The radio dealer (Apr-Sept 1922)

34 THE RADIO DEALER September, 1922 Concerning " Canned Music Now Broadcasted Don't Be Too Hasty in Condemning Broadcasting Station Programs Now in Evidence By GEORGE H. FISCHER, JR. Radio Dept., Pierce Electric Company, Tampa, Fla. Merchandizing of radio apparatus like any other mechanical or electrical device requires demonstrations. We could hardly expect to sell an electric washing machine or a vacuum cleaner without first demonstrating, nor a phonograph without playing a record or two. An electrical appliance business could not be successfully operated where no current was available nor a phonograph sold where records could not be procured. "What then is the likelihood of selling radio sets where nothing can be heard during the day ? All the sales cannot be made at night when atmospheric conditions are favorable. In the territory where broadcasting stations are found in great numbers the " canned music " may have little appeal but in the territories at a distance beyond the daylight range of the big stations it is almost a necessity. Our dealers had been obliged to try to sell a radio set without being able to give the prospective " fan " any idea of what radio was like other than to let him listen to an occasional ship out in the gulf or the ever-present " static." Realizing this, we installed a small broadcasting station, now WHAW, for the purpose of aiding these dealers. Of course, phonograph music was used. The thing took well and we established a schedule, playing from 12 to i p.m. and 4 to 5 p. m. This permitted demonstrations at times when the business people were on the street, at lunch hour and after office hours in the evening. To our surprise we received many requests from radio " fans " for evening programs which we now give from 8 to 10 p. m. on Mondays and Saturdays. Our modulation is good, about 80 per cent, and our program, made up entirely of phonograph records. " Listening in " on some of the " live programs " of some broadcasting stations the writer has heard attempts of amateur entertainers which would have failed to get by at the local picture house. Aside from the value of the broadcasting of " canned music " to the radio retailer the phonograph concert can be made an enter taining one for most any type of listener. Too many stations have persisted in filling the air with " jazz " and nothing else. Following is a sample program of ours made up of phonograph records : Bed time stories: Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, Porter. Overture: Rifie Regiment, Marine Band. Tenor Solo : O-sole-mio, Caruso. Piano solo: Prelude F, Rachmaninoff. Popular number: The Sheik, Club Royal Orchestra. Violin solo: Souvenir, Kreisler. Quartette: My Mammy, Peerless Quartette. Soprano solo : Barbiere, Galli-Curci. Orchestral: Walkiire, Philadelphia Orchestra. The radio dealer should realize that he is the final and perhaps the most important link in the manufacturers' chain of distribution. He is the one who comes into actual contact with the radio-buying public, and he is the first to feel the effects of changes in the radio situation. In order to protect himself and to insure success, there are certain things which the radio dealer has the right to expect and even demand from the manufacturer whose goods he handles. High-grade equipment is one of the most important of these. As one who is in the radio business to stay, the dealer should make it an inflexible rule to handle nothing but quality apparatus and should absolutely refuse to deal with manufacturers of cheap, shoddy material. The dealer should get a fair margin of profit and in addition he should have the unqualified support of the manufacturer. That is to say, the radio This much gives a good idea of what a variety can be obtained and the class of entertainment furnished. On the other hand we have listened to " live " programs on which appeared choruses from a Sunday school and amateur " pick-up " jazz band and lectures by long-winded orators with no time limit and uninteresting subjects. Some day, in the near future, we hope, the broadcasting stations will be served through an entertainment circuit similar to our vaudeville or Chautauquas and that the material shot into the air will be acceptable to all. Meanwhile, let us not be too hasty in " Canning the Canned Music " for in many cases it is well worth listening to. dealer has the right to expect the manufacturer to advertise widely and in such a way that the dealer will directly benefit. Rapid turnover of stock means prosperity for both manufacturer and dealer. The radio dealer has already recognized the fact that he is merchandising a specialty and not a necessity, and he should confine his purchases of radio equipment to manufacturers who also recognize this and act accordingly. The manufacturer should back up his dealers, not only by widespread national advertising but also by local advertising. The dealer should be just as much a part of the manufacturers' organization as the manufacturers' salesmen who come in contact only with jobbers. Up to the present time the radio manufacturers have been exerting their efforts in lining up their jobbers, and the dealers have been left to shift for themselves. This (Continued on page 102) The Radio Dealer The Most Important Factor By H. G. CISIN Author of the Radio Telephone Handbook