Presto
Issue: 1920 1751 - Page 7
PRESTO
February 12, 1920.
results of the actual contact of genius—the red-hot sparks from the
anvil of inspiration. Nor is this the only great attainment of music
roll production in its highest, almost miraculous development.
It was true, a few years ago, that the player rolls were "cut from
printed or manuscript notes." Many of them are still so made. But
today the most inspirational or casual improvisations of the creative
pianist may be recorded in the music rolls direct, to be repeated again
just as the player sent them forth. It is even said that some of the
great song "hits" of recent publication were first recorded by the re-
producing piano.
It is clear to anyone who has knowledge of such things, that
often the very best work of the melodist and composer has been
lost before the fleeting inspiration could be chained by pen and paper.
So that to any musician who has also the creative gift, the possibili-
ties of the modern music roll are easily conceivable. And it is equally
clear that the musical world of the future will owe a debt beyond
computation to the genius of the present which has made the music
roll and its permanent results a part of the everyday life.
And yet, and nevertheless, the article of last week, on "Music
Store Changes," was in the main accurate. It displayed no lack of
understanding more serious than a somewhat unhappy mode of
expression at the point where player music roll cutting was referred
to.
JUST THE SAME IN THE PIANO TRADE
IN TIMES AHEAD
Let us take a look into the future. For a long time to come it
will be customary to tell of the past four years, and conditions in
trade as they now exist will be the basis of warning, exclamation and
comparison. But what of the future with respect to what it may
bring to the piano and kindred industries and trades?
So far as concerns the immediate future, nothing could be more
significant than the kind of comment that followed the publication
of Mr. C. G. Steger's announcement that there would be no further
advance in the prices of the products of the industry of which he is
the head. As might have been anticipated, adverse criticism of Mr.
Steger's article was frequent among piano manufacturers and travel-
ing salesmen. On the other hand, members of the retail trade were
warm in praise of the piano manufacturer's attitude. And why this
was so is clear enough. On one side was the fear that conditions
might force an advance, while on the other was the satisfactory assur-
ance, or intimation, that there already existed a sufficient margin of
profit for the protection of the factory end of it.
Consequently, Mr. Steger was the object of both criticism and
commendation. And in that alone what he said must have accom-
plished a good purpose. For it is what makes men think that exerts
influence, and the piano trade needs the stimulus of intellectual shock
to keep it alert and progressive.
Nor are the critics of Mr. Steger justified in attributing specially
selfish motives to what he said. It may be that the somewhat un-
usually frank declarations set forth may have a tendency to bring a
deeper kind of attention among dealers than the ordinary interview,
or discussion, could induce. But that fact doesn't, in itself, suggest
anything less than the utmost sincerity.
It has been said, by more than one letter-writer to Presto, that
Mr. Steger's article will make it more difficult for salesmen to apply
increased prices to customers who have been paying too little. We
fail to see the force of the argument. The piano trade is not unlike
other lines in the fundamentals. If a piano has been selling at whole-
sale for prices too low, the dealer is the very one who knows it. If
he is at all equipped to do the piano business successfully, he knows
when he is paying too little, and he very rarely pays too much. The
small margin of manufacturer's profit has been responsible for the
unsatisfactory condition of the piano business during all of the past
twenty years.
When the manufacturers were openly declaring that they were
selling on a margin of $5, the retailers were likewise making little or
no money. They came to regard the piano as an article of ordinary
commerce and sold it just as the grocer sold flour, sugar, or other
perishables. And the idea of cheapness was passed along to the
public, until it was common for a prospect to boldly offer to "pay the
cash" if he could buy at cost! And, not infrequently, the dealer was
foolish enough to show his bills to convince the customer of the sacri-
fice, and to invoke the utmost "confidence"—which was, of course,
violated before noon the next day!
The future will be the better because the prices have been forced
up. It is the tonic of bitter taste to the run-down constitution. And
should the producing cost of pianos soon begin to decline, it is to be
"•.V '^• r '*''*tr%." l s\
'"'•' ;•'-<"•»'- V ^^"'ii'^^'r^'''-'" 1 ;.-'--^''^^*^-^^^
m
'Now, gentlemen, when a customer kicks on the price of an article
don't forget our slogan: 'The next lot will be higher.' "
—The Milwaukee Sentinel.
hoped that the manufacturers will not hasten to tell the dealers, and
that when the dealers do find it out, they will forget to impart the
sweet wisdom to the public.
The future of the piano business is in the hands of the present.
We hope that the time will never again come when the men who
make the piano business will also be the ones to work its ruin, or
nearly 1 that. High prices in the essentials of life just now work hard-
ship. But in the piano business the increase prevents the elements of
betterment in the future. The dignity of the instrument is, in a meas-
ure, restored and the methods of the business have been proportion-
ately elevated. Let's keep it that way.
BAD FOR BRITAIN
The unreasoning demands of labor have brought a great loss
to the musical interests of Great Britain. As a result of the great
increase in the cost of labor, and the even greater reduction in the
amount of work done, one of England's greatest and oldest piano
industries has suspended and threatens to remain closed for all time
to come.
Following the statement that it now requires 26 high-priced
workers to produce a piano once created by six low-priced workers,
the house of Brinsmead of London has declared its purpose to quit.
The impossibility of manufacturing high-grade; pianos at a profit was
given as the cause of suspension. And so fades out the fame and
the experience of nearly a hundred years in the British piano industry.
The house of John Brinsmead & Sons was founded in 1836. The
Brinsmead piano has been regarded as/ one of the most representative
in all Europe, and vied with the Broadwood in its claims upon the
attention of great pianists. It has sold for good prices, and there was
a time when it had some sale on this side of the Atlantic. When
there was a serious attempt to form a "trust" of pianos in this country,
and the Steinways held out, there were two or three foreign instru-
ments considered with a view to their establishing American factories
for purposes of the "trust." One of them was the Brinsmead, and
another was the Bechstein. The latter had been about settled upon
when the "trust" blew up.
Is there any possibility of the Brinsmead incident having a coun-
terpart in the United States? We do not think so. Improved meth-
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
February 12, 1920.
results of the actual contact of genius—the red-hot sparks from the
anvil of inspiration. Nor is this the only great attainment of music
roll production in its highest, almost miraculous development.
It was true, a few years ago, that the player rolls were "cut from
printed or manuscript notes." Many of them are still so made. But
today the most inspirational or casual improvisations of the creative
pianist may be recorded in the music rolls direct, to be repeated again
just as the player sent them forth. It is even said that some of the
great song "hits" of recent publication were first recorded by the re-
producing piano.
It is clear to anyone who has knowledge of such things, that
often the very best work of the melodist and composer has been
lost before the fleeting inspiration could be chained by pen and paper.
So that to any musician who has also the creative gift, the possibili-
ties of the modern music roll are easily conceivable. And it is equally
clear that the musical world of the future will owe a debt beyond
computation to the genius of the present which has made the music
roll and its permanent results a part of the everyday life.
And yet, and nevertheless, the article of last week, on "Music
Store Changes," was in the main accurate. It displayed no lack of
understanding more serious than a somewhat unhappy mode of
expression at the point where player music roll cutting was referred
to.
JUST THE SAME IN THE PIANO TRADE
IN TIMES AHEAD
Let us take a look into the future. For a long time to come it
will be customary to tell of the past four years, and conditions in
trade as they now exist will be the basis of warning, exclamation and
comparison. But what of the future with respect to what it may
bring to the piano and kindred industries and trades?
So far as concerns the immediate future, nothing could be more
significant than the kind of comment that followed the publication
of Mr. C. G. Steger's announcement that there would be no further
advance in the prices of the products of the industry of which he is
the head. As might have been anticipated, adverse criticism of Mr.
Steger's article was frequent among piano manufacturers and travel-
ing salesmen. On the other hand, members of the retail trade were
warm in praise of the piano manufacturer's attitude. And why this
was so is clear enough. On one side was the fear that conditions
might force an advance, while on the other was the satisfactory assur-
ance, or intimation, that there already existed a sufficient margin of
profit for the protection of the factory end of it.
Consequently, Mr. Steger was the object of both criticism and
commendation. And in that alone what he said must have accom-
plished a good purpose. For it is what makes men think that exerts
influence, and the piano trade needs the stimulus of intellectual shock
to keep it alert and progressive.
Nor are the critics of Mr. Steger justified in attributing specially
selfish motives to what he said. It may be that the somewhat un-
usually frank declarations set forth may have a tendency to bring a
deeper kind of attention among dealers than the ordinary interview,
or discussion, could induce. But that fact doesn't, in itself, suggest
anything less than the utmost sincerity.
It has been said, by more than one letter-writer to Presto, that
Mr. Steger's article will make it more difficult for salesmen to apply
increased prices to customers who have been paying too little. We
fail to see the force of the argument. The piano trade is not unlike
other lines in the fundamentals. If a piano has been selling at whole-
sale for prices too low, the dealer is the very one who knows it. If
he is at all equipped to do the piano business successfully, he knows
when he is paying too little, and he very rarely pays too much. The
small margin of manufacturer's profit has been responsible for the
unsatisfactory condition of the piano business during all of the past
twenty years.
When the manufacturers were openly declaring that they were
selling on a margin of $5, the retailers were likewise making little or
no money. They came to regard the piano as an article of ordinary
commerce and sold it just as the grocer sold flour, sugar, or other
perishables. And the idea of cheapness was passed along to the
public, until it was common for a prospect to boldly offer to "pay the
cash" if he could buy at cost! And, not infrequently, the dealer was
foolish enough to show his bills to convince the customer of the sacri-
fice, and to invoke the utmost "confidence"—which was, of course,
violated before noon the next day!
The future will be the better because the prices have been forced
up. It is the tonic of bitter taste to the run-down constitution. And
should the producing cost of pianos soon begin to decline, it is to be
"•.V '^• r '*''*tr%." l s\
'"'•' ;•'-<"•»'- V ^^"'ii'^^'r^'''-'" 1 ;.-'--^''^^*^-^^^
m
'Now, gentlemen, when a customer kicks on the price of an article
don't forget our slogan: 'The next lot will be higher.' "
—The Milwaukee Sentinel.
hoped that the manufacturers will not hasten to tell the dealers, and
that when the dealers do find it out, they will forget to impart the
sweet wisdom to the public.
The future of the piano business is in the hands of the present.
We hope that the time will never again come when the men who
make the piano business will also be the ones to work its ruin, or
nearly 1 that. High prices in the essentials of life just now work hard-
ship. But in the piano business the increase prevents the elements of
betterment in the future. The dignity of the instrument is, in a meas-
ure, restored and the methods of the business have been proportion-
ately elevated. Let's keep it that way.
BAD FOR BRITAIN
The unreasoning demands of labor have brought a great loss
to the musical interests of Great Britain. As a result of the great
increase in the cost of labor, and the even greater reduction in the
amount of work done, one of England's greatest and oldest piano
industries has suspended and threatens to remain closed for all time
to come.
Following the statement that it now requires 26 high-priced
workers to produce a piano once created by six low-priced workers,
the house of Brinsmead of London has declared its purpose to quit.
The impossibility of manufacturing high-grade; pianos at a profit was
given as the cause of suspension. And so fades out the fame and
the experience of nearly a hundred years in the British piano industry.
The house of John Brinsmead & Sons was founded in 1836. The
Brinsmead piano has been regarded as/ one of the most representative
in all Europe, and vied with the Broadwood in its claims upon the
attention of great pianists. It has sold for good prices, and there was
a time when it had some sale on this side of the Atlantic. When
there was a serious attempt to form a "trust" of pianos in this country,
and the Steinways held out, there were two or three foreign instru-
ments considered with a view to their establishing American factories
for purposes of the "trust." One of them was the Brinsmead, and
another was the Bechstein. The latter had been about settled upon
when the "trust" blew up.
Is there any possibility of the Brinsmead incident having a coun-
terpart in the United States? We do not think so. Improved meth-
Enhanced content © 2008-2009 and presented by MBSI - The Musical Box Society International (www.mbsi.org) and the International Arcade Museum (www.arcade-museum.com).
All Rights Reserved. Digitized from the archives of the MBSI with support from NAMM - The International Music Products Association (www.namm.org).
Additional enhancement, optimization, and distribution by the International Arcade Museum. An extensive collection of Presto can be found online at http://www.arcade-museum.com/library/
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).