The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1914)

38 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. Jeanne Gerville-Reache, the famous French contralto, is the latest exclusive Columbia artist. Her "Samson and Delilah" record is already being talked about. (Write for "Music Money," a book "full of meat" for those dealers interested in quick and frequent turnover of capital.) Columbia Graphophone Company Woolworth Building, New York CALL FOR DANCE RECORDS FACTOR IN ST. LOUIS TRADE Craze for the One-Step and Tango Serves to Records of Popular Music Becoming Stro Opera Season Expected to Help Business Increase Both Machine and Record Sales — ng Favorites — Story of a Reaction — Grand — What Various Houses Report for Month. (Special to The t alking Machine World.) St. Louis, Mo., March 10.— The dance records are still holding high favor with local buyers, and are the feature of the talking machine business as it is running to-day. The demand simply seems to. be insatiable, and both Victor and Edison di-c shelves show a pitiable degree of barrenness. The Columbia stocks thus far have been equal to demands. It is reported among talking machine dealers that some of the tango parties that are given with the aid of a talking machine as an orchestra wo.uld make excellent Sunday magazine feature stuff. The tendency of the present vogue dances to undress appearance has raised such a storm of criticism that all such as are conducted in public are strictly proper, but with a talking machine, a bunch of records and a select party of trusted dancers all things are possible, and guests are careful about their selection of lingerie. There is a sto.ry told of a local talking machine house that has some well-secluded record demonstration rooms. A party of wealthy and wellknown women were left in one of these rooms by a busy salesman to pick out a selection of tango records. Later the manager was hurriedly summoned by a very youthful and very serious salesman to go to the demonstration rooms, "where a bunch of women were acting plumb nutty." The manager was busy and tried to turn away the summons, but the salesman insisted, and finally he went there. As he appeared the hilarity stopped and the women explained that they were merely trying out some tango records and hoped they "had not disgraced the house, but we did not think that nice boy would tell on us." But the business is not altogether records. There is a fine, healthy machine demand, mostly for highpriced machines. The dances are but a part of the impetus that has been given the talking machine trade, and dealers who in the past have set their mark at doubling the last year's business are looking forward to a treble amount for 1914 over 1913. Manager Robinson, at the Thiebes Piano Co., says of the trade's new tendencies : "The demand is turning more and more to popular music. I remember when we used to take a little machine and nail it to the top of a door and put on popular records as an advertisement. They were raw, too raw to sell. When the trade developed, everybody who bought a machine wanted real music, Caruso and records of that kind, and for years we sailed along appealing to the real lovers of music and real music records. Now we have interested the other crowd, the one we started fo.r, and they are simply coming in droves. Talking machine music is considered better by these people now than their own music that any ear player can grind out on a piano or a cheap orchestra. It means a big business to convert this popular class that we once failed on but who now come voluntarily. "Of course we are selling more good music as we go along. The proportion of that sort of music to the total of records sold is greatly less than it was a year ago, and still smaller in proportion than two years ago. It means that everybody is listening to talking machines or will be as soon as the factories can turn out the machines and the records." Harry Levy, talking machine manager at Aeolian Hall, who is confined to Victor goods, says : "Our business is limited only to our ability to fill orders, wholesale and retail. The retail department has simply been swamped by requests for dance and other popular records. Of course that indicates the position of other dealers. We thought that when we had performed the problems in division that the Christmas trade forced onto us we had completed the course in fractions for several months, but if anything it is worse than ever. Some styles of machines can be had, but it is beyond the dreams of salesmanship to supply all sorts of trade with a few styles of machines, and there we have trouble. We simply do the best we can with the records and try to forget each evening." The grand opera season reaches here next month, and Retail Manager Duffy, at the Columbia, is congratulating himself on the pickings for his records. "We have Garden, White, Zepelli and Dufranne on our list," he said, "and we think they will prove popular. There is a light advance demand, but the history of these things shows that the big demand comes afterward, when the listeners can conjure up scenes from the actual opera. We have been doing very well indeed with Teyte and Ysaye records since the appearance of these two artists here. Both of these always have proved good record advertisers for us. "The best things with us now, however, is our stock o.f the popular dance records. We have been supplying all comers despite the unexpectedly and very heavy continued demand for these records. "The machine business has been very good indeed, better than we had anticipated, and we are piling up some nice totals for merchandising." Manager Robinson, of Thiebes, proudly reported the sale of a horn Victor machine the first of the month, the first new machine of this kind sent out for some time. Its appearance in the delivery room caused consternation. It was a street car delivery and none of the force knew anything about carrying horns on a street car. They had forgotten the days when a delivery boy on a car platform with a horn was a familiar sight. L. Benton Prince is a recent addition to the Thiebes Piano Co. talking machine sales staff. Weekly meetings have become a fixed feature of the saleswo.rk of the Victor department at the Vandervoort Salon. Manager R. A. Seagar has a force of twenty-two persons, and he finds the interchange of ideas very profitable. One of his recent business getters is a force of seven men to LONG CABINETS Occupy a strong position. They have many friends. The Geo. A. Long Cabinet Co. Write for Circulars of RECORD CABINETS and PLAYER ROLL CABINETS Address Clement Beecroft, Sales Manager 309 W. Susquehanna Avenue PHILADELPHIA, PA. D 67 Mahogany, Golden Oak and W. O. Finished all around. Sliding Record Shelf. For IX Viotrolas. Capacity, 192 12-in. Records.