Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1948)

CENTRAL CLEARANCE AGENCY MILLS' ASCAP SOLUTION by FRED HIFT Providing the two court decisions against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers are upheld in the higher courts and confirmed in substance by the Supreme Court, what will be the situation confronting the industry? Who will pay what and to whom ? And will the eventual cost be lower or higher than that borne by exhibitors under past licensing arrangements with Ascap? To E. C. Mills, a veteran of Ascap, which he headed as general manager for 25 years, as well as of exhibition — he owned and operated theatres in Texas and Oklahoma in the days of silent pictures — some of the answers are clear and undisputably logical. Does Not Speak for Ascap, But Opinion Important "There is only one conclusion," he said in New York last week. "Either keep Ascap and make sure it is properly controlled or create some central agency where both the copyright owner and the user of his music can conduct their business with a minimum of delay and expense." Mr. Mills does not purport to speak for the Society with which he broke in 1940 and he stresses, somewhat proudly, that he is no lawyer, but his opinions carry considerable weight in the light of his familiarity with the inner workings of the organization which, within recent months, has been labeled ''monopolistic" and in violation of the anti-trust laws by two Federal District Courts. In all of his comments on the Ascap problem he is careful to stress that the issue never will be wholly settled before it has reached the United States Supreme Court and that all court opinions so far have upheld the undisputed right of the individual copyright owner to profit from his creation. Believes Individual May Demand Licenses "Exhibitors will do well to remember one thing above all else," he says, his blue eyes pensive behind dark horn-rimmed glasses. "As long as the Federal copyright laws are in effect, someone will have to pay the copyright owner for his music. That's why I for one believe that any court decision, telling an individual Ascap member what to do and what not to do, will never stand up in the higher courts. A court, directly or by implication, can order the dissolution of Ascap, but as long as the copyright laws stand, it cannot dictate the actions of the individual copyright owner." Carrying this thought further, Mr. Mills believes that, once Ascap has divested itself of performing rights, the individual is within the law in demanding licenses with individual theatres. This, he points out, will E. C. MILLS cause the theatres no end of inconvenience since the exhibitor does not know in advance what music he will be playing, he cannot choose the music he books and plays and he cannot eliminate part of a sound track carrying music not licensed to him. In the early days of sound, just after Warners produced "Don Juan," Mr. Miljs, then general manager for Ascap, approached the Warner attorney who wanted to pay Ascap only two cents a print for the music used in a picture, on the assumption that music recorded on a sound track was covered under the section of the copyright law pertaining to phonograph records. Came Up with Agreement for Blank License of Music After considerable wrangling, Mr. Mills finally came up with the Mills-Erpi agreement which provided a blank license for Ascap music to the producers for which they, in turn, paid a set sum, in the case of Warner Brothers $1,000 a week. Under Mr. Mills' guiding hand, the synchronization rights question was thus worked out, but it was never covered by any law. There is a possibility, Mr. Mills muses, that the producers, if driven too hard, may question the legality of paying the synchronization fee. The Mills record was largely responsible for a recent move by a group of producers, asking him to survey the whole situation with an eye toward the establishment of a clearance center. He has postponed his investigation of the matter till the issue has been settled by the higher courts. Mr. Mills started in exhibition back in 1910, when he built and promoted the Plaza theatre in San Antonio where he had vaudeville and booked films independently. He remembers his piano player, who specialized in "Hearts and Flowers." From the Plaza he moved to the Interstate Amusement Company, for whom he managed theatres in Texas and Oklahoma. Later still, he built another Palace theatre in Oklahoma City and organized the Midwest Amusement Company. From there he went to Kansas City where, in 1916, he became the exchange manager for Mutual Film Corporation, remembered for its release of the first full-length Charlie Chaplin feature. Has Been Public Relations Counsel Since 1940 After moving to New York he became an executive of the Vaudeville Managers Protective Association and then chairman of the board of the Music Publishers Protective Association, an organization closely allied with Ascap, on whose administrative committee he served as chairman at the same time. In 1920 he became general manager for the weak and only locally organized society. Expanding it nationwide, he left in 1929 to organize Radio Music Company. Also in 1929, he joined the board of directors of RKO Radio. When the depression doomed his venture, Mr. Mills returned to Ascap in 1932 and remained there until 1940 when, as a result of a disagreement with the Ascap board over its demands on the broadcasters, he was "asked to resign." Since 1940 he has been active as a public relations and industrial counselor. He also is the dean of the United Artists board, having served since 1945. Ascap has more than 15,000 theatre licenses, he declares. "If theatres were to deal with composers individually, the cost of staff maintenance alone would be tremendous. And who do you think will pay? The exhibitor, Mister, the exhibitor. The producer will pass on the increase and make a profit to boot." Mr. Mills nevertheless holds strongly with those who feel that the producers should shoulder the cost of the performing rights and that the exhibitor should pay a "reasonable and just" part of that cost. Remembers First Case Brought Against Ascap Mr. Mills remembers the first case against Ascap, brought in 1918 by the 174th Street and St. Nicholas Ave. Amusement Company of New York in which the court sustained Ascap's right to collect performing fees. Ascap collected license fees from theatres as early as 1917 on the basis of five cents per seat per year. (Actually it amounted to only 2l/2 cents.) As the society began to spread and its song inventory quadrupled, the rates were raised and in 1921 were increased to 10 cents. The producers, asked all along to help pay performance right costs, always refused and started paying only following the Mills-Erpi agreement on synchronization rights. Mr. Mills feels strongly that, should Ascap be ruled out, some arrangement for central clearance will be necessary. t2 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, NOVEMBER 6, 1948