Presto

15
PRESTO-TIMES
April 9, 1927.
SMALL GOODS, MUSIC ROLLS AND SHEET MUSIC
When reeds for saxophones and clarinets are dis-
played in a handsome counter cabinet they suggest
many purchases to visitors to the store. Twelve
dozen reeds are contained in the convenient counter
A Most Important Requirement of Dealer Be- size cabinets and the investment is not very great.
Very desirable kinds are not only scientifically pre-
fore and After Establishing Business Is
pared, but are packed in individual envelopes, one
to Know His Prospects.
dozen in a box. The dealer should make sure and be
The musical merchandise dealer with judgment able to satisfy his customers that the reeds are not
properly gttages the character of the business he may only satisfactory but sanitary as well.
expect in a chosen locality. The ability to buy, the
An acknowledged means to making friends for the
predilection for this or that kind of music the taste music store is the handling of a reliable brand of
of the people and the state of their musical ability are strings for all instruments. Strings should have the
all considerations before the installing of a stock.
tonal quality, uniformity and durability that insures
satisfaction to the musician. Nothing exasperates a
It is easy to buy goods but difficult to sell 'them
with the right profit when presented to the wrong player as much as a faulty string. Strings, too, are
kind of people. Of course it is difficult to estimate put up in convenient and handsome display cabinets,
the demands of a new set of prospects accurately. the latter usually being furnished free by jobbers
But there are certain rules and tests that may enable when a certain number of strings is bought.
the new man in a field to speculate with fair accuracy
Other accessories which the dealer finds profitable
as to the nature of the goods to buy.
and easy selling are mutes for trombones, cornets and
trumpets. These should be made of the best brand
Customers Not Alike.
of fiber and be capable of fitting securely in the
The customers of musical merchandise in any town
are not the same all over. There are different sec- instruments. And of course the dealer should under-
stand the fiddlers' insistence on reliable standard
tions where the differences are well defined. A man
can learn that by experiences but the method is an brands of rosin and provide that kind for his cus-
expensive one. Some experience coupled with cer- tomers.
tain sound, rules of common sense and good business
policy proves much more effective to the individual
NEW CARL FISCHER MUSIC
dealer.
In the larger cities the musical merchandise dealer
in a high class residential district will find his trade Piano, Orchestra, Vocal and Instrumental Solos and
demands altogether different from those of the mer-
Transcriptions in Recent Publications.
chant in the humbler section at the other end of the
town. It does not necessarily follow, however, that
New music for the piano from Carl Fischer, Inc.,
a working class clientele particularly favors the New York, includes solos by Mitchel Tulin, Edwin
cheaper grades of instruments.
Franko Goldman and transcriptions and arrange-
ments by Alexander Siloti. The latter also is credited
Surprises in Trade.
The man who sets out to interest the foreign born with transcriptions for 'cello and piano from com-
population in musical merchandise will encounter a positions by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Carl Fischer, Inc., also has issued compositions for
lot of surprises. Where he looks for the sale of the
cheapest article in 'the line he finds the requirements violin and piano by Clarence Cameron White, "Invo-
are quite the opposite. Most of these foreign cus- cation," a transcription for violin and piano by Fritz
tomers are exceedingly thrifty and naturally averse Kreisler, which includes a setting for organ solo by
to buying a makeshift article. They may be consid- the composer. Other publications are "Ensemble
Music" for violins with piano accompaniment and a
ered poor, but, as a rule, they are careful in their
Flonzaley favorite encore arrangement for string
expenditures. They demand value and often are will-
ing to make sacrifices in other directions to secure quartet by Alfred Pochon.
something of lasting quality.
In new vocal numbers are "The Little Toy Drum,"
Among the poorer people there are real music for voice and piano, by A. Wakefield Smith, "Right
lovers who realize the value of high grade instru- Thoughts," by Mitchel Tulin, and a collection of
ments and such people will make amazing sacrifices songs by Hallett Gilberte.
for attaining their object. That is something the
musical merchandise dealer should bear constantly in
MUSIC DEALER'S PETITION.
mind. But he should also remember that it is pos-
sible to educate his clientele into buying the best. In
A petition is being circulated in the city by the
fact his publicity all the time should contain propa- Johnson Music Store of Ironwood, Mich., on which
ganda to that effect.
names are solicited as a community endorsement of
the store's request for the right to establish and main-
tain a broadcasting station there. The music firm
sets forth in its petition that it does not seek to com-
THE ACCESSORY LINES
pete with outside stations in furnishing radio pro-
grams to 'the Gogebic range public, but intends to
Profits in These Are Big, but Only Best Standard broadcast on afternoons and occasional evenings when
reception of outside stations is poor. The request
Brands Should Be Handled.
will probably not be acted upon for several months
Musical instrument accessories are sources of profit because the radio commission is just being organized
for dealers that should not be neglected. But while and undoubtedly has several months' business to
a comparatively small amount of capital is required handle.
for the necessary stock, such a department calls for
careful and continuous attention by the person in
charge. A dependable service in accessories admir-
A SALABLE SONG LINE.
ably advertises the dealer while an opposite effect
The J. S. Unger Music House, publishers, of Read-
is produced when musicians seeking accessories in a ing, Pa-, reports continuous success with five songs
store are disappointed time after time.
announced a little while ago. The Unger catalog is
Music stands are readily salable things of which coming to the front with dealers in every part of
•the dealer should stock an assortment of the latest the country, is the report of the company, which
and most improved of the kind in the market. announces special trade rates which are furnished
Strength, durability and convenience in folding are dealers on request. The range of salable ballads
features in stands desired by the professional arc of the sparkling kind that appeal to the song
musician.
buver today.
STUDY TOWN CLIENTELE
C. G. CONN, Ltd., Elkhart, Ind.
C. D. GREENLEAF, Pres.
J. F. BOYER, Sec'y
World's largest manufacturers of High Grade Band and Orchestra Instruments. Employs 1,000
expert workmen.
The most celebrated Artists use and endorse Conn Instruments.
Famous Bandmasters and Orchestra Directors highly endorse and recommend the use of the
Conn Instruments in their organizations.
Conn Instruments are noted for their ease of playing, light and reliable valve or key action;
quick response, rich tonal quality, perfect intonation, tone carrying quality, artisticness of design,
beautiful finish and reliable construction.
Conn Instruments are sent to any point in the U. S. subject to ten days free trial. Branch stores
or agencies will be found in all large cities. Write for catalogues, prices, etc.
C. G. CONN, Ltd.
DEPT. MS.
ELKHART, IND.
SONGS AND SONG=DANCES
Many Now Share Belief That a Song Has the
Best Selling Chances When Song Ar-
rangement Is Adhered to.
Does the publishing of a song in dance form con-
duce to bigger sales than the publishing of the song
in song form? It is still a debatable question,
although men of the trade for a long time have argued
that a song is a song, a dance is a dance, or a dance
is a good song adapted to terpsichorean purposes.
For years it had been charged that the roll cutters
arranged every song in dance form without regard for
the wishes of the roll buyers who wanted the songs
as songs. People purchased the rolls, although they
did not desire them as dance music.
A Mistake.
Many of the songs were true dance tunes with
more or less silly words written to them. On the
other hand there were popular songs of distinct merit
and melody that were knocked out of all form when
arranged as dance music for the player rolls. A
grave mistake was when the song publishers pro-
duced songs that were more danceable than singable.
It is now admitted that the falling off in the sales of
sheet music at one time was due to the fact that many
of the publishers were producing songs that were
unsingable. A great number of people who love a
song don't care a rap about dancing.
Sheet music publishers blame the radio for a num-
ber of things that interfere with song sales, but
there is one thing the radio has done for publishers
that has proved of vast benefit to publishing meth-
ods.
When the broadcasters, looking about for
attractions, began digging up the old favorites pub-
lished before the coming of the song-dance day, the
publishers were treated to a surprise. The broad-
casting produced a demand for the old songs that
set the publishers thinking. They realized that the
falling off in public interest in sheet music was due
to the fact that the songs were weakened by the
double appeal as song-dances.
Songs as Advs.
Tire manufacturers, candy makers and others
using radio for advertising purposes, employed artists
who became favorites with the radio audiences be-
cause their songs were melodious old numbers dug
from catalogs of twenty-five and thirty years ago.
The old songs got across because of their clean
sentiment and merit as melodies.
The roll cutters, too, took cognizance of the radio
happenings and began to give player owners a library
of songs pure and simple not the foxtrotted ones.
Experience has proven to the popular music publish-
ers that a dance arrangement of a popular song has
not as good a selling chance as the straight song
arrangement.
The Johnson & Baker company operates a musical
merchandise department in the Abbott-Trozer com-
pany's store in St. Joseph, Mo.
THE FAMOUS
CLARK
ORCHESTRA ROLLS
of De Kalb, Illinois
The Best for Automatic Playing Pianos
Organs and Orchestrions
Whether you sell automatic playing in-
struments or not, it will pay you to
handle and be able to furnish
CLARK ORCHESTRA ROLLS
Monthly bulletins of new records. Write
for lists, folders and FULL PARTICU-
LARS.
Clark Orchestra Roll Company
Manufacturers — Originators — Patentees
De Kalb, Illinois
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/