The talking machine world (Jan-June 1928)

R ECORD of the IVIONTH M C P LUB JT LAN By C. H. Mansfield Fitzgerald Music Co. Provisions of the Record of the Month Plan EACH month five of the outstanding musical authorities in our organization of one hundred people will hear every Brunswick and Victor record issued for that month. They will select the outstanding record in each class or type of music. On the enclosed slip are listed a few of the various types of music from which these outstanding records will be selected monthly from new records issued. Three dance choices will be selected by the committee each month and rated 1, 2, 3, in order of choice. If you want the most popular dance number of the month, place the figure "1" after "Dance Music." If you want the two or three outstanding dance numbers, place the figure "2" or "3" after "Dance Music." In other types of music only one selection will be chosen each month. REGARDLESS of type or class of music, there will be one outstanding selection each month, known as the "Record of the Month." So if you want just one record sent you each month, and you are not particular as to the type of music, simply check "One Record of the Month" on the card provided for that purpose. CHECK and mail the enclosed card, and you will receive your selections by parcel post in regular order. They will then be charged to your account. If they do not prove satisfactory, you may return them within three days, and exchange them for others. Or you will receive outright credit. You are not obligated in any way to keep the records, providing returns or exchanges are made within three days from receipt. owners of combinations play the phonograph side of the instrument, their interest and enthusiasm in the phonograph will wane, and the chief source of future business will be eliminated, for we all know that an enthusiastic customer is the greatest of all business stimulators. If the combination owner does not have a good selection of records or new numbers, then he is not very likely to play the phonograph side of the combination for friends who drop in, hence a very effective means of advertising for the retail merchant is completely lost. As an example, if the owner of a large combination is not interested in the phonograph side of his instrument he naturally is not going to enthuse over it to his friends — in fact he is apt to be quite the contrary — he is more likely to advise IN order to sell phonographs, the music from records idea must be sold— for since the ascendency of radio to popularity many people have ceased to think of the phonograph and records as a medium of music. Many people still imagine that records and phonographs are out of date and turn to the radio for their musical entertainment. In our own business we have concentrated upon the selling of the phonograph as a medium of musical entertainment with the result that we have developed quite a large amount of phonograph and combination business in addition to a very healthy radio volume. However, after a check-up I have found that many of the customers who purchased combinations have been notably poor record customers, which is evidence of the fact that the phonograph side of the combination is not as popular apparently as the radio side. After making a canvass of some 75 or 80 of these customers in order to learn why they were not purchasing records, the composite of the answers was about like this: "We don't have time to come down and select new records, and it is so easy to just turn on the radio that we never think much about records any more." Unquestionably if this is the consensus of opinion of the majority of owners of phonographs and combinations, then something must be done to stimulate and keep alive their interest in records or selling phonographs will become increasingly hard and ultimately the volume will be affected seriously, for unless the C. H. Mansfield and that periods as long as six months or a: year had elapsed without the addition of a: single new record to their collection, all because they imagined that they did not have time to come in and select new records. This actual situation exists in an appalling; number of cases with phonograph and combination owners. This is indeed anything but a cheering situation to the phonograph dealer — for while we alii naturally want to do as large a volume as possible in straight radio, still the wise dealer also realizes that there is a great volume possible in phonographs and combinations and a volume that will yield a large profit. So in searching around for some scheme to keep up interest in the phonograph by getting new records into the hands of our phonograph owners, we organized the "Record of the Month Club" — patterned after the now famous "Book of the Month Club." We reasoned that if we could get even only one new record into the hands of our phonograph owners each month we would be doing much to stimulate interest in the phonograph— for then at least once a month the customer would play his phonograph and thus again be reminded of its potentialities as a dispenser of music, and then too, if the owners have at least one new record each month they are more apt to play the phonograph for their friends who drop in, Check Your Musical Likes Below For instance, if you Jike vocal and popular songs, put a check after each. In other words, put a check after the type of music! as well as type of voices or instruments you like. (Check) (Quantity desired) One Record of the Month □ Dance Music □ Popular Songs □ Concert Numbers □ Grand Opera □ Symphonies □ Put check in square after types of music you like. Put figure in space after square stating how many records of that type you would like to receive each month. If you wish only the one outstanding record each month regardless of type then put no figures on lines after squares. Types of Instruments and Voices Piano □ Pipe Organ □ String Orchestra □ Symphony Orchestra □ Hawaiian Guitars □ Violin □ Female Voices □ Male Voices □ Duets □ Quartets □ Put check in square after type of singer or instrument you like. for they will not feel that their library of records is out of date, as is customary when there have been no new records added for several months. The record a month plan was first broached to several phonograph and combination owners and met with such an enthusiastic response that we decided! definitely to put it into (Continued on page 11) his friends to purchase only a straight radio — and such advice from the owner of a combination to a friend is indeed very difficult for a salesman to overcome. My check-up revealed that many owners of phonographs and combinations cost ing over a thousand dollars had purchased only a comparatively small number of records at the time the instrument was purchased FITZGERALD MUSIC CO. Los Angeles Date 192.... You may enroll me as a member of the "Record of the Month" Club and send me, subject to return in 3 days after receipt (quantity) records each month. Your selections' to be based on my taste as indicated on other side of this card. It is understood that this does not obligate me to purchase even one record provided I return the records within 3 days from the date I receive them. I also, however, agree to keep and pay for records which I do not return within 3 days. Sincerely yours, IMPORTANT Type Instrument owned Date purchased NAME ADDRESS CITY TELEPHONE. IiE SURE AND GIVE INFORMATION REQUESTED ON OTHER SIDE 10