Music Trade Review

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REVIEW
THE
VOL. LXXXIV. No. 4
Piblished Every Saturday. Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y., Jan. 22, 1927
8In
*{I. 0c0 °C &£••*•
John S. Caldwell
Educates the Parent Mind, Too
Vice-President and Manager of the J. R. Reed Music Co.,
Austin, Tex., Doesn't Forget the Adult Prospect for the
Piano—A Massed Grand Concert That Made Sales for Him
kDUCATE the parent mind; then you out into the rural sections surrounding the city.
A crowd, far larger than expected, attended
may expect to sell grand pianos and a
better class of music," according to the massed piano concert, many of them being
John S. Caldwell, vice-president and active man- out-of-town prospects. Naturally this occasion
ager of the J. R. Reed Music Co., of Austin, called for a higher-class program than usual.
This music, coming from the source that it
Tex.
Judging from results in the way of increased did, had an appealing force. The entire affair
business in his own firm, Mr. Cald-
well speaks with first-hand knowl-
edge and authority. Mr. Caldwell
uses a number of successful meth-
ods in getting his idea across to
the parent mind, but probably the
one thing that has been largely
responsible for the greater amount
of piano and similar sales was the
use of a massed piano concert,
which placed the parents in a buy-
ing attitude.
Through cooperation with a
number of local musicians, and
more especially Professor William
Rudolph and Miss Willie Stevens,
superintendent of the music de-
partment of Austin schools, Mr.
Caldwell recently conducted a
massed piano concert that won
wide distinction. Ten grand pianos
were used in this concert, which
represented a total valuation of over
twelve thousand dollars. It was
an easy matter to make arrange-
ments for the largest theatre of the
city to stage this concert, as the
theatre manager is quick to take
The Reed Music Co. Grand Piano Massed Concert
advantage of such drawing cards
as will bring large crowds to his playhouse. had been planned in order to reach the parent
The stage setting made it possible for all the mind. It was seen too that many of the parents
pianos to show at their best and it further added were there to receive this education.
to the interest of the event.
Teaching by example was the outcome of
A great deal of training and personal super- this concert. The prospects were followed up
vision was given to the players who took part in an indirect way. Salesmen did not rush
in the concert. Special invitations were sent out and insist on dragging in the prospects,
a number of prospects over the territory, who as this would have convinced them that the
were listed as possible prospects for grand concert was merely an advertising scheme and
pianos and such musical instruments. The the educational values would have been lost;
entire public was reached through newspaper but, on the other hand, in an indirect way the
advertising and telephone calls that extended prospects were soon approached, and as thov
E
had seen for themselves the intrinsic value of
the classical music, they were ready to talk
business, that led to the sale of many pianos
and other musical instruments.
A follow-up of this event was made by send-
ing out a small magazine that discussed various
advantages of music and further gave items of
current news pertaining to music.
This magazine reaches only a se-
lected number of prospects, while
from time to time other prospects
are added to the subscription list.
Parents who have children, but do
not have them in a school of mu-
sic or do not have musical instru-
ments in their homes, are the ones
that Mr. Caldwell attempts to reach
with this small publication.
As a direct result of this special
effort to educate the parent mind
of his city, Mr. Caldwell shows
where the Reed Co.'s sales in grand
pianos were immediately increased
after the massed concert, while in
an indirect way the entire cam-
paign has meant a larger list of
customers and prospects.
The massed piano concert idea
and the other plans carried out by
J. R. Reed Music Co. for the pur-
pose of interesting the grown-ups
in the piano and piano music does
not in any sense serve to minimize
the interest of the company in the
movements on foot for having the
piano appeal to the youngsters in
the schools through the medium of group piano
instruction and other methods. This work is
considered essential in building up a worth-
while field for future piano sales, but it is like-
wise realized that the retail piano business must
be stimulated to-day.
It has been the experience of the Reed Music
Co. that there are many prospective piano pur-
chasers who have never had the proper appeal
made to them and that when they are s once
interested by one means or another are appre-
ciative and quick to buy.