Music Trade Review

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AUGUST 8,
1925
would be assured of the combined co-operation
of the entire music industry. This co-operation
is absolutely essential to make a success of
such a proposition.
Service
It is with great pride that I report that for
the first time in its history the question of serv-
ice was put on the convention program of the
National Association of Music Merchants. It
was ably presented by one of our members,
Brother Wm. Braid White, and it brought on
a little discussion. Unfortunately, the time
limit was too short to get in a real punch, but
at that one prominent music merchant pro~
claimed, "Well, I guess they are right." We
at least made a good start.
Publicity
It is the earnest hope of your National Of-
ficers that the necessary funds will be forth-
coming to inaugurate a national educational
news campaign and broadcast through the press
of the whole country the nature and care of
the piano. Also to put before piano manufac-
turers and piano merchants an outline of our
plans to make satisfactory, efficient and paying
departments out of the service end of their
business.
Committee on Pitch
. At the final conference, to which all parties
interested in pitch will be invited, and which
probably will be held this Fall, a real standard
pitch will be adopted and firmly anchored for
a number of years. The National Association
of Piano Tuners, which presented the original
resolution, will then receive the commendation
and praise of the entire musical world for the
good thereby accomplished.
In conclusion, fellow members, we have a
wonderful organization, and we have accom-
plished some wonderful things, but there is a
great deal more to be done to bring to fulfill-
ment our ideals. I therefore plead with every
one of you to give us your earnest and faith-
ful assistance and co-operation, not only by
paying your dues promptly, but by personal
effort to induce every competent tuner you
know or come in contact with to become a
member of the National Association of Piano
Tuners, Inc.
Report of the Secretary
W. F. McClellan, secretary and treasurer of
the Association, then presented his annual re-
port which follows:
"Reviewing the activities and achievements
of the N. A. of P. T., for the past twelve
months, it would appear as though the phenom-
enal increase in the number of members through
the membership drive is the greatest single
feature or objective accomplished since the
Milwaukee Convention.
Perhaps we should
consider it as such as we are now well over
500 members stronger to-day than we were
this time last year, an increase of nearly 50
per cent. With the addition of 500 new mem-
bers, the N. A. of P. T. becomes the largest
and strongest (in point of numbers) unit in
the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce,
all of which is without a doubt a source of
great satisfaction and encouragement to the
officers and members in general and to the old
guard in particular who have worked so hard
and done so much for the Association and for
the piano tuning profession.
"However, notwithstanding the fact that such
wonderful progress has been made in the way
of increasing the membership and building up
a strong and powerful organization of qualified
efficient piano tuners throughout the country,
the progress of the Association along other
lines is still more wonderful and of much great-
er importance than the increase in members
and local divisions. And, in order that every
one may understand and appreciate the more
important though less conspicious features of
the progress of the N. A. of P. T., let us
step down and consider the all too glaring fact
that there are a million out-of-tune pianos in
the United States, and while trained and ex-
perienced business prognosticators estimate a
reasonable and possible fifty-million-dollar an-
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
nual turnover business for the piano tuning
fraternity, the fact remains that the piano
tuners of this country, independent and em-
ployed, are dragging down something less than
eight million net, just a little over one-tenth
of the amount the tuning business could be
made to yield, a condition which is due to the
lack of organization on the part of the piano
tuners and the method or policy of misrepre-
sentation of the true facts concerning the na-
young and tender plant which will require the
careful attention of the gardeners for some
time to come at least, as it is only in a few
isolated spots throughout the country that the
business aspect of piano tuning is commencing
to take real effect, for in some sections of the
country piano tuning is as dead as it ever was.
Perhaps the best illustration of the true con-
ditions of piano tuning as it was, and as it still
is in many localities throughout the country,
Chicago Delegation to Tuners' Convention
ture and care of the piano by piano dealers
and salesmen in the past.
"Prior to the inception or beginning of the
Tuners' Association, or even up to as late as
the year 1922, piano tuning was not considered
as a business by piano manufacturers, dealers,
salesmen, the public or even the piano tuners
themselves. Piano tuners were not credited as
business men, neither were they rated or recog-
nized as professional men, and they were not
listed in business or telephone directories.
"Therefore, after considering the light in
which piano tuning was held by the public, and
how it was regarded by the piano trade, not as
a business to be engaged in for profit, but
simply as an accessory to the sale department;
a necessary evil and an expense account, that
must be curtailed and eliminated if possible,
we would ask you to consider the attitude of
the piano trade, wholesale and retail, towards
piano tuning and the piano tuner to-day. Also
consider, if you will, the number of large and
powerful piano concerns throughout the coun-
try which are co-operating with the Tuners'
Association in the important work of educating
the piano-owning public in the nature and care
of the piano and otherwise assisting the N. A.
of P. T. to lift piano tuning out of the dead
issue class, thereby creating a business where
no business existed and furnishing the piano
tuners of the country an opportunity to carry
on their work with a certain degree of assur-
ance that their efforts will yield a reasonable
income with a little profit besides.
"More members of the right kind mean a
stronger and more powerful organization along
with all the advantages and benefits that are to
be obtained through such an organization. But
the co-operation of the piano industry means
the development of the piano tuning business,
which in turn means more tuning orders with
better prices and more money for tuners, inde-
pendent and employed. Taking a broad view
of the piano tuning situation, we find the pros-
pects for the future very encouraging.
"Try to guess how much money will be spent
in connection with this meeting of tuners and
technicians. Then consider, if you will, all the
news and trade paper publicity that has been
given this and other conventions, and the num-
ber of educational news articles that have ap-
peared in newspapers and magazines through-
out the country in the past few years pertain-
ing to the care of the piano and the tuning bus-
iness, and it should not be a very difficult
proposition to get a fairly good idea of the
progress that is being made in the way of
elevating the profession and putting piano tun-
ing on a business basis.
"However, it is well for us to understand
that the new piano tuning business is as a very
came from our old friend William Braid
White, when he said that it did not seem to
make any difference to the piano tuners
whether times were good or bad, whether bus-
iness was good and money plentiful or whether
business was bad and money scarce, the piano
tuners went about their work in the same old
way, doing about the usual amount of tuning
and repairing and the reason for this was that
the piano tuners were working on a hard time
basis all the time. This statement was made
some fifteen years ago, and as it was a true
summing up of conditions at that time, it fits
the situation to a greater or less extent to-day
in many parts of this, the wealthiest and most
prosperous country in the world.
"Nevertheless, we are pleased to report that
in certain localities there seems to be some
improvement as there is a much larger number
of successful independent tuners operating
throughout the country than ever before and,
while tuning prices are ridiculously low and
unprofitable in certain sections of the country,
on the whole it may be truthfully said that
tuning prices have advanced in the last year,
and that fair prices are being maintained in
a number of localities where the Association is
strong and the members active. These same
conditions will apply to the salaried tuners,
as it appears that in a general way there has
been some slight increase in salaries but on
the whole the tuners, as a class of skilled work-
men, are very much underpaid, as the average
income of employed tuners is not as high as
the income of a milk wagon driver and many
other unskilled workers.
The tuners, them-
selves, are to blame for this condition, as the
remedy is at hand, and if the tuners have not
the courage, brains and energy to take ad-
vantage of the opportunity offered them by
the N. A. of P. T., Inc., then they are not
entitled to as much pay as the milk wagon
driver, for the milk wagon driver knows what
he must do in order to make more money, and
does it. When the employed tuners wake up
to the fact that there are certain things to be
done, certain conditions that must be pro-
duced or brought about before they can com-
mence to drag down the salary of a milk wagon
driver, make up their minds to quit their fool-
ishness, join the Association and help to ele-
vate the profession, then and only then can
they expect to receive the pay that a specialized
workman possessing the skill, ability and ex-
perience of a piano tuner should receive.
"To increase the membership of an organiza-
tion such as the N. A. of P. T., Inc., to a figure
somewhere close to five hundred, and do it in
seven or eight months, is a wonderful feat in
itself. To secure the goodwill, co-operation
(Continued on page 16)