Sponsor (Nov 1947-Oct 1948)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

®This was due to be a transcription year* (sponsor, June 1947). Through programs well recorded, with star names of network calibre, spot radio was scheduled to climb heights not even the most sanguine station owner had dared hope. Then on Saturday, October 18, James C. Pctrillo announced, on behalf of the American Federation of Musicians, that members of the Federation would cease making recordings on December 31, 1947. The first reaction to the statement among transcription organizations was consternation. This was especially true of producers of open-end musical transcriptions. When the first heat had It's 9oin3 to be tough on Tommy Dorsey cooled off, even the biggest producers of open-end broadcast recordings knew that in the case of some producers it meant the greatest intensive recording schedule ever attempted. It meant doing two years of recordings in two months. However, in the offices of most syndicated transcription organizations there was little worry. For the most part transcriptions, like network cooperative programs, are recorded without music. Mystery series do not require musical interludes nor do the average dramatic or comedy transcriptions. Programs like Ronald Colman's Favorite Story, however, depend a great deal on the mood scoring of their music but Favorite Story, for one, wont be minus that feature at least for a long time to come. Ziv is many months ahead of release schedule and will no doubt make further plans for music for many months of future releases. This wouldn't be possible without Ziv's resources. There are others who are doing what Ziv will do; at least all of the producers who are in active production will record masters to protect themselves for a minimum of 12 months ahead. Guy Lombardo, according to report, is recording eight hours a day six days a week to complete his 156 program contract with Ziv. The ban does place a halter around the neck of Lou Cowan's organization in so far as his Tommy Dorsey disk jockey series is concerned, for the popularity of a name disk jockey is tied up with his ability to anticipate musical hits. When there are no disks being currently recorded it's very difficult to anticipate what will be popular because popularity will depend upon what the music publishers and the recording organizations get behind. Popularity is always synthetic during any music ban. It becomes a big business drive, not a spontaneous yen on the part of the public. Not even Tommy Dorsey can read the minds of music publishers and the artist and repertoire heads of recording companies. If anyone could, T. D. would be the man. The fact is that except for the transcribed musical libraries like NBC Thesaurus, World, and Standard, to mention three, the use of e.t.'s will continue to expand with or without the AFM ban. It is being proved every day by the networks, through their cooperative program departments, that programs without music can do a top local selling job, and gather top audiences. It would therefore seem that the programs of the top transcription producers (except for purely musical programs) do not require music either. Co-ops have no dramatic star on the air to equal transcription's Ronald Colman or the stars of The Smiths oj Hollywood. Dick Kollmar (Boston Blackie), George Raft {Mr. Ace), and Eddie Bracken can be helF)ed by music but not made by it. The big development in the syndicated transcription field, apart from the hurdle erected by James C. Petrillo, has been the entry of customizing of recordings by many of the releasing organizations. National spot advertisers have always questioned just how well their commercials were being handled locally with their sponsorship of a fine transcribed presentation. When they could afford built-to-order transcriptions they got just the right kind of commercial punch they were seeking. This is no reflection on the abilities of local announcers. Advertisers recognize that many of the networks' best air salesmen came up through the ranks at smaller stations. On the other hand *Hadio yrar rum from Srplrmber //ir, pi<i« lujii.*/ 30 SPONSOR