Music Trade Review

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Answering the Question "What's the
Matter With the Piano?"
C. F. Cowan of the Hockett-Cowan Music Co., Fresno, Cal., and E. Bennett Fox Chicago Retail Music Mer-
chant, Contribute to the Discussion — See Need for Greater Degree of Support and Co-
operation From Manufacturers — Eleven Things Needed to Remedy the Present Situation
T
H E question of "What is the matter with
the piano trade" that has been asked so
frequently and insistently by The Review
in recent months has been successful in stirring
up the retailers of the country, as well as the
manufacturers, to a point where earnest consid-
eration is being given to the actual situation in
the industry, what it signifies and how it can be
improved.
Not so long ago it was the custom for piano
men to endeavor to hide the real trade condi-
tions, being apparently fearful of arousing criti-
cism if they talked frankly about a situation that
was very real and not at all visionary. There is
no question but that this centering of thought
on the problem of trade development is bound
to have a beneficial effect.
That the retailers are really in earnest in
their efforts to find ways and means for increas-
ing the piano market in a legitimate manner is
evidenced by the numerous letters being re-
ceived by The Review in commendation of its
editorial policy in the matter of throwing light
on conditions as they actually exist. Some few
merchants disagree with us in the matter of de-
tail, but in the principle of the thing they are all
of one accord.
C. F. Cowan, of the Hockett-Cowan Music
Co., Fresno, Cal., in a recent letter to The Re-
view, offers some interesting comments on what
the trade really needs. He says:
Unification of Effort Necessary
"The writer has been exceedingly interested
in your articles on the present condition of the
piano market. Your articles indicate a careful
study of the situation and I agree fundamentally
with your conclusions. However, it seems to
me that your proposed remedy starts from en-
tirely the wrong end of the industry and, per-
sonally, I cannot see where any great advance-
ment will ever be made if the pressure is con-
tinued in that direction only.
"While undoubtedly the retailer should co-
operate fully in every effort to put the piano in-
dustry back in the place it belongs, the prime
move and the greatest effort should be from a
more unified control. That is, the manufacturers.
"The only way we can get away from theory
is to find parallels. For this purpose, it is well
to take any business or merchandise that has at-
tained any large standing nationally and as far
as I can observe the largest efforts are by the
manufacturers. Of course, advertising is the
great key to distribution and by referring to
national advertising you will find that manu-
facturers of automobiles, radios, home conven-
iences, including vacuum cleaners and washers,
and even insurance companies, are the large ad-
vertisers and are the ones who have received a
large part of the public's money.
"The piano retailer is too scattered and va-
rious minded to assume the leadership needed
in the present movement. That he will back a
manufacturer's effort is shown in the few lines
that have dared national publicity. For instance,
the Ampico, Gulbransen, Victrola and Atwater
Kent. We believe you will find that any careful
check of local advertising on these lines will
show a great preponderance over any lines not
nationally advertised, which will confirm my
stand.
"This may not appear to be in accord with
the manufacturers' interests, but in a large way
it certainly must be, if it is in the interests of
the retailer, for in this business these two inter-
ests appear to me inseparable from each other.
"I will certainly appreciate your consideration
of the phase of the situation given in this letter
and if there is a logical argument against it I
am sure that other retailers than ourselves will
be very much interested in learning the same."
Some Logical Remedies Suggested
Another retailer who has seen fit to give
earnest thought to the matter and to express his
opinion thereon is E. Bennett Fox, for a num-
ber of years a piano traveler and retail manager,
and at present operating a music store in Chi-
cago. Mr. Fox has some valuable suggestions
to offer on the broad subject of bettering the
piano market and says:
"There is a great deal being written to-day
on 'What is the matter with the piano trade.'
There are many meritorious articles coming
from your own pen and those of others in the
trade, but it seems to me that there are two or
three points that are being passed over and
though I do not set myself up as an oracle I am
adding my bit, trusting it will help some.
"Though money causes have been blamed for
the inertia in buying chiefly automobiles and
radio, the principal reason is a general decline
in prices as I see it, no doubt, coming from
other causes.
"Though many remedies are spoken of I
think the list below might possibly draw some
thought:
"1. Greater national publicity.
"2. Greater local publicity.
"3. Emphasizing piano education among pub-
lic.
"A. Piano education of children.
"5. Greater number of piano concerts.
"6. Greater publicityon reproducers and their
reduction in price.
"7. Recital halls and studios in piano ware-
raoms.
"8. Better window displays.
"9. Improvement in player rolls—less jazz.
"10. Emphasizing trading in old pianos.
"11. Last, and chiefly, real hard training of
salesmen.
"I am one of those optimistic souls who can-
not be made to believe that the piano business
has gone to the damnation bow-wows. Noi
can I lay the blame at the door of the retail
trade. True, many methods used are pretty bad,
but then we younger men in the trade cannot
hark back twenty-five years and compare the
methods of those days with present methods.
Though we seem prone to lay the blame on the
retail trade we all have to admit that it is an
increasingly hard fight to interest prospects in
the piano. The call of both automobile and
radio is much stronger than any we have ever
had in pianos. The pleasure of being able to
drive anywhere you want to, or tuning in on the
South Pole or any sort of a local talk or con-
cert you want is a strong competitor for us.
"The love of music is deeper in many for-
eigners, Latins particularly, than in us Ameri-
cans. The thrill in us is of a different sort and
hard to overcome. Of course many of us are
given to sitting around cogitating over how rot-
ten business is. This attitude is no new one.
Wasn't it ever thus? Were we ever satisfied
with results? The problem has taken a differ-
ent turn and we of the piano trade, in a body,
must change and improve our methods.
"The efforts of Dr. Spaeth and Alex MacDon-
ald are excellent and sure to bear fruit as are
also those of the great reproducer manufactur-
ers, and the Gulbransen Co. and others.
"The national publicity methods used by au-
tomobile and radio manufacturers would be of
great assistance, but the size of the profits in
our manufacturing and retailing makes this seem-
ingly prohibitive. As stated above, I claim to
be no physician to our trade; these are simply
the meditations of an humble observer, who has
seen the game played in both branches of the
trade. I absolutely refuse to believe that 'taps'
has been sounded or ever will be sounded for
the piano. Our truly glorious instrument of
the immortals will rise to greater heights than
ever before—only we of the trade to-day hope
to see this ere we are toddling 'round on
crutches and wheel chairs."
The letters quoted, together with others re-
ceived, indicate that retailers are not accepting
this campaign for better business as simply a
flash in the pan, but are considering it as an
earnest endeavor to improve their own condi-
tions, by increasing the turnover of pianos and
thereby increasing directly the net profits of
the individual dealer.
Ampico in Music Memory
Contest in Massachusetts
Instrument Used for Playing Test Selections in
Contest Sponsored by State Federation of
Women's Clubs
A Music Memory Contest for the State of
Massachusetts, sponsored by the Music Com-
mittee of the Massachusetts State Federation of
Women's Clubs, was held in Horticultural Hall,
Boston, on April 13.
Last November a list of fifty standard com-
positions was sent to the music chairman of
every club in the State, asking that the school
children under sixteen years of age be made
familiar with these compositions preparatory to
this Music Memory Contest.
One of the outstanding features was the fact
that nearly all of the fifty compositions chosen
for this contest were available on the Ampico.
In this contest there were twenty-nine entries.
The examination consisted of a selection of
twelve of the fifty prescribed numbers. These
were played by the Ampico and in some in-
stances were accompanied by soloists—includ-
ing voice, violin and 'cello. After listening to
the composition the student was required to
write the name, source and type of the compo-
sition and the name and nationality of the com-
poser. The following compositions were played:
1. Prelude, Rachmaninoff; 2. Morning, Grieg
(violin); 3. Song of India, Rimsky-Korsakoff;
4. Hungarian Dance 5, Brahms; 5. Minuet,
Beethoven; 6. The Swan, Saint-Saens; 7. To a
Water Lily, MacDowell; 8. Polonaise Militaire,
Chopin; 9. March Slav, Tschaikowsky; 10. Aida,
Verdi; 11. Rosamunde; 12 Kammenoi-Ostrow,
Rubinstein.
The Ampico in the Chickering used on this
occasion was supplied by the Chickering Ware-
rooms in Boston.
The two-story brick building at 1344 South
Flower street, Los Angeles, Cal., has been pur-
chased recently by the Starr Piano Co., which
will open an up-to-date music store there in the
near future.