The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1917)

THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD 45 Featuring the Musical Poss Talking Machine ibilities of the By William Braid White [Note. — This is the seventh in a series of articles on the general subject of the musical possibilities of the talking machine. Th aim of the series is to develop these possibilities fron all angles, thus opening up fields for sales expansion oftentimes neglected wholly or in part. — Editor.! ANALYZING PUBLIC DEMAND Since the day, now many moons ago, that I first put to my ears two rubber tips, which led to an equal number of tubes and ran finally into a mysterious box of machinery with a revolving cylinder, whence traveled to my auditory apparatus various squeaks more or less articulate, which the owner of the mystery kindly denominated a record of somebody singing "Home, Sweet Home" — since, I say, those early, even prehistoric, days of the talking machine industry, I have been devoting more or less time to thinking about the future day when the difficulties shall all have retired permanently into the background, and only perfection be heard. That this day is approaching no one, I take it, will deny. But it will as easily be admitted also, I think, that there is a great deal yet to be done in various directions. At the same time, at the risk of being accused of getting up a scare and then failing to produce the cause thereof, I must announce that the present article contains no single word about the elimination of mechanical foreign sounds from the record, and just as little about improvements in recording. For in truth, the inventors and experimenters have their time filled with these matters, and there are some schemes of great promise that some day will see the light. If one could tell some of the wonders one has seen and heard under seal of secrecy there would be an interesting tale. But, alas, it cannot be. Still, there are other things which, while they may not be quite so exciting, are considerably more to the point at the present moment. The talking machine business, when you come to think of it, has a record of expansion and development that probably can only be paralleled by that of the automobile, but in all of the wonderful progress of the past, we must not forget that, as time goes on, conditions change altogether; and the progress of to-morrow takes place along different lines and in different directions from that of to-day. The biggest problem that any observer of the business can propose to himself just now is this: Along what lines is the future of the business to develop; and how can the dealer best find out the probabilities thereof? The Policy of To-morrow It is evident that if we can see at all clearly the main lines of talking machine development, as these are likely to be laid down during the next few years, we can do much, if not everything, towards gaining a clear idea of the retail policy that is to carry us through the period of the great war and afterwards. Concerning these matters, I am venturing to have some rather well-defined opinions; and to put them before those who read these articles in the hope that they may do some good by stimulating thought. "Evolution The advertising manager of a great talking machine manufacturer recently remarked that the publicity policy of his house must, from now on, be a policy of evolution rather than of revolution. This means simply that the talking machine is now an established part of the national economy. It is a staple, just as the automobile is a staple. It is a fact of national life, so firmly established that its name comes spontaneously to the lips whenever the names of certain great singers or certain inventors are mentioned. Edison is thought of in connection with the phonograph much more than with the electric light, or multiplex telegraphy. Caruso is more often remembered in connection with his record of "Celeste Aida" than with the Metropolitan Opera House. Yes, the talking machine is an institution, and for the reason that it has arrived at that state, the necessity is the greater for guiding wisely our retail and publicity policies. For the institution that has just become an institution, and which is not yet so firmly founded in the cement of public estimation that it cannot be uprooted therefrom, needs more careful building than any other. The talking machine business is in this condition. Not Revolution" Three or four years ago there existed in the retail field conditions vastly different from such as obtain to-day. At the present moment we have the spectacle before us of the trade rapidly dividing into two branches, in respect of the machine itself, as distinguished from the records. On the one hand, we have the old-established, nationally advertised and nationally known machines, few in number indeed, but strongly entrenched behind their prestige and conceded efficiency. On the other hand, we have a host of other machines, later rivals of the first containing often features of adaptability and convenience that give them excellent selling value. The retailers must obviously, therefore, divide themselves into two classes. Those who have the agencies for the established machines, which have been nationally advertised till the present generation knows their names far better than it knows the names of the Presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt, must, plainly, base their selling talks, as well as their printed advertising, on prestige mainly. Here they are strong indeed. Their competitors . for the most part have only price to fall back on, in the ultimate; for no matter if a new machine were really superior to all others of older date, it would be absurd to suppose that the public would realize this. The Record Is Prime! Well, now, the situation with regard to machines being what it is, one is irresistibly driven to perceive that the record really holds the future of the industry in its sound grooves, as it were. The talking machine record is, after all, the soul of the entire business, and if you were to destroy, or could in some way manage to get rid of, the enormous array of artistic interpretations which has been deposited in the recording laboratories of the various record manufacturers, you would, at the same moment, be preaching the funeral sermon over the talking machine business. There would be nothing left to weep over, indeed. For the talking machine is not like the piano or the fiddle. You cannot play it without its record, which is to it far more than sheet music is to the aforementioned instruments. Take away the printed music, and some musician would begin at once the task of composing anew for the piano. Take away all the records and the talking machine business ceases to exist. Therefore, you have got to push your talking machine business more and more in the future by appealing to the musical instincts of the people; not indirectly, feebly and indefinitely, but directly, strongly and as definitely as possible. The Fault in the Ads In looking over a great array of talking machine advertising intended for the dealer I have been able to find virtually nothing contained therein that would show me, if I were a newi (Continued on page 46) MOBILIZATION! Williams Company Victor Service Victor Dealers are now mobilizing their resources for the 1917 Fall season. There will undoubtedly be a shortage of Victrolas and Victor records this year, and "mobilization" is therefore both timely and opportune. Is at the disposal of Victor Dealers who require a service that is prompt and efficient. . Let us serve you this Fall G. T. WILLIAMS CO., Inc., Victor Wholesale Exclusively 217 Duf field St., Brooklyn, N. Y.