NAB reports (Mar-Dec 1933)

The Examiner found that the city of Erie will support two radio stations and that there is sufficient local talent to serve the needs of an additional broadcasting station at Erie. He also found that the applicant is financially and otherwise qualified to operate the proposed new station. WILL GETS POWER INCREASE On Friday the Federal Radio Commission granted an increase in daytime power from 500 to 1,000 watts to station WILL, Urbana, Ill., on its present frequency of 890 kilocycles, reversing Examiner George H. Hill in his Report No. 496. The Commission found that the applicant is rendering a meri¬ torious service, that the service would be improved and enlarged by the use of the additional daytime power and that “such inter¬ ference as may result from applicant’s use of the additional power requested would be more than offset by the advantages to be gained.” NEWS BROADCAST BRINGS SUIT THREAT A suit for damages under Section 51 of the Civil Rights Law of the State of New York has been threatened against Station WFBL for the use of names of citizens in a news broadcast spon¬ sored by one of the station’s clients. The news item was correct in every detail, according to the station. The section of the New York law under which suit is threatened is as follows: “Sec. 51. Action for injunction and for damages. Any person whose name, portrait or picture is used within the state for ad¬ vertising purposes or for the purposes of trade without the written consent first obtained as above provided may maintain an equit¬ able action in the Supreme Court of this State against the person, firm or corporation so using his name, portrait or picture, to prevent and restrain the use thereof ; and may also sue and recover damages for any injuries sustained by reason of such use and if the defendant shall have knowingly used such person’s name, portrait or picture in such manner as is forbidden or declared to be unlawful by the last section, the jury, in its discretion, may award exemplary damages. But nothing contained in this act shall be so construed as to prevent any person, firm or corporation, practicing the profession of photography, from exhibiting in or about his or its establishment specimens of the work of such establishment, unless the same is continued by such person, firm or corporation after written notice objecting thereto has been given by the person portrayed.” THEY WON’T RESTRICT, IF— A number of radio stations have sent in copies of letters that reveal a new style of “advertising chiseling” by ASCAP music publishers. The letter from Louis Bernstein, president of Shapiro, Bernstein and Co., Inc., names two compositions whose copyright he claims to control and says: “We are publishers of the above compositions, and we have entered into a contract with Paramount Pictures for the publica¬ tion of the entire score of ‘I’M NO ANGEL’. The terms of the contract prohibit us to authorize the public performance of these compositions by radio except and unless they be announced as ' from Mae West’s new picture I’M NO ANGEL’. “We have no desire to place these songs upon the restricted list, yet must do so unless the Stations will cooperate in making the above announcement every time the compositions are played. “Will you, therefore, please accept this as a friendly request to make the announcement or refrain from performing the composi¬ tions. If you will do this we will not be faced with the neces¬ sity of restricting the numbers, and they can be available for your use and the service of your station if presented in the above manner. “In order that we may protect our obligations, under the con¬ tract with Paramount Pictures, will you please favor us with the • Page assurance that if and when the compositions are performed from your Station they will be announced in accordance with the above form.” The letter from Robert Crawford, president of De Sylva, Brown and Henderson, Inc., claims the copyright to four compositions in “Broadway Thru A Keyhole” and says: “Under the terms of our agreement with the producers of this picture we were required to place these numbers on the restricted list, to be done by special permission only. However, we have been able to prevail upon the producers to have them remove the restriction with the proviso that we would request the broadcasting stations to credit the numbers as being from the picture ‘BROAD¬ WAY THRU A KEYHOLE’ whenever they are played on the air. “This looks like one of the smash hit pictures of the season, and I know the numbers are due to be extremely popular. I sin¬ cerely trust that you will see your way clear to conform with this request, and in accordance with the above I have this day author¬ ized ASCAP to remove the numbers from the restricted list. You may therefore have same played over your stations without re¬ questing special permission.” To the stations asking for advice on this subject, Oswald F. Schuette, NAB director of copyright, has written: Under the terms of the ASCAP contract, these music publishers have the right either to restrict compositions and thereby prevent their being played by broadcasting stations or not to restrict them and thereby leave them open to public performance on the air. If the publishers place these numbers on the restricted list, sta¬ tions are advised not to play them and not to ask special per¬ mission to play them. Stations are further advised that once a number is placed on the restricted list it should remain there. If the publishers do not place these compositions on the re¬ stricted list, stations are free to use them without tying that use to an advertising blurb or to free publicity for a motion picture. Stations receiving such requests from publishers or motion picture companies should send their rate cards to the companies asking for such free advertising. Both Mr. Bernstein and Mr. Crawford are directors of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. It is, therefore, particularly interesting that they should participate in such an effort to obtain additional performances of their music despite the ASCAP plea that broadcasting is destroying ASCAP compositions. The best answer to all such special efforts to “plug” ASCAP music is to keep it off the air. A. F. OF L. OPPOSES INVESTIGATION The Executive Council of the American Federation of Labor, at its 53d annual convention held in Washington last week, sub¬ mitted a report in which the following on the subject of broad¬ casting was included: “Resolution No. 53, providing for an investigation of radio advertising and if feasible to secure national legislation prohibiting the long advertising lectures and speeches over the radio of the country, was referred to the executive council. “A thorough investigation of this subject has been made. In the first place, the most persistent advertisers over the radio are the largest advertisers in the newspapers and magazines. These include automobiles, cigars and cigarettes, toothpaste, ginger ale and many other articles. “The advertising broadcasts are necessarily accompanied by music. Actors and actresses furnish a program. Should advertis¬ ing be eliminated or restricted to an extent that it would not be practical, thousands of musicians, actors and other employes, would be thrown out of employment. If radio advertising was prohibited it would be necessary for the broadcasting stations to secure funds from some other source to carry on their broadcasts. In some countries where the broadcasting stations are controlled by the government a tax is placed upon receiving sets. Naturally, that would be the main source of revenue that would have to be raised in the United States if advertising was prohibited or re¬ stricted. “There are 12,000 full-time employes of the broadcasting stations of the United States. This does not include the thousands of artists and musicians employed by program sponsors and the networks. The annual payroll is approximately $23,000,000. 202 •