The talking machine world (Aug-Dec 1919)

September 15, 1919 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD 89 Drug Stores Proving Good Sales Centers For "Talkers" and Records By J. I. Carroll § Mgr. of Sales Emerson Phono Co. = llllllllllillllllllllllllllll The rapid development of the talking machine industry is one of the amazing features in the world of manufacture. About twenty-five years ago the first commercial talking machine built to play disc records was made. By commercial I mean an instrument that could reproduce a tune, or give a representation of a singer and of the singing voice that possessed human tone characteristics. It was, however, a long way off from a commercial product, in the sense that it had reached anything near present-day reproduction. Nevertheless, the great thing had been accomplished; the rapidly developing art had progressed to that point where musical instruments and the human voice could be reproduced. The only thing necessary was constant and tireless experimentation for the purpose of endless improvement. The result is that to-day there are hundreds of manufactures of phonographs which are eminently excellent, and which answer the requirements of even the critical. While this improvement has . gone forward in the manufacture of machines, the advance in the quality of the record has been even greater, until to-day not only is the human voice made to record with absolute nicety, but it has been found possible to produce the recording of the most delicate instrument, preserving the finest technique to such a degree that the recordings are almost impossible to detect from the instruments themselves. There are several companies manufacturing records of excellence to-day, and on these records are reproduced, clearly and exactly, not alone the ordinary band pieces and the singing of the every-day songs, but there are exquisite recordings of the greatest artists both instrumental and vocal. The Metropolitan Opera House has been brought to the door of the remote farmhouse. Great stars of the musical comedy stage and the celebrated comedians of the vaudeville stage are daily performers in the parlors of the most modest artisan, in the factory and mining towns. In other words, the spread of the music of the masses and the classes has passed beyond its former limitations and this music is now being placed in the hands of anyone inclined to desire it, and at a fixed price that makes it easily available for rich and poor alike. At the outset talking machines and records ! ihi.iiiiji iii:;i:i i.iiiiMi; iin i.iiiiii.iriiiiii iiiMir: ii,!.Li : n i:i i'MMi ii.rrii.i ! were considered suitable merchandise for a piano store or a music store, but as the development proceeded and the public eagerly sought this inviting form of diversion the department stores equipped display rooms, some of them almost palatial, for the reception of buyers. What formerly were small music stores sprung up into magnificent structures, giving three and four stores to the selling of talking machines and records alone. They were fitted up in a style lavish in costliness and beauty, and so it continued until various kinds of stores that never handled music of any sort suddenly .found themselves deep in the marketing of these goods, and with great profit to themselves: in EverFlowing Trade in Drug Stores Has Made Them a Center For Talking Machine and Record Sales fact, to such an extent, in most instances, that their former business became incidental to the bigger, broader and more profitable one of catering to the growing popular demand for this new form of home entertainment. One of the last to take up the sale of records and phonograph merchandise was the drug store; but no class of merchants in such a comparatively short time has shown such forward strides in this field as proprietors of drug stores. Realizing the possibilities in this field they went into this business actively and reached out in a progressive way for the trade that was not only there, but always increasing. At this writing several of the most energetic and successful phonograph and record'ng jobbing concerns in this country are organizations long famed in the jobbing of drugs and drug sundries. These companies have built up tremendous prestige in the phonograph industry. Naturally they have gone to that trade which was best known to them, namely, the local druggist. Some druggists were slow to see the possibilities in the handling of phonograph merchandise, but, though slow at first, when once they decided to take up the product they went into the game with every ounce of energy, until to-day they are among the most successful outlets for phonographs and records. The business has developed so enormously with certain druggists that the drug end of their business to-day is only of minor importance in comparison with the sales of phonograph products. This industry has brought fortunes to numberless druggists, who before that time had been doing only -a comparatively modest business. Talking machines, and especially records, find a most natural outlet through the local druggist, first, because the druggist has such a large transient and ever-flowing trade — particularly in a small town, where he is, as a rule, in more intimate touch with the family life than anyone in town, with the possible exception of the fam'ly physician. Owing to this ever-flowing tide of prospective purchasers, the wellconducted and properly displayed phonograph record department in a drug store brings the public of that town or locality constantly in touch with the latest and best of the popular and classic music. The opportunity for the sale, particularly of the popular record, is especially strong in the case of the druggist. He has almost every person in town coming to his store at some time or other during the week or month, and he also has all classes of trade. Sales are frequently made to customers who orginally came for some article other than music, but having once reached the store become interested in the phonographs and records through the fact that they cannot avoid noticing them as they enter the store. In this way the druggist has big opportunities in the handling of this class of merchandise. This is particularly true in practically all towns outside of the very big cities; and even in the big cities the chances for profitable sales on phonograph merchandise are particularly large; as a result, many of the best dealers are among these same druggists. The Wonderful Tone Production of PHON D'AMOUR is like the memory of a musician thinking over the performance of a great player. The PHON D'AMOUR plays every record and reproduces them tone true. This tone quality is obtained by the patented Diaphragm and Amplifier, which features are only obtainable in the PHON D'AMOUR THE FRITZSCH PHONOGRAPH CO. N -liS^tST1.