[Trombone-l] End of the Music world is coming

[Chris Tune]

I particularly like your remark about reality (in other words--truth) and 
ignoring it won't make it go away.

If I were CS, I'd consider some radical alternatives--based upon my taste, 
I'd see If I could convert part of the factory capacity to making military 
weapons (in the US). . .perhaps second sourcing of M16s--but, really 
anything with high QC standards would do (the idea is to continue to make 
great bones like the Christian Lindberg stuff. . .but drop the student stuff 
in favor of changing to some other lucrative area)--

SIDEBAR (forget it, if you want strict TRB stuff)
I personally feel there is going to be less peace in the world. . .until 
Islam wakes up and starts helping reign in the madness. . .right now they 
are still running a losing PR battle to convince us that they are a 
"religion of peace"--Bahhh!!!  Look what a small group of miscreants did to 
the Roman Catholic Church--FORCED it to deal harshly with it's internal 
miscreants--it took ACTION. . .albeit late. . .they all seem to sit on their 
hands too much.   Anyway, those who purport to worship a God of good, are 
obliged to take action that tends to promote . . .what?   GOOD!   not evil.

. .I've not seen any systematic action contravening terror--until the recent 
vote by the League of Arab States supporting Israel (best thing they've done 
in decades!)..

BACK TO MUSIC
And, then I'd concentrate on that subdivision and the Quality musical 
instruments (I'd see if one division could figure out how to make a decent 
economical, American made string bass. . .then I'd give 'em to my bass 
player friends and tell them to spread the word!!).  I'd take profit from 
the weapons side and reinvest in bringing CS technology up to and above the 
level of Yamaha. I'd also see about centralizing all R&D in Selmer into one 
powerhouse music technology powerhouse--centered around acoustic sound 
sources (I'd always remember Henri Selmer. . .even though "Il parle 
Francais")--with a mind toward the modern way of making and recording music 
(using the computer).

I'd see if there would be a way to "free float" wages based upon production 
and quality incentives, with the Union still keeping its traditionally 
successful role of overseeing grievances and working conditions. . .and the 
general fairness of the contract between worker and managements.   Unions do 
pretty good in protecting life and limb, but do very poorly in economics. . 
.they just don't seem to be in anyway designed around dealing with costs and 
classical economics as it applies to labor (they wind up protecting the 
wages of Elites . . .and not the wider, rank and file).  It is as if the 
Union leaders were all asleep during Econ 101 - Micro Economics.  First they 
say that Union means better quality, but then they would never, ever want a 
pay system based upon better pay for better quality, and worse pay for worse 
quality.   Another time they would promote the notion that Union means 
greater productivity, but then they would balk at a measure of productivity 
(only applicable in factory kind of businesses. . .forget musicians. . ) 
being used to assign wage rates.   This is why the Elite are protected. 
They are better. . .make less mistakes. . .so quality and productivity are 
high.  Thus less rank and file get work. . .but the Elite survive.

MODERN BUSINESS vs the 19th CENTURY WAY
I'd also see about changing the way information is handled in the 
organization.  It seems to me, that CS is run in a very old-fashioned "green 
eyeshades" approach to financial information.  They are happy that they stay 
ahead of the SEC, the exchanges and stay on top of the analysts and try and 
provide a continuing MD&A (in quarterly financials there is a verbal write 
up called "Management's Discussion and Analysis"--MD&A) that shows they are 
good managers.  That simply is not enough now.    There have to be ways in 
which music manufacturers can clean up by looking ahead at the coming 
revolution in electronic music, together with the acoustic side and making 
the two work together.   Two companies to look at with regard to this are 
Creative Labs/E-Mu (which is right on top of the changes in the world of 
mp3, sampling and PCs) and Yamaha (which recently bought software developer 
Steinberg - maker os Cubase. . .Yamaha makes digital audio interfaces, 
digital audio mixing consoles. . .PA gear, and YES Trombones!!).

Of course no company is perfect.  Creative should offer an mp3 player which 
allows for flash card expansion like my Sandisk.  Yamaha needs to execute 
more quickly and more thoroughly without so much of a wait for the various 
levels of the organization to give their ok--probably another thing where 
tradition is holding things back, but also helping keep certain cherished 
things alive.

Chris


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Charles De Paolo" <chuck at hickeys.com>
To: "Trombone List" <trombone-l at server5.samford.edu>
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2006 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] End of the Music world is coming


>> There is a conspiracy for a one world government, and it is
>> happening right underneath our noses, and little we can do to stop it.
>
> OK, I'm no fan of Chinese made products, even the ones that are well made 
> (and there are many).  But I think it's probably a stretch to equate ISOs 
> with One World Government. The strike at Conn-Selmer (C-S) is about many 
> things, but it's not about black helicopters and the Attack of the Metric 
> System.
>
> Conn-Selmer is in the student instrument business.  If they continue to 
> produce student level instruments whose manufacturing costs are far higher 
> than the street price of similar offshore instruments, they will be forced 
> out of the student business. This is simple inevitable fact.  All things 
> being equal (and they are rapidly becoming so, don't kid yourself) why 
> would you shell out $700 on something you could get for $300?
>
> OK,  not you personally, but everyone else sharing the road with you on 
> the way to work. The ones who don't use their turn signals or know the 
> difference between Tommy Dorsey and Tommy Hilfiger (list moderator: 
> mandatory trombone content).
>
> It does not really matter what is morally right, whether you love or hate 
> China or whether you're pro-union or pro-management.  The market says that 
> if you sell stuff that costs too much and people can get that same or 
> similar stuff elsewhere for a substantially lower price or at a better 
> convenience, they will leave you and go there.
>
> This is one dilemma facing C-S.  The management wants to keep student 
> instrument production in the US (they really do, they're not Communists 
> you know), but they can not do it if all their top craftsmen (read: those 
> with the highest wage and benefits cost) continue to work on the student 
> assembly lines.  Is that unreasonable?  Even if you believe it to be 
> unreasonable, you still can not ignore the fact that it simply won't fly 
> in a Global market.
>
> So, if you're a UAW member walking the line in Elkhart, do you stick it 
> out on principal, hoping the Chinese will relent? (Hah - fat chance of 
> that!).  Or do you give in, take the wage cut so you can still have a job, 
> even though you may see a drop in your standard of living?  Or do you 
> simply stay out on strike until your retirement date arrives (or the 
> Second Coming, whichever occurs first), then go work 360 hours a week at 
> Walmart to make an equivalent paycheck?  It stinks for everybody, the UAW 
> and its membership, non-union C-S employees, management, shareholders, 
> suppliers, UPS, pizza shops in Elkhart, music retailers and those 
> consumers who have a clue.  But it's reality, and ignoring it will not 
> make it go away.
>
> Meanwhile, those big ships keeping tying up at Long Beach.
>
> --Chuck
>
>  Walmart and Target have definitely made a dent in the musical retail
>  business, and they way that they have done it is several fold:
>
>  1) Walmart does 12 billion dollars of business a year with Communist 
> China.
>  Results:
>
>  Products that used to be made in the U.S. can be produced in China for a
>  fraction of the price because the average wage of the Chinese worker is 
> 61
>  cents an hour.
>
>  As a result, quality control goes down the drain.
>
>  Incidentally, that is EXACTLY what the strike in Elkhart at the 
> Conn-Selmer
>  factory is all about. They thought that they could save a bunch of money 
> by
>  having the Chinese make the student line instruments. When the first 
> order
>  was completed, shipped back here and inspected, it was little more than
>  SCRAP. Conn-Selmer unloaded the entire shipment on Taylor Music in South
>  Dakota at a tremendous loss.
>
>  How quickly we forget how badly Communism affected Russia. Richard Nixon
>  sold us down the river in 1972 in having dealings with China. There is a
>  conspiracy for a one world government, and it is happening right 
> underneath
>  our noses, and little we can do to stop it.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Trombone-l mailing list
> Trombone-l at maillists.samford.edu
> http://maillists.samford.edu/mailman/listinfo/trombone-l