Presto

PRESTO
The American Music Trade Weekly
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT 407 SOUTH DEAR-
BORN STREET, OLD COLONY BUILDING, CHICAGO, ILL.
C. A. DANIELL and FRANK D. ABBOTT
Editors
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partments. Cable Address (Commercial Cable Co.'s Code), "PRESTO," Chicago.
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29. 18%, at the Post Office, Chicago. Illinois.
under Act of March 3, 1879.
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Address all communications for the editorial oi" business departments to PRESTO
PUBLISHING CO., 407 So. Dearborn Street, Chicago, III.
Advertising Rates:—Five dollars per inch (13 ems pica) for single insertions.
Complete schedule of rates for standing cards and special displays will be furnished
on request. The Presto does not sell its editorial space. Payment is not accepted for
articles of descriptive character or other matter appearing in the news columns. Busi-
ness notices will be indicated by the word "advertisement" In accordance with the
Act cf August 24, 1912.
Photographs of general trade interest are always welcome, and when used, if of
special concern, a charge will be made to cover cost of the engravings.
Rates tor advertising in Presto Year Book Issue and Export Supplements of
Presto will be made known upon application. Presto Year Book and Export issues
have tlie most extensive circulation of any periodicals devoted to the musical in-
strument trades and industries in all parts of the world, and reach completely and
effectually all Lhe houses handling musical instruments of both the Eastern and West-
ern hemispheres.
Presto Buyers' Guide is the only reliable index to the American Pianos and
Player-Pianos, it analyzes all instruments, classifies them, gives accurate estimates
if their value and contains a directory of their manufacturers.
Items of news and other matter of general interest to the music trades are in-
cited and when accepted will be paid for. All communications should be addressed to
Presto Publishing Co., 407 So. Dearborn Street. Chicago, III.
SATURDAY, MAY 5. 1923
PRESTO CORRESPONDENCE
IT IS NOT CUSTOMARY WITH THIS PAPER TO PUBLISH REGU-
LAR CORRESPONDENCE FROM ANY POINTS. WE, HOWEVER.
HAVE RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVES IN NEW YORK, BOSTON.
SAN FRANCISCO, PORTLAND, CINCINNATI, INDIANAPOLIS, MIL-
WAUKEE AND OTHER LEADING MUSIC TRADE CENTERS, WHO
KEEP THIS PAPER INFORMED OF TRADE EVENTS AS THEY HAP-
PEN. AND PRESTO IS ALWAYS GLAD TO RECEIVE REAL NEWS
OF THE TRADE FROM WHATEVER SOURCES ANYWHERE AND
MATTER FROM SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS, IF USED, WILL BE
PAID FOR AT SPACE RATES. USUALLY PIANO MERCHANTS OR
SALESMEN IN THE SMALLER CITIES, ARE THE BEST OCCA-
SIONAL CORRESPONDENTS. AND THEIR ASSISTANCE IS INVITED.
ADVERTISING INFORMATION
Forms close promptly at noon every Thursday. News matter for
publication should be in not later than eleven o'clock on the same
day. Advertising copy should be in hand before Tuesday, five p. m.,
to insure preferred position. Full page display copy should be in
hand by Monday noon preceding publication day. Want advs. for cur-
rent week, to insure classification, must be at office of publication not
later than Wednesday noon.
CONVENTION ENTERPRISE
Extraordinary "stunts" are being formulated and put into oper-
ation to awaken interest in the "Prosperity Convention" in Chicago
June 4-7. Similar effort has been put forth in advance of earlier
meetings of the music trade associations. But some of the most
successful of the meetings have followed a quieter and more realistic
pronouncement and promise. /Phis time the great features will have
to do with externals rather than the original purposes of the associ-
ations. Thev seem to belong more directly to the Bureau of Music
Advancement than to the organizations which in earlier years accom-
plished so much for the piano industry and trade, and other music
industries and supply organizations.
Of course, no one will find any fault with the effort to make the
Chicago meeting famous because of a grand band tournament. That
is not expected to promise the sale of many pianos or other instru-
ments. It is presumably designed to attract attention, and to adver-
tise and so draw crowds to the meeting. So, too, with much of the
other special promotion which is being given to the approaching
convention. The aim is to draw as large a crowd as possible, and
whether the end will justify the means remains to be determined.
There are prominent men in the industry and trade who do not
believe that the engagement of aspiring artists, or even artists whose
aspirations have already been crowned with results, is conducive to
the best progress of the trade conventions. Tt has been made clear
by the presidents of both the manufacturers' and dealers' associ-
May 5, 1923
ations that "commercialism" is not to obscure the real purposes of
the meeting. The displays at the Drake will be fine, but the request
has been officially made that first heed be paid to the deliberations
of the organizations. The brass band tournament, coming within
the days of the convention, may not detract too much from the
serious purposes of the week. And perhaps the plan of grand con-
certs and eloquent speeches by orators of note may prove sufficiently
instructive and entertaining to justify the risk.
Anyway, it is to be hoped that all who may attend the conven-
tion will pay heed to the suggestions of Presidents Chickering and
Butler, to devote as much time and attention as possible to the actual
purposes of the convention, and not permit extraneous entertain-
ment to divert their interests from the regular sessions of the mer-
chants and manufacturers.
A great band tournament may be a good thing if the purpose
is to attract a miscellaneous crowd. A regular June music festival,
after the manner of the Cincinnati May Festivals, would be fine for
the advancement of general interest in good music. The Bureau of
Musical Advancement, of which Mr. Tremaine is the official sponsor,
might easily convert the Annual Music Week into a great gathering
such as the band tournament and the artist recitals promise to be.
But a purely trade convention, such as the Music Industries Chamber
of Commerce seems to stand for, may not have its best interests
furthered by enterprises of that kind. In this we agree with what
Mr. Tom Pletcher said at this week's meeting of the Chicago Piano
Cub as reported in this issue of Presto. But the June experiment
will be instructive and may help in the readjustments of future con-
ventions.
PLAYER ROLL PROBLEMS
The music roll industry has developed many perplexities. At first
it seemed simple enough. There seemed nothing necessary but to
manufacture and meet the growing demand. A little time served
to show that it was not so easy.
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Today the player roll industry is conducted by about the shrewd-
est talent associated with the music business. Scores of enterprises
in the line have started, made considerable fuss, invested a little money
in advertising, and then slumped out of sight. There have been a
few notable instances of the kind. And in the end the endurance
contest of the music rolls promises to leave but very few in the field.
Unlike sheet music publishing, the roll business demands a great deal
ol capital and a vast amount of determination and stick-to-itiveness.
The average man cannot make it pay, and the man who writes the
songs cannot "put it over" in the rolls as he might in the printed
sheet.
Vice-President Geo. Ames of the United States Music Co.,
makes a suggestion in which there is good sense and much promise.
He says that the plan of the automobile men, who advertise the ne-
cessity, on the part of owners of cars, buying only the best of sup-
plies, is the right one for player roll people to follow. He believes
that every plaverpiano manufacturer should make it a point, in cata-
logues and advertising, to impress upon the dealers the advantages
of pushing the music rolls. And that the dealers, in turn, should give
more—much more—attention to selling the rolls to owners of player-
pianos.
If every manufacturer .would adopt Mr. Ames' suggestion, and
even -place a notice of some kind somewhere upon the player-piano
itself, it would help. It would carry the proposition straight to the
dealer and his salesmen, and then on to the ultimate buyer of the
instrument. It is certain that not enough music rolls are sold. The
demand for them is not adequate. As compared with the sale of sheet
music and phonograph records, it is almost inconsequential. Think
that over and, having found the reason, get busy and correct it.
Another of the perplexities just now has to do with the demand
of the Association of Authors and Publishers for copyright taxes
upon all music controlled by members of that "trust." And, as long
as the Association pushes and advertises and subsidizes, as it has been
doing, the "hits" are likely to be there controlled. And that means
trouble for the music roll makers.
The time will come when the order of things will be reversed.
Instead of the sheet music men holding all the copyrights, the player
roll makers will have them. The roll"" makers will cut the songs and
pieces first—not from the mills of genius from which the "hits" must
come. The music roll studios will be as active as are today those of
Tin Pan Alley. And this will be in conformity with the fast advanc-
ing majority of playerpianos over the older hand-played instruments.
That is, unless, as a few believe, the "straight" piano performs a
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