The talking machine world (Jan-June 1925)

June 15, 1925 THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD 86s Convention of National Music Industries Over a Thousand Members of the Music Trade Gather in Chicago at the Annual Conventions of the Various National Organizations Affiliated With Music Industries Chamber of Commerce Chicago, III., June 11. — The Drake Hotel here has been the scene this week of the National Music Industries Convention covering four full days and embracing the annual sessions of the Musical Industries Chamber of Commerce, with which a number of phonograph and radio concerns are affiliated, as well as the annual meetings of the various member associations making up the Chamber and including the National Association of Music Merchants, the National Piano Manufacturers' Association, Band Instrument Manufacturers' Association, National Musical Merchandise Association, National Association of Musical Merchandise and Accessories Manufacturers, Musical Supply Association, Organ Builders' Association and other organizations. The convention attracted well over a thousand members of the industry from all sections of the country, including a large number of talking machine and radio men who attended some of the business sessions and, in a number of cases, had exhibits of their products at the Drake or elsewhere in Chicago for the benefit of the visiting dealers. Piano Club Luncheon Opens Convention The convention opened officially on Monday with a luncheon under the auspices of the Piano Club of Chicago and with Harry Schoenwald, a well-known talking machine man presiding in his capacity as president of the club. The visitors were welcomed officially to Chicago by Mayor Dever and then President Richard VV. Lawrence, of the Chamber of Commerce, as the principal speaker, outlined in an excellent address what the Chamber and its various bureaus have accomplished and are accomplishing for the benefit of the industry as a whole. Mr. Lawrence explained that the Chamber was working in the interests of the trade 365 days in the year and at a cost of only $100,000 to the entire industry in all its branches, and yet there are members of the trade who are so engrossed in their own affairs that they take no part in the work but are perfectly willing to let George do it. He made a strong appeal .for greater unity in the trade that there might be built up a perfect and harmonious machine, that, through organization, could accomplish successfully things which the individual trade member would not dare to attempt. The function of the Chamber, he said, was something beyond the mere spending of money, and cited the great progress that had been made by that body during the three years that he has held the presidency. The speaker called attention to the tremendous development of radio which, he said, had absorbed four hundred million dollars of the public's money with little, if any, profit to anyone and with much of the money actually wasted through lack of organization. Had the radio interests taken advantage of the merchandising information, based on actual experience, available in the Chamber, he said, they would have learned of the dangers that lie in pyramiding orders as realized in the piano trade in 1920 The effectiveness of the Chamber in offering organized protection to the industry was emphasized particularly in the recent case in Washington, where the Internal Revenue Department made a drastic ruling on the matter of tax returns on instalment accounts. With expert knowledge available, declared Mr. Lawrence, the Chamber could go to Washington with a fair chance of success against the Government experts, whereas the individual would have little or no chance unless at a great sacrifice of time and money. The Chamber president emphasized the work being done by the National Bureau for the Advancement of Music, a part of the Chamber, and stated that at the present time the Bureau was operating through 7,000 outside organizations, all working to promote musical interest and appreciation throughout the country and spending twenty-five times the amount of money actually appropriated by the trade for the Bureau itself. He also stated that the New York Music Week Committee, organized through the Bureau, had a budget for the current year of $100,000, as much as was spent by the entire Chamber for the year, and all collected outside of the trade. In closing President Lawrence declared that if the music merchants expected to enjoy a satisfactory business total for the year, they would have to work hard for it and that they should not condemn general conditions, the Chamber or other factors until they felt that they themselves had done everything they should have done to build trade. Reports of Chamber Activities The activities of the various Chamber officers and Bureau heads were outlined in various reports presented before the different associations in their meetings during the week. The work of the Chamber in the tax and copyright matters, the great progress made by the National Bureau for the Advancement of Music and the doings of the Better Business Bureau and the Trade Service Bureau were all set forth at length. The finance committee recommended a budget for the coming year of $124 500, $20,000 to come from the phonograph trade as compared with $9,500 this year. The entertainment feature at the opening luncheon was the entire male chorus from "The Student Prince," who sang all the chorus numbers from that popular operetta. National Piano Mfrs.' Association Session The National Piano Manufacturers' Association held its annual convention at the Drake on Tuesday and considered a number of matters of importance to that division of the trade. A report was rendered stating that due to the adoption of a resolution at the January meeting of the Executive Committee of the Association, making the purchase and use of stamps on all pianos for the support of the Music Industries Chamber of Commerce a requisite for membership in the Association, several resignations from the body resulted. To offset this, however, several new members were announced. A particularly strong report was presented by the Traffic Committee relative to more favorable freight rates and classifications of pianos. Mark P. Campbell, president of the Brambach Piano Co., New York, who attended the convention of the Federation of British Music Industries, told of his experiences there and praised highly the efficient manner in which the British manufacturers and dealers ran their sessions and the whole convention generally. Max J. de Rochemont Elected President The outstanding feature of the afternoon session of the Manufacturers' Association was an address by W. E. Guylee, of The Cable Co., who pointed out the solidity of the piano business and the surety of its future in view of musical educational work and the fact that most music is written for or in connection with the piano. The Association's credit bureau was re ported as functioning efficiently, having compiled information regarding 6,472 new dealers, and was in receipt of over 14,000 requests for information of a credit nature during the fiscal \ear which has just come to a close. The following officers were elected for the coming year: President, Max J. dc Rochemont, New York; vice-presidents, W. E. Guylee, Chicago, and C. D. Bond, York, Pa.; secretary, Harry Schaaf, and treasurer, Charles Jacob, New York. Interesting Talks at Music Merchants' Meeting The twenty-fourth annual convention of the National Association of Music Merchants opened on Tuesday morning with the injunction from W. W. Smith, Toledo, the president, that it would be a selling convention, with every effort made to aid the merchant in selling more instruments and adopting better methods for merchandising his products. There was a substantial number of talking machine men present at the meetings and about the lobbies of the hotel. The first address of the meeting was by Prof. Osborne McConathy, of Northwestern University, Evanston, 111., director of department of Public School and Community Music, on the subject "The Relationship Between Public School Music and the Music Merchant." This interesting . address could be summed up in the concluding paragraph of the speaker's remarks, in which he said: "The public schools are nowadays looking upon music as a real educational subject; the school music teacher is awakening an interest in all forms of musical expression among the children; this interest must inevitably carry over into the homes and the community. The music merchant can be of the finest service to the community by insisting upon the best and most modern public school music and by supporting in every possible way the work of the music teacher. The broader and more liberal the attitude of the music merchant in these respects, the surer will be his personal return." The address by Prof. McConathy followed the usual reports of the various officers of the Association. William Braid White, associate editor of The Talking Machine World, read an interesting paper on "What Is the Matter With the Service End of the Piano Business?" which evoked much discussion, particularly on the question of charging for service on instruments sold. A most interesting talk was then given by Homer Buckley, chairman of the legislative commission of the National Advertising Commission, on the subject "Better Business," in which he criticized freely certain misleading advertising in the music trade. C. A. Wessell in his remarks advocated that the piano, player-piano, talking machine and radio be classified and advertised to the public under the general head of home entertainment. Tuesday Afternoon Session The afternoon session opened with a talk by Alex McDonald, of New York, on the topic "Make America Musical," the convention slogan, of which he was the originator. He was followed by James J. Black, of the Wiley B. Allen Co., San Francisco, who spoke on the subject of instituting a carrying charge on instalment sales in place of regular interest charges and explained in detail how the California Association members were following this (Continued on fage tbb)