The talking machine world (July-Dec 1924)

132 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD December IS, 1924 f Vi Western Division of The World, Chicago, III., Dec. 8, 1924 Every retail dealer will be thinking at this time of the Christmas business and of what he may do to brighten up his store windows and make read well the space which he will take in his local newspapers to announce the many good things he has for the festive season. A word in season should then be said for those most won Feature the Albums derful and attractive new albums of selected records which are now available in several editions and which constitute a unique addition to the attractions of a talking machine department in a music store as a place wheref rom to obtain the finest of Christmas gifts. As the columns of The Talking Machine World have duly announced, dealers have now the opportunity to set forth in attractive window displays and by judicious advertising the fineness and uniqueness for gift purposes of special record albums containing choice selections of the finest music made under the finest conditions by the finest orchestras, quartets and soloists, including complete works without cuts or condensations, with descriptive and explanatory matter printed on the record covers for the purpose of helping the recipient of one of these wonderful gifts to appreciate better the musical treasures it~contains. For the price of a lady's handbag or a box of silk stockings a man might thus offer to a woman of discrimination and good musical taste a gift of priceless powers for permanent entertainment, such as nothing else in the realm of music could give. The possibilities, of course, are innumerable and a wise merchant with the minimum of trouble can arrange window displays of these special albums, of a nature which will attract crowds to his store and draw them within too. Christmas is pre-eminently a season for promotional sales work of this effective character and advantage should be taken of its forthcoming to introduce to the record-buying public in every community these new departures in record making, which are destined to revolutionize the relation of the people to the talking machine so far as appreciation and understanding are concerned. It would not be sound judgment to assume that the present great bull market on the Stock Exchange portends an immediate boom in American business ; yet it is very sound judgment to go on the assumption that the stock market's condition always foreshadows coming events in the business world. There has been a steady though undoubtedly slow recovery throughout the world of business, and all the available figures prove that this statement is not made recklessly. Business has been moving towards a healthy normal activity and in a good many quarters such activity has already been realized. In our judgment, those who have plans to make for 1925 ought to take the position that the coming months will show the whole country steadily placing itself upon a normal industrial and economic basis, with agricultural conditions improving continuously and with a steady increase in the purchasing power of the buying public. There is no good reason to urge against this view, but we should not be wise to predict booms or excited flurries of activity coming suddenly, and as suddenly dying away. Nothing could be more dangerous at the present moment than to encourage the view that the present bull market is the precursor of a boom ; for booms are neither in sight at this moment, nor would be desirable if they were in sight. What we may confidently anticipate is a steady and cheerful improvement, which is to be seen in its first stages right now and which will most certainly continue not only up until Christmas, but for months thereafter, until business has once more reached its normal state of prosperity, which, we believe, may be looked for during the first half of the new year. These are the anticipations which may safely be indulged in, so we think from a survey of mid-West conditions made in very favorable circumstances. As a matter of fact, they are good, we feel, for the whole country and for every line of business. We have turned the corner and the dark night is over and we are at least well on in the brightness of the forenoon. The Chicago Radio Show was not only an outstanding success so far as attendance, exhibits and actual business closed was concerned, but the show in itself was a significant indication of the tremendous progress that radio has made in the Middle West during the past year. The Chicago public is inclined to be clannish, in that Chicago Radio Show Scores the Coliseum in this city is not regarded merely as a place of amusement or as a suitable spot for trade expositions, but is the center of attraction whenever anything worth while is presented in its confines. This may in a measure account for the record-breaking attendance of nearly 200,000 at the recent Chicago Radio Show, but the fact remains that radio in itself is primarily and directly responsible for the phenomenal success of this exposition. There are very few products that could make a sufficient appeal to the general public to bring about closed doors at the Coliseum owing to lack of room for additional visitors. Radio apparently appeals to every class of individual, but it is encouraging to note that the "radio bug," so called, was in a very large minority at the recent show, and the predominating element was the substantial middle class, which, as we all know, represents the backbone of America's buying power. The talking machine industry, so far as personnel was concerned, was splendidly represented at the show, both in the exhibitors' booths and among the visiting jobbers and dealers. Walking through the Coliseum one evening we ran across such well-known talking machine men as Charlie Bennett, Bob Porter, Billy Nolan, Leslie Wiswell, Charlie Womeldorff, Arthur Trostler, and a host . of other executive and sales representatives connected with prominent phonograph and radio manufacturers. It almost looked like a convention gathering of the old days. "Says the Commissioner' Chicago is happy in possessing a municipal official who appreciates music and knows what its place in life ought to be and may be. This is Doctor Herman Bundesen, Commissioner of the Health Department, who has been giving a great deal of attention to the use of music as a therapeutic agent, especially, of course, in relation to assisting in the convalescence of sick people and in its effects upon those who suffer from mental diseases. He has recently published some interesting short articles on these and related subjects in the Bulletin, periodically issued by his department, and at the Piano Club of Chicago has more recently still dilated on the whole subject to the great edification of the talking machine men who constituted the greater part of his audience on this occasion. Doctor Bundesen is doing a good work in so spreading the musical gospel in these strenuous days when noise and excitement fill so much of the lives of the people. Talking machine men might have been reminded by his remarks that they have to sell the most perfect of musical instruments, which preserve the finest of music, recorded under the finest of conditions, for release at the will of any person who possesses the necessary machine for the purpose. Considering the purchasing power of the average middle-class family in American communities to-day and the price of the average good talking machine, it sometimes appears incredible that anyone should complain of difficulty in making sales. Selling music is our job. The Eternal Record We have been privileged to see some figures from the books of one of the largest manufacturers of records which show an appreciable, in fact a very respectable, increase in the figures of output for the first ten months of 1924 over those of the corresponding period during the very active year 1923. The showing is both interesting and remarkable. The record, in fact, is the backbone of the whole industry, and it is in itself absolutely unique. Nothing can take its place, and the people of this country are becoming aware of this fact. They are buying records, and buying them in ever-increasing quantities. Moreover, they are buying records of better music. There is no question of this, for the figures show the facts. In face of it, one views the end of the year with serene confidence.