruments in the piano group are inactive.
With the city trade lagging in the dog-day
doldrums, the piano dealers are concentrating
on the outlying districts for their sales results
and most of the stores have assigned the work-
ers to drives in the larger towns adjacent to
the city and even as far away as the coal re-
gions and inland sections of the State. The
preliminary Summer sale drives in the out-of-
town sections have been fairly successful. It
is, however, only with much effort and per-
sistency that orders are landed.
Musical instruments generally are quieter ex-
cept for the string merchandise adapted for
amateurs such as ukuleles and banjo ukuleles.
Harmonica sales continue to be as popular as
they have been for the past few months among
the juvenile population-, whose interest has been
aroused by the Springtime contests and their
publicity.
Through the retirement of Lamar Ellis from
the management of the local store of the P. A.
Starck Piano Co., 1125 Chestnut street, William
H. Neilan becomes general manager of the
Philadelphia branch. For.the past year, Man-
ager Neilan has been assistant to former Man-
ager Ellis. With the appointment of the new
manager, D. F. Sweeney, who for the past year
has been credit manager of the Philadelphia
store, becomes assistant manager. He will con-
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tinue to act as credit manager, combining the
duties of both departments. Former Manager
Ellis, who joined the Philadelphia branch upon
its opening a little over two years ago, has
severed his connection with the Starck Co. and
has returned to his home in Detroit.
Branch store Manager George P. Boyd of
the F. A. North Co., 1306 Chestnut street, was
the guest of honor at a birthday celebration
given in his .behalf by Frank Rittenhouse, of
the Amboy Paper Co., on his farm in Riegels-
ville, Pa., during the week. The celebration fol-
lowed the homeward journey of Manager Boyd,
who has been touring the North branches in
Altoona, where Manager B. H. Best supervises
the local territory. The new store of the Les-
ter piano chain which recently was opened in
Coalport, Pa., and which comes under the man-
agement of the Johnstown branch, is meeting
with successful initial sales.
David Jacobs, head of the Knabe Warerooms,
1020 Walnut street, who has been spending the
past two weeks in Chicago, Columbus and
Cleveland, is again at headquarters. Going to
the convention in Chicago before touring the
other Great Lake points, he later called on
friends and business associates including Sol
Gold of the Goldsmith Music Co., Columbus,
and M. O. Mathis, of Cleveland, who handles
the Knabe and Mason & Hamlin pianos.
Weekly concerts and recitals are being held
in the Stieff Welte-Mignon concert hall of the
new home of the Charles M. Stieff, Inc., Com-
pany at 1717 Chestnut street. These will be
held throughout the entire Summer months and
Manager James A. Spencer, of the local branch,
Frank V. Goodman, and Warren J. Keyes, Sales
Manager and Treasurer, Now Members of
the Board
At the last meeting of the stockholders
of the Sonora Phonograph Co., Inc., New York,
Frank V. Goodman, sales manager, and War-
ren J. Keyes, treasurer, were elected to mem-
bership in the board of directors. Announce-
ments of these appointments was received with
pleasure by Sonora dealers throughout the
country as both executives are well known to
the Sonora organization and are popular
throughout the trade.
Mr. Goodman is one of the foremost sales
executives in the country and' has a host of
dealer and jobber friends throughout the trade.
It is due in large measure to his activities that
the Sonora organization is on an exceptionally
sound and profitable basis.
New Western Tonk Head
Los ANGELES, CAL., June 26.—C. E. Patterson
has been appointed manager of the newly or-
ganized Western branch of the Tonk Manufac-
turing Co., Chicago, maker of Tonk benches.
Mr. Patterson was formerly with the M. E.
McCreery Co., here prior to the sale of this
plant to the Tonk interests. The new branch
will soon be in running order in a modern fac-
tory at 4627 East Fiftieth street, this city, and
will operate as an independent unit, serving the
Pacific Coast, Mexico, Hawaii, and as far East
as Salt Lake City and El Paso:
Consult the Universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
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