Song Pluggers

The song pluggers had the best job during the Tin Pan Alley years. I would even go so far as to say they had better jobs than the actual performers themselves. This is because they got to play the music, sell the music, and did not have any of the pressures of being in the limelight; the lack of privacy, crazy schedules, etc. Not only did they get the satisfaction of playing the music, but they got to practice their instrument and get paid for it!

I also believe that it would have been nice for the consumer to be able to hear and see the music he/she was about to purchase. An advantage of that is being able to judge the difficulty of the song by watching the song plugger's fingers on the keys, instead of just by how it sounds. More often than not, a piece that sounds like it is easy to play is actually difficult. This would keep consumers from buying a song that they could not play. In conclusion, song plugging was a good thing for the seller and and the consumer.