The talking machine world (Jan-June 1923)

s THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD February 15, 1923 (Registered in the U. S. Patent Office) PUBLISHED BY EDWARD LYMAN BILL, Inc. President and Treasurer, C. L. Bill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Vice-President, J. B. Spillane. 373 Fourth Ave., Kew York; .Second Vice-President, Raymond -Bill, 373 Fourth Ave., New York; Secretary, E. L. Bill; Assistant Treasurer, Wm. A. Low. J. B. SPILLANE, Editor RAY BILL, B. B. WILSON, BRAID WHITE, Associate Editors LEE ROBINSON, Advertising Manager L. E. BOWERS, Circulation Manager Trade Representatives: A. F. C.«ter, C. Chace, Edward Lyman Bill, V. D. Walsh, E. B. Munch, C. R. Tighe, A. J. Nicklin Western Division: Republic Building, 209 So. State Street, Chicago, 111. Telephone, Wabash 5242 Boston: John H. Wilson, 324 Washington Street London, Engr., Office: 2 Gresham Building. Basinghall St. W. Lionel Sturdy, Mgr. The Talking Machine World has regular correspondents located in all of the principal cities throughout America. Published the 15th of every month at 373 Fourth Ave., New York. SrBSCRIPTION (including postage): United States. Mexico, $2.00 per year; Canada, $3.00; all other countries, $4.00 Single copies. 25 cents. ADVERTISEMENTS: $5.50 per inch, single column, per insertion. On quarterly or yearly contracts a special discount is allowed. Advertising pages, $150.00. REMITTANCES should be made payable to Edward Lyman Bill, Inc., by check or Post Office Money Order. NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS — Advertising copy should reach this office before the first of each month. By following this rule clients will greatly facilitate work at the publication headquarters. Long Distance Telephones — Numbers 5982-5983 Madison Sq. Cable Address: "ElbiU," New York NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 15, 1923 I FACTS AND FIGURES THAT INCITE OPTIMISM THE new year is opening up splendidly in a business way. There is a feeling of confidence existent in all lines of industry that bespeaks a great year of accomplishment in the talking machine trade, and to the merchant who aims to sell merchandise and not terms the year holds a goodly proportion of profits. Nineteen twenty-three will not be an easy period for the retail dealer — he must be constantly up and doing along constructive lines, if he decides to compete successfully with his confreres in other industries for the surplus money which the public desires to spend during 1923. And there is a great deal of surplus money available nowadays judging from the preliminary report of the savings bank division of the American Bankers' Association, which shows an increase in the savings deposits of the country of about $1,500,000,000 during 1922 and a gain of 2,315,693 in savings accounts as compared with last year. The total increase of savings reported on deposit on June 30, 1921, was $16,618,595,000; the amount for the corresponding date in 1922 was $18,087,493,000. These figures demonstrate most impressively the vast amount of money that has been accumulated by the people of the United States, a large portion of which will be released to those talking machine merchants who go after customers persistently and intelligently. In this connection it should never be overlooked that unvarying, stabilized conditions are promoted when business is developed not on long time terms, but as closely to a cash basis as is possible. With this policy kept well in mind business can be conducted on healthy, satisfactory lines. I ADEQUATELY COMBATING "GYP" DEALER EVIL NOW that much of the work of liquidating excess retail stocks has been accomplished by legitimate dealers it might be well for members of the trade to devote some attention to the activities of the private house or "gyp" dealers who have for years been active factors in competition and appear to be increasing rather than decreasing in numbers. In combating the "gyp" dealer evil the legitimate dealers in most_trades have back of them considerable legal power for the reason that there are in effect a number of ordinances and laws designed to make advertisers in the classified columns of newspapers specify whether or not they are dealers. Violation of these ordinances or laws carries with it a sufficient penalty to discourage the persistent "gyp" provided regular dealers are active enough in their work of prosecution. What can be accomplished in curbing the "gyp" evil is shown in New York, where the newspapers insist upon listing private house dealers under the heading of "dealers" in the classified columns unless their status as individuals is clearly established. St. Louis recently adopted an ordinance providing for the same course of procedure, and there are other localities where the legitimate dealers have at hand the machinery for protecting themselves provided they make use of it. The activities of the "g}^)" dealers are not simply unethical, but are calculated to shatter confidence in legitimate trade and in the standing of bona-fide instruments that are grossly misrepresented by the unscrupulous. Legitimate dealers should see to it that every eft'ort is made to check the evil in their localities. I POSSIBILITIES OF CO-OPERATIVE PUBLICITY IT is unfortunate that the members of the retail talking machine trade do not give more thought to the possibilities of co-operative advertising as a means for obtaining a maximum amount of publicity at a minimum expenditure per individual. Dealers frequently declare thai they limit their advertising for the reason that they cannot aiford the appropriations that will give them worth-while space in metropolitan dailies and feel that rather than use insignificant space they had better confine their publicity to other channels. On several occasions attempts have been made to organize dealers in various cities for the purpose of carrying on co-operative advertising campaigns for specified periods, the campaigns to be confined to dealers handling one particular line of machines and records. The idea, of course, was to hook up with the advertising of the manufacturer and through co-operation purchase space enough to make a real showing in the newspapers. Somehow or other most of these attempts to provide maximum publicity at minimum cost have not met with any great success. In St. Louis recently, however, the retailers in the residential sections got together and put over a co-operative advertising campaign on one line that produced most satisfying results. The copy was of general character, emphasizing the chief features of the particular line of products, and carried in one corner the names and addresses of the concerns taking part in the campaign. Under the circumstances the advertising was of a sort calculated to prove most effective, for the reason that the concerns making the appeal for business were of the neighborhood store type and to a considerable extent at least non-competitive. There are great possibilities for talking machine retailers in other cities to get together for similar campaigns at various periods of the year, finding that the combination gives them greater power in appealing to the buying public while they can capitalize upon the result from the newspaper readers in their own particular localities. There are, of course, in every city large talking machine dealers in the main business centers who advertise regularly and liberally, but these individuals in most cases are doing business on a much larger scale than the neighborhood store owner. For the dealer in an outlying district to attempt to compete with such advertising would mean an expense that would be out of proportion to results that might be expected. When he divides the cost of the advertising with a dozen or a score of fellow dealers, however, he is getting a full advertising display at a very low cost and the results may be expected to be distinctly satisfactory. I WATCHING INIMICAL LEGISLATIVE MOVES ONE service that a live organization of talking machine men, manufacturers or retailers, can perform for its membership is that of watching carefulty new legislative moves, especially the introduction of new State laws calculated to amend legislation covering conditional sales, chattel mortgages or instalment business. It happens frequently that a very innocent-looking bill introduced in the State Legislature will have a distinct bearing on the rights and privileges of a dealer handling instalment business in his relations with his customers. Often the Assemblyman or Sen