Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 11 (1927-08)

Editorial Dept, and Studio 64 HYDE PARK AVENUE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS July 28, 1927 In July, 1924, I commenced active work on the long-cherished project of establishing an American magazine devoted to music lovers interested in phonographic music and its development. In the long and arduous work of approaching the manufacturing companies (going to all impartially) to arrange for advertising, records for review, etc., and in making myself thoroughly acquainted with the progress of phonograph enthusiasm throughout the country, I expended approximately six thousand dollars of my own money before The Phonograph Publishing Company was formed and incorporated, May 18, 1926. In the early days of the Boston Phonograph Society I had met a well-known Boston business man who was interested in the projected magazine and who offered to back the venture to the extent of twenty-five thousand dollars. With this backing the Company was established and the first issue of The Phonograph Monthly Review, dated October 1926, was published on September 15th. In the early issues the only manufacturers to advertise with us were the Columbia and Okeh (then General Phonograph Corpo- ration) companies. All the others had been given the same opportunity to advertise, to obtain preferred position, etc., at the same time as these two, but for reasons known best to themselves, the others failed to see the advantage to be derived from the direct appeal of their advertisements in our pages to readers, all of whom owned phonographs and were building up record libraries. Record samples, instruments, accessories, and the like, however, were and are sent to us from all the companies, advertisers and non-advertisers alike. Our readers must judge for themselves from the evidence of our pages whether we have not shown absolute impartiality toward every manufacturer and their products, criticizing and praising from the standpoint of artistic merit, first, last and always—totally irrespective of the maker’s name. A staff of earnest and sincere workers, all trained and enthusiastic music lovers, was got together. One and all their work was animated by the desire to further the work of music and phonograph appreciation and to give every worthwhile effort in these fields the credit it deserved, drawing it to the attention of the enthusiasts and record buyers who were seeking for just such works. Until the number of our own advertisers had grown, our Board of Directors deemed it advisable to expend very little money in advertising the magazine and from first to last our new readers and friends have been gained almost entirely by word of mouth advertising or occasional references to our work appearing in various publications. The debut of the magazine was most auspicious and it rapidly grew and progressed. But one fine day toward the end of January, 1927, on my return from a business trip to New York and Camden, I was informed that the Business Department had completely fallen down, was unable to meet the printer’s and other demands, and that the printers had stopped the presses on the eve of publican tion. It was found that our financial backing had suddenly been withdrawn: reverses in the affairs of other businesses (entirely separate from us) in which our backer was interested prevented him from carrying out the assurances made at the time of incorporation. Personal resources of my own enabled me to put out this February issue on its regular publication date. Determined to find out exactly where the company stood, I worked with a certified accountant on the books—such as they were. An outstanding indebtedness of approximately forty-eight hundred dollars was found. Things looked gloomy indeed, but the many letters of good wishes and enthusiasm we had constantly been receiving, the co-operation given us on all sides, the many new friends from all parts of the world who had told us what the magazine meant to them, and the knowledge that a failure of this venture would make another of similar nature impossible for years and set back the whole movement to an incalculable extent, made all us of the Editorial Department feel that it was our sacred duty to stand by the ship. Together we worked out a plan by which the entire business should be conducted from an office established in a special room beside the Studio at 64 Hyde Park Avenue, an arrangement which has existed ever since. The original business office at 101 Milk Street was disposed of and a most thorough and rigid economical policy inaugurated and consistently maintained. I called a meeting of the creditors and arranged a settlement. Seeing that our proposition was sound beyond any shadow of doubt, and exhibiting their full confidence in me and my plans, they signed an agreement by which their accounts were to be settled in deferred payments, made only after all running expenses had been met. No time limitations were set and no restrictions made; I was given complete power to go ahead with our work. Our full efforts were immediately thrown into the task of reconstruction, first revising the subscription lists and correcting the failure of many subscribers to receive their copies. At that time my announcement regarding such subscriptions was made (March, 1927 issue). For over six weeks we all took on extra duties in this work of reorganization in addition, of course, to our usual duties in keeping the magazine up to its constantly rising standard. Our friends can imagine the amount of day and night toil that was necessary. But finally everything was put in order and we soon had the satisfaction of seeing things running smoothly and effectively—as they never had done before. Needless to say, those to blame for the previous state of affairs are long since entirely divorced from the Company. At this time we found it necessary to discontinue all single sales of the magazine at music dealers, newsstands, etc., as we did not have the facilities for the adequate handling of such sales. Despite these handicaps and that of the “quiet season” of spring and summer, our list of subscribers has more than doubled since the reorganization, and the magazine has been put and is \ept on a strictly paying basis. All printer’s and overhead expenses have been met promptly, not a single debt or obligation has been contracted, and in addition, all the smaller creditors of the old regime have been paid off (leaving on the unrestricted time limit agreement with the others, as mentioned above). Not until all this was done would I consent to offer any of our stock for sale to our friends and subscribers. We have succeeded in ten months in accomplishing the feat that no magazine (according to experts whom we have consulted) is expected to accomplish in less than three years— establishment on a self'supporting basi£. Contracts are being made with a number of new companies who are to begin advertising with us in the fall, among them manufacturers of reproducing pianos, as we are planning to inaugurate at that time a supplementary feature department devoted to the reviews of current player-piano rolls, on exactly the same style as (but of course separate from) our record reviews. With the steady and ever-increasing number of new subscriptions we are receiving, the new advertising, the constantly growing prestige that the magazine is winning, and with the always dangerous first year in the field successfully achieved, our future has never looked more promising than at the present. But while the magazine is self-supporting and can continue its natural growth indefinitely on the same basis as at present, it cannot attempt adequately to exploit or develop its own rich potentialities. New friends join us every day through encountering the magazine by chance, hearing about it from a regular reader, or having it drawn to their attention by tradesmen or representatives of the manufacturing companies, all of whom (even those who do not advertise in our pages) have been most enthusiastic over our