Music Trade Review

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JUNE 19, 1926
The Music Trade Review
Kansas City Music Merchants Report
Increased Demand for All Lines Handled
Improved Agricultural Conditions Forecast a Steady Advance—Wurlitzer Co. Moving to New
Warerooms—Kansas City Better Business Bureau Shows Activity
P£ ANSAS CITY, MO., June 12.—The tone of
•^trade in all lines is markedly better during
the past two weeks, with timely sunshine and
lains that again "saved" the crops. The pros-
pects are for very fine agricultural conditions,
which will mean real business almost imme-
diately and then good financial conditions
through the rest of this year. Business has
been so slim in nearly all lines, that everybody
will be making strenuous efforts to keep up
and to regain lost ground. The music dealers
have shown that they are alive, however, and
this trade will not suffer in the scramble. In
Kansas City, the special sales atmosphere in
used instruments continues with two of the big
stores holding special clearances and a third
emphasizing its bargains. The movement is
said to have been very satisfactory, which means
the getting out of the way of a large quantity
of used merchandise, in pianos, grands and play-
ers, for the big effort on the regular lines.
The Wurlitzer Co. has practically closed its
former headquarters on McGee street, having
moved its pianos and players, and the miscel-
laneous furniture such as benches, etc., to the
big building on Grand avenue. Plans for re-
modeling the Grand avenue store are not yet
completed, but the merchandise from the Mc-
Gee street store has been given place pending
the final arrangements. It is clearing its stocks,
both new and used, with satisfactory progress,
it is reported, which it will not carry regularly
in the future. No announcement of its pro-
gram has been made, however.
One of the events in entertainment circles the
past week was the opening of a new theatre, the
Madrid, in a close-in suburban business district.
A feature of the theatre is the Wurlitzer unit
organ of the same type as in some of the
largest theatres of the country. One of these
Wurlitzers is also in the Newman theatre here.
The Better Business Bureau of the Kansas
City Advertising Club has an office and in-
vestigating force now that enables it to give
very extensive service to the public—which
means also service to the legitimate merchants.
The Bureau is hammering to cure the evil of
exaggerated statements, especially in connec-
tion with comparative prices. The several sales
in the music business, now in progress, would
seem to offer a pretty good test as to the com-
pliance of the music dealers with modern ad-
vertising ethics. And it can be said that no
complaints have been made about any of the
regular merchants in this line. This is really a
high compliment, because the Bureau is on the
job, both to detect possible mis-statements and
investigate and to listen to complaints by any
customers or shoppers. It appears quite posi-
tive that in these sales the dealers are stating
the exact truth about the former values of the
instruments. Evidently the public, which has
grown instructed in detecting improper adver-
tising, has full confidence in the merchants
since the advertising is being responded to so
generously, considering the general conditions.
The Bureau, besides standing ready to help in
securing correction of mis-statements and to
help customers secure equity if they should
consider themselves mistreated, also answers
many questions regarding the reliability of mer-
chants and their practice with reference to ad-
vertising. One other thing of direct help to the
music merchants the bureau does: This is to run
down suspicious advertisements in the classified
columns, offering pianos "because we have to
move." The private sale of this kind which is
not genuine, becomes the quarry of the investi-
gators who consider this means of illegitimate
trade.
A straw to show which way the wind may
blow is pointed to by one piano man. He re-
ports that residence property, in Kansas City,
has steadied in value quite materially during the
past few months. The data is not at hand to
show whether this means an overbuilt condi-
tion; but it is said to be the case that many
people who have been getting by in apartments
for several years are now looking at houses^
and expect to buy. If this tendency really does
become definite, piano salesmen expect a sub-
stantially improved field in which to work, for
they will find people settled in homes, and so
ready to install permanent equipment. The
.steadying of the market for houses and for
apartments will be a help all around, since the
flat dwellers will be more sure of their tenure,
at lower rentals, and so will not hope to find
something else cheaper and move.
Several
specific cases are cited, suggesting the presence
of many more, of men with families now living
in apartments who expect to buy homes for one
to three thousand dollars less than they had
originally expected to pay and one can guess
what they will do with the money "saved." They
already have motor cars.
Whatever the jazzy modern music has done
to musical appreciation, it has, at any rate,
stimulated the desire of young people to play
the piano. Here, as in etfery city, there are
large numbers of boys and girls who quit their
lessons before learning to play well. And many
of these are now regretting the neglect and are
practicing up, or even resuming their lessons.
They are doing this so that they can play some
of the popular music passably well. The boy
or girl who "used to take lessons," but doesn't
play now, suffers little embarrassment when
asked to play; he simply says he doesn't. And
if he has little taste for music, he never or
seldom tries to play when by himself, or in the
"bosom of his family." But things are different
now that popular pieces are so widely popular.
These boys and girls get the airs into their
heads, they express desire for the pieces—even,
if folks won't buy them, borrow the sheets.
And they try to play them. More and more, the
young person is "out of it" if he or she, hav-
ing had any music at all, can't play these popu-
lar pieces, taking their turn with the others at
the piano.
The silver jubilee convention of the banjoists,
mandolinists and guitarists has not appreciably
speeded up sales in these instruments in Kansas
City. Yet no immediate result in sales was
expected. The effect will, however, be felt this
Summer, it is certain, and when Fall comes a
pronounced addition to the numbers selecting
these instruments is promised. The J. W. Jen
kins Sons' Music Co. is continuing in its win-
dows a display of some of the lines it carries
at retail, and it distributes wholesale in the
territory. This and other means of following
up the publicity of the convention are keeping
the subject alive, and making the ideas concrete
regarding the desirability of these instruments
in the minds of the people and of the buying
public.
Eliminations Complete in the Piano
Playing Contest of Detroit Merchants
Finals to Be Held in Large Hall During the Annual Convention of the Michigan Music Mer-
chants' Association in August—Large Delegation Attends National Meeting
r \ ETROIT, MICH., June 15.—Now that the
^"^ eliminations are all over with in the Piano
Playing Contest dealers can get back to regular
routine and devote their efforts to selling. The
finals in the contest will take place at some large
assembly hall during the convention of the
Michigan Music Merchants' Association in Au-
gust.
Herb Cameron, sales manager of the Starr
Piano Co.'s Detroit store on Broadway, informs
us that business is improving. "We have to
fight hard for it, but we are getting it," he re-
marked. "This is the. time of the year when
people lay off—and even if they want a piano
the hot weather gets them to postpone it for
a later date. But if your selling force keeps
after these people in the right way sales arc
certain to result. We are pounding away just
as if it was holiday time. We want our pros-
pects to know that we are out to sell pianos,
so even if they do put us off we are going to
have the first chance later. Most of our sales
right now are on upright players. Earlier in
the year we were finding the greatest call on
the baby grand. Around the holidays the grand
is always in greatest favor."
Those who attended the New York convention
of the Music Trades are back in the city; they
include C. A. Grinnell, A. H. Howes, Jay Grin-
nell, Frank Bayley and others. We believe the
convention will do a lot of good in bringing
the Detroit retailers closer together, although
they have been on a more friendly basis the past
Winter than ever before. There is plenty of
work to be done by the local organization for
the development of the industry. As Frank
Bayley says, "We can always be doing some-
thing." But he feels that it is not fair for some
of the dealers to pile all the work on a few who
are willing to work while they sit back and get
the benefits.
Jerome H. Remick has been re-elected chair-
man of the executive committee of the Detroit
Symphony Society for the coming season. This
is the organization that backs the Detroit Sym-
phony Orchestra .of which Ossip Gabrilowitsch
is the conductor.
S. E. Clark, general manager of Grinnell
Bros., who has been sojourning along the Medi-
terranean for the past two months, is expected
to arrive in New York this week. Mr. Clark
took this trip instead of spending the Winter in
St. Petersburg, which has been his usual cus-
tom.
Grinnell Bros, are conducting a special sale
during June on their own make of pianos, play-
ers, etc., calling it Grinnell Bros. Piano Month,
to celebrate the twenty-eighth year that they
have been manufacturing. A sign in their win-
dow says that they have sold over 300 to
schools, public and parochial, and conserva-
tories.
To Enlarge Gorsuch Store
SPRINGFIELD, O., June 11. — Announcement is
made that the Gorsuch's music store, in the
Arcade, will enlarge and add new lines within
the near future. Alterations to the store in-
terior as well as improvements to the front of
the store will be made. More floor space will
be available under the new arrangement and
larger talking machine and small goods depart-
ments are planned. Work on enlarging the
store will start within the next month.
Suffers Loss by Fire
NEW ORLEANS, LA., June 14.—Fire in the ware-
house of Philip Werlein, Ltd., at 531 Bienville
street, June 3, destroyed a number of cus-
tomers' pianos in storage, a number of second-
hand pianos belonging to the store, a stock of
new Orthophonic instruments and records and
player-piano rolls. So far no complete inventory
of destroyed stock and stored instruments has
been made.