The talking machine world (Jan-June 1928)

The Talking Machine World, New York, March, 1928 34c in selling, with 61 per cent listed as non-selling. Certainly a ratio that is calculated to increase the overhead to a dangerous point. It is significant, however, that with possibly a single exception, over 45 per cent of employes are of the non-selling class. This in itself lends emphasis to the suggestion that every employe be encouraged to make sales for his company whenever possible, and supports the logical stand of many concerns in the field who offer definite commissions to everyone in the organization from office boy up for prospects and sales, with results that stand out very plainly in the annual sales figures. Then there is turnover. We find San Francisco, where stock is turned over at the rate of only three times annually, has a selling rate of $6.71 per capita, while Chicago with a turnover of 4.32 sells only $6.60 per capita. The question is whether this represents stronger competition and lower prices, or whether it represents a difference in the calibre of the sale. Even though the figures are based on averages, they, nevertheless, are of the sort that have real meaning for the individual who seeks to adjust his affairs so that they will measure up acceptably with those of his contemporaries in other localities. It might be well for every music merchant to secure from the Bureau of Census or the United States Chamber of Commerce, complete copies of these various reports in connection with the census distribution, for he will find therein much food for thought. By striking averages in the various figures given relative to annual sales, inventory, number of employes, turnover, wages, etc., he will have at hand figures calculated to guide him in his business management. If national averages do not appeal then he can apply those that cover a city, which in location and population compares closely with the city in which he is located. The information is too valuable to be wasted, particularly in view of the fact that the attitude of certain governmental agencies relative to this type of survey is more or less unfavorable. Again the Question of Copyright HEARINGS are now being held before the Patents Committee of the House in Washington on the proposed new Copyright Bill in which members of the various divisions of the music industry are naturally evincing much concern, and are seeking to protect their particular interests as opposed to those of other factors. In a measure it may be said that the composers and music publishers and owners of copyrights are in direct opposition to makers of music rolls on a number of important points, and the present hearings are regarded as an opportunity for securing advantages for one side or the other such as are denied by the present copyright bill as passed in 1909. Special hearings on the sections of the bill covering the mechanical reproduction of music are scheduled at an early date, and practically every manufacturer of records will be represented at those hearings in an effort to see that royalties and other questions are adjusted on a satisfactory basis. At the present time it appears as though there will be considerable heated discussion before any measure is passed that will prove generally satisfactory. The average member of the retail trade may be inclined to regard the copyright situation as one that interests only the manu facturer, yet upon the scope of the bill depends the character of music he will be able to offer his customers and in some certain measure the price at which it is offered in record form. Those who watched the progress of the present bill through the Houses of Congress in 1909 will realize that any new measure cannot be passed for a considerable period, or until there have been finally ironed out the various disagreements that have developed over a period of nineteen years. It is to be hoped that copyright owners and record makers will be able to adjust their various differences on a basis that will be fair and equitable to both sides. The record makers must depend upon the composers and publishers for their music, but on the other hand the copyright owners have in the past, and probably will in the future, realized a very substantial portion of their revenue from these same record royalties. Certainly it is no time for killing the goose that lays the golden egg. To Trade-in or Not to Trade-in TRADE-IN or not to trade-in, that is a question that is interesting a majority of dealers in radio to-day, particularly with the development of new receiving sets and the inclination of many worth-while customers to trade-in their old receivers for the newest outfits. Opinion is naturally divided. There are some who refuse absolutely to consider the trade-in, preferring to lose possible sales as a result of that stand while others are inclined to make certain allowances on old receivers in good condition and take a chance of making up that allowance on a resale. Much has been said and written, of course, regarding the handling of trade-ins on a sound, businesslike basis, and it is not, therefore, necessary to discuss this phase of the question here. There will always be dealers with backbone enough to allow on a set only as much as it is worth, while there are still others also who in their anxiety to build sales volume lose all sense of proportion, and make allowances that kill any chance of profit. This situation will probably adjust itself more or less satisfactorily. The question of whether or not to accept trade-ins, however, is one that is well worth debating. With the changes that have taken place in the radio industry and particularly in the introduction of the new types of receivers, there develops a question as to how out-of-date a set may be and still have resale value. Elsewhere in The World this month is presented an unusually interesting article outlining the views of two competing dealers in the same city on this important question. One refuses trade-ins absolutely, while the other accepts them under certain conditions, and both tell their reasons. The article should prove interesting to other dealers who are in a quandary regarding what position to take, not to-day, perhaps, but in the very near future. It is generally admitted that future business in radio will depend in no small measure upon the volume of replacements. There is, and still will be, a great amount of new business, but the real profitable turnover will depend upon the patronage of those who have purchased receivers in the earlier days and now seek to exchange them for something more modern. It is this tendency that will complicate the trade-in problem of the future, and it is just as well to decide upon the answer now as later. B E L L WE START THE NEW YEAR BY GIVING YOU A BETTER QUALITY, IMPROVED RECORDING, GREATER VOLUME AND CLARITY IN THE BELL RECORDS Let us assist you in merchandising these records and from our long experience increase your selling THE BELL RECORD CORPORATION 38 CLINTON STREET NEWARK, N. J. R E C O R D S