[CAUT] S&S Hearing Aida!?

[Diane Hofstetter]

Wim's evaluation seems right on about the fact that Steinway probably found 
a way to actually make money with their magazine.  Rob Gooddale reported 
from NAMM that last year was a slow one in the piano industry.  In recent 
years we have seen most manufacturers go  to succeedingly cheaper countries 
to get their instruments manufactured.

Let's face it, a company's first responsibility to it's continuing existence 
is to make money. If the profits from piano sales are not sufficient to 
produce the money needed to produce a continuing flow of high quality 
pianos, then maybe the money has to come from somewhere else.

Diane

Diane Hofstetter




----Original Message Follows----
From: Willem Blees <wblees at bama.ua.edu>
Reply-To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
Subject: Re: [CAUT] S&S Hearing Aida!?
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 11:56:28 -0600

In a sense, I think it's Steinway's answer to Accent, the Yamaha
magazine. But instead of promoting it's own piano, with the total
expense coming out of Yamaha's public relations department, Steinway
went for a maganize that not only promotes it's own instrument, but
promotes high society (high on the hog) living. On top of that,
instead of it costing the company money, it probably pays for it's
self, and might even add money to its coffers.

Wim


Quoting James Ellis <claviers at nxs.net>:

 > Yes, I saw it too, and my reaction was not good.  What kind of
 > message does
 > that send?  Does it suggest that people who are in the Steinway
 > "society"
 > are hard of hearing?  Moreover, I agree with Michelle.  I too think
 > that
 > magazine is "gluttonous".  The thing that put Steinway on top for so
 > many
 > years was the "image".  "Steinway" meant one thing, and one thing
 > only,
 > i.e., high-quality pianos.  No matter what size or style, their
 > pianos had
 > only one quality level, while with some competitors, the quality
 > level was
 > proportional to the size and type of the instrument.
 >
 > Now, as per that magazine, what does Steinway represent anyway?  It
 > looks
 > like a conglomeration of all sorts of high-end stuff for people who
 > have
 > lots of money they didn't earn for themselves and don't know what to
 > do
 > with it.  I think, for some extra bucks, it dilutes Steinway's
 > long-standing "image", and I think it's a huge mistake!  I'm sorry to
 > see
 > this happening!
 >
 > Jim Ellis
 >


Willem Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
School of Music
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL USA