Variety (Jan 1949)

W^nMdttf* Jannary 26, 1949 RCi OA. in Wholesale Jockeying To Win Over Diskeries on RPM ORCWKSniAS^BIIJSlC 4S Hollywood, Jan. 25. -f William S.. Paley, president of TBS and Frank White, president of Columbia Records, CBS subsid, have been endeavoring to talk Cap- itol Records out of its aim to join with RCA-Victor in the marketing of the letter's new 45 rpm disks and changers. Paley is said to have participated in conversations with Capitol men, but It was White who concentrated on trying to keep British Lif t Disk Ban London, Jan, 18. Settlement of. the American, Federation of Musicians' dispute I on recordings has been followed by the raisin:; of the embargo Im- i posed in the fall of last year by' the Musicians Union. Hardie Ratclifte, MU general; secretary, has advised his mem- Ira Amstein's Suit Against 12 INsmissed Songwriter Ira Arnstein's recent N. Y. supreme court action against some 12 defendants was dismissed last week by Justice Felix fien- venga, who directed the plaintiff to serve a third amended complaint within 20 days. Affected by the court's decision were the Ameri- Dealers Attribute Record Sale Drop To RCA vs. Col. Confusion on RPM Mercury LP's in 2 Wks. ■ Mercury Records will release its first Microgroove- Long - Playing i disk in two weeks. Initial issue can Society of Authors, Composers ; ^(^^ ^^^^^^^ „f ig.jneh diskins disk recordings with visiting Amer- ican artistSi ■ -Capitol oif VIctor;s side and to in- — noxV free to make duce the Coast major in joming ' ' the rpm battle on the side of Co- lumbia's 33 V& rpm Microgroove long-Playing disks. Columbia has already gotten Mercury, another budding firm, to join with it in putting the 33Mi ' 'Sides on the market and if It can Induce Capitol to^ forego partici- pating with Victor, the worry over Decca Records' future moves will be minimized. Decca has not made any decisions; according to presi- dent Jack Kapp. He prefers to watch the situation and mean- while concentrate on the 78 fpm field, which will be alive and kick- ing for some tim.e. yet. But Capitol is the key. If it re- •inains with Victor, which is said to be likely. Columbia must secure Decca for its side. It can't miss, because^if Decca also went Victor there would be three majors lined up 9gainst Columbia and Mercury. If Decca went with Columbia, the ' balance would be in Columbia's favor, even if CapitoL aligned with Victor. But Columbia can't chance, if it can be avoided, hoping to in- duce Decca. If it can snag Capitol ■ 'from Victor, a good part of its wor- ■ Ties are over. ' That's what White and Paley have tried to do. They're now back In N. Y, & Publishers, N. Y.' Herald Tribunei Inc., . Sigmund Spaeth, Leeds Music, Louis D. Frohlich, Herman Finkelstein^ Irving Berlin, Com OpLolik But Don't Buy At Chi CMI Confab Chicago, Jan. 25. Coin Machine Institute coriyerition at Sherman hotel, Monday- through Wednesday (17-191, topped 1948 attendance : <flgureS« ' but' apparent decline, in sales Wa& re^ Ing three-dai' ittiie^t. : High .cSit rpf living and yideO rieecive'd its share of the blame. Since most Of mahuracturers that exhibited sell through regionjil franchises, actual amount of coin^ tracted biz could hot :be' deter- mined. But complaints Ofv gM^ apathy towards new juk© box mod- els and combination video and mu-. sic boxes were constant. Decca, Columbia, RCA Victor, Capitol, and a few Of the minor labels, re- ceived delegates in suites at the and whether they were i Sherman, since some _of > them did by. the: Russiaft ViWinist, Djivid Oistrakh, of Khachaturian's Vio- lin Concerto.. Disk will sell for $4.85. Mer- . „ „ „ , cury's LP process Is the same ABC Music Corp., Bregman, Vocco as that used by Columbia Records. & Conn, and Supreme Music. | In aU Arnstein originally named . approximately 50 individuals and i corporations as defendants in his i suit which principally charged in- fringement of his songs. Justice; Benvenga's reasons for granting motions for dismissal, in 'general held that the causes of action were "vague and indeflnite" and "allegaT tions are in such form tliat it is un- safe to plead to it." : Arnstein acts as ..his own attorney.* successful or not Capitol's not saying. An angle'on . the Columbia ap- proach to Decca might lie in CBS .deal -with Bing Crosby last week, is unknown. I not set up display booths. j Convensh had 10 foreign coun^ I tries represented, inclndihg firsts I for Palestine and. several Central American counties., Chicagoan Hat: Capitol WiU Back HitewithPJ).Airs To Cut Corners Disk Marts Ask Legal Help Vs. Price-Cutting Chicago, Jan. 25. The controversy begun in the recording business by the advent of RCA-Victor's 45 rpm recording* in opposition to Columbia's pre- viously marketed BSi'fi rpm disks is having far-reaching effects on record dealers and the public alike, distributors here claim. It's a.s- serted that retail dealers are burned plenty at Victor for mud- dling the entire recording situation with its 45 development, and they're angered just as much at Capitol for joining Victor. Dealers assert tliat the drop in record sales during the past two to three weeks, and it has dropped sharply in this area, is almost en- tirely due to the confusing and conflicting picture of the necessity of three different turntable speeds. It's pointed out that neither Co-, lumbia nor Victor has, through all the slugging for newspaper and [ wire breaks for their respective developmentsi' made it clear enough. I that the standard 78 rpm business will be continued for a long time, since it isn't easy to induce; the' Philadelphia, .Tan. 25; Injunction proceedings were 1 brought against a midtown music |p\Vbllc*to'discarrnearly'isroo^ shop to prevent price-cutting on •jg turntables. Most of these are which brings the Groaner to CBS I ry E. Williams was elected ,as new next year. Though the deal does not involve Crosby's recording ac- tivities, the fact that the singer is on CBS gives the latter's execs an opportunity to talk him' into talk- ing Decca onto the CBS side. . Incidentally; while- Columbia was making a. pass at Capitol, Victor was making one at Mercury. Lat- ter's execs were in Camden last week again going oyer the Victor 45 development.: proxy of CMI for '49. Gordon Jenkins Into Cap, N.Y., on Strength Of Decca Disks Buildup Gordon Jenkins' recording sue- Mooney, M-G-M h Contract Scrap Art Mooney is scrapping with M-G-M Records over whether or not his contract is up in April or whether it is extended by the llr month duration of the recording ban. He's also screaming at the company's execs because Blue Barron recorded "Cruising Down the River," a promising hit for Hollywood, Jan. 25. Use of public domain tunes to back surefire platter hits, long dis- cussed by the major labels, will be inaugurated by Capitol Records in a move that may cost publishers thousands of dollars annually. Cap's plan , is to watch platter mating carefully in the future. Whenever label feels it has a sure-, fire disk, it will be backed by a p.d. tune. If a surprise hit breaks and the underside is believed to he pulling no sales, a public domain number will be slapped on. Label's execs have weighed costs of switch- ; ing pub-ad material in midrcam- paign but believe they are more than outweighed by the attendant saving in royalties. Pubberies get 2c per side on popular priced disks, coin being sliared with writers. Cap figures it. can therefore save $20,000 on a million-sale platter by pairing the hit tune with an oldie. record sales by two rival dealers. Judge Joseph Sloane, Common Pleas Court here, is holding under I advisement a motion for a perma- i nent injunction to -keep Richard J. Shryoelt, owner of one metropoli- tan and one suburban disk mart, I from selling records below estab- j lished prices. I A temporary Injunction was is- isued Wednesday (19) after two new., having been manufactured and sold since the end of the war. It's claimed by the dealers that the confusion has caused the pub* I lie to reduce buying. And for this- i RCA is blamed. Store operators I point out that fhey'Were doing very 1 nicely with a constantly expanding : business in Microgroove disks and .turntables and that if Victor had gone along with - Columbia in pro- . rival dealers, Frank Ryall and Lou j ducing the same platters the record Witte claimed that Shryock had | business would have boomed again < been cutting record prices since i instead of dropping off. Now Ciap* last June. Plaintiffs claimed this 1 itol is drawing the same ire. was in violation of the Federal Fair I Department stores here and in Trade Act and was also injurious various midwest keys have felt the to their business. Simon, S-6 In 'Dreamer Accord runs Cap's subsid pubberies, Capi' tol Songs, Beechwood, Atlantic and Criterion is implementing the pol- uturuon jenKins recoraing suc-itne stiver, a piuiiusuns mi '."^ : ipv When no eood n d tunes are cesses of the past year on Decca him, which Mooney asserts is the ! ^<;y-.j ^^en "° ^^^^^^^^ are responsible for his being i style of music that his band has ■ booked into the Capitol theatre, I been connected with since his ~ Leaf Clover" Dispiite between George Simon's publishing firm and ShapirO- Bernstein over the song "Dreamer With a Penny" was resolved late last week when the two made a , - ,,. , , . , deal under which Simon ,retains Many a publisher has reaped i publishing rights and S-B partici- hefty returns by haying a dog tune p^tes in earnings. This action fol- mated to a smash, the royalties be- | i<jwed the ratification by the Song- mg the same. In 1948, for example, | ^,riters Protective Assn. of a con- George Simon Music had no really tract between S-B and " Allan ! »P- * A f big hits but drew some $50,000 in Huberts and Lester Lee, the tune's Db lO tOaSt Alter royalties fronr tunes paired with ^rijgyg i >, . nin ii big clicks. i The SPA okayed the S-B agree- Suffering 2d CoilanSe: Understood Mickey Goldsen, who i n^ent only after the latter pub- """^-'^'ft w"«|«>v, record slump to the extent that many have-shifted disk-sales count-" ers out of choice, floor positions.. Some are claimed to be planning to dump them entirely on the the- ory that current profits aren't worth the floor space recordings take up. One store in Buffalo, for example, has considerably reduced its disk counter and moved it into the basement, filling the same space with a television display. That's another factor. The area between this town and N. Y. and 500 miles north and south of the line, is the heaviest disk-buying section of: the country. And the opening of the video coaxial cable between Chi and the east isn!t go- ing to help recording sales, ' New York, with a huge combina- ..tion of 35 musicians and 16 voices. Maestro opens April 7 for three weeks with options at a flat $12,500 weekly. It's Ms first theatre date «nywhere; Jenkins is already blueprinting a show in which he will perform his "Manhattan Towers" exactly as it's done for the Decca album | clicks with "Four and "Bluebird of Happiness." -M-G-M was not so certain about whether it could hold Mooney for the additional 11 months. That's obvious in the fact that it sought Mooney's signature on a new pact, Mooney, however, wants a better deal and discussions are going on. As for the maestro's squawk over (narration, etc.), "Maybe You'll Be There," "For You," "Temptation," his latest disk, etc., Charles Yates, of Joe Glaser's Associated Book- ing, made, the deal. _ _ Jenkins has also joined Decca ' publisher Henry Spitzer and Reg material from the catalogs of its subsid. Decca recently halted a hit tune in mid-release and at- tached, in place of a. weak under- side, a tune published by its sub- sid. Sun Music, and label has oc- casionally used p.d. tunes to back a click, but is isn't standard pro- cedure. RCArVictor- has never shifted the weak underside of a hit. Columbia toyed with the idea, particularly when Arthur Godfrey's "Too Fat Polka" became a smash last year, but never did anything about it. jlisher had begun the preparation of [a legal suit which might "have Uested the legality of the basic con- ! tract agreement between SPA and t all pubs. SPA had ratified a con- I tract between Simon and the i writers a few days prior to the I time S-B .filed a pact for ratifica- \ tion on the same song. SPA re- Las Vegas Date in Doubt Benny Goodman flew back to his Hollywood home Friday (21) suf-' fering from an acute bronchial condition that caused him to col- lapse.^ again last week (19) in New York; Leader is expected to be well enough to open tomorrow fused to signature Shapiro's paper j ^Thursday) at the Flamingo, Las on the theory that it already had r^^6as^ okaved Simon, despite the fact' R- G. was rehearsing his band S-B's a«serted!v pre-dated the i the N. Y. Music Corp.'of Amer- other. S-B took the stand that it lea studio in preparation for a was not within the provision of the i recording date for Capitol Rec- SPA basic pact for the organiza-1 ""^^s when he keeled over. Date .Records as a musical director in New York. He was signed to a four-year deal last Thursday (20), which calls for him to supervise, various phases of Decca activity, theck arrangements used by artists, dii-ect dates, tetc. He han- dled the background baton on two dates late last week, one involving Marlene Dietrich and another be- hind the Ames Bros. Barrohi it's conceded, if explana- tion is necessary to Mooney, that Barron brought "Cruising" to M-G-M execs himself and reserved i : ■ ' .... — the tune. It was not assigned Mm. JJQ^^J^Q JJ^JJ^ fj£^ Connelly, British publisher, ap- proached Barron on recording it and he grabbed for the idea. DEAL WITH MERCURY Chicago, Jan. 25. Mercury Records executed a three-year contract with maestro Eddy Howard iast week Prior to Spotlite Records Joins 44c Counter Sale Trend the pact, Mercury had been mar . ,.1. firm «n<.r.iai., ketiug Howard disks bought from Another recording firm special-1 _ ■ . ; izinit in nop disks featuring hit' ^^^jestie. , izing in pop u» 6 J 24 g.^gg g yggj. tunes for counter sale at 44c has 1^^^^ Howard's own | come up Jn New York. Spotlite compositions, published by his firm, | Records, operated by Frank J. Lakeshore Publishing Co. Howard Marks will go into operation claim- gets four cents per record in royal- mg sales outlets through.Gimbel's ties. Mercury also will have a j tion's execs to decide who has I prior right to a song, that it is . only the duty of the SPA to ratify ! contracts presented, if they are in '"proper form. SPA gave In on the I point. I Arrangement between the two firms gives. Shapiro a per-copy 1 royalty plus, a cut of mechanicals and all other forms of the. pub-' lishers: income from the tune. It was written for the score of "All .For Love." which opened on Broadway Saturday i22) evening. had to be cancelled and Goodman was put to bed. He was due the next evening in Washington (20) to play President Truman's Inaugural Ball in company with Guy Lom- bardo and Xavier Cugat's orches- tras. He tried to beg off, but it was too late for him to be-replaced and he showed up. Immediately thereafter, however, B. G. flew to California. Wilson, McAllister In New Life For'Cats' Hollywood, Jan. 25. Guitarist Nappy Lamare will ba- ton the "Dixieland Caravan," new combo composed of former mem- .Ders of Bob Crosby's old Bob Cats. %'»"jvas put together by Al Dixon, M Monter-Grey agency, who is readying a spring concert tour. hidenien are Zutty Singleton, uoersteins vaisny -- - - , v,, ^ ^rums; Nate Kasbier, trumpet; Doc will present hit tunes only, using Me, Lo^« ^-^e- M^^^^^^^ Rando. clarinet; Marty Korb, bass; comparatively obscure artists^ f±v fntn rh fSs i^ec^^^^^^ Billings, sax; Warren Smith ' Marks says that he Intends, issuing entiy '"^o children s iecord^ trombone; and Marvin Ash. piano, hillbilly and standards. ■whcje similar conuaci wiii appiy New Y'ork and Philadelphia stores Hearn's, N. Y. 'Bron-K); Abraham- Strauss, Brooklyn, etc. Disk will sell singly or three for $1.25. Operation is identical with Eli Oberstein's Varsity label in that it BG to i*lay Palladiuni Hollywood,, Jan. '25. ; Benny Goodman is going through with hii Arrangement jto play the Palladium Ballroom here. , He Opens March 1, staying until Gene tl fi t n 1 Ii ■ I Kriipa's,. band displaces him April New tol. Records Posts 5 tor five weeks. ■ T„« virii-^., T/-™ •n*AAii- t I Goodman and Music Corp. of Jeff Wilson and Ken McAllister America, which books him, and the have been named to new posts paUaaj^^ hafl ^jeen in a^^.te^^ within Columbia Records. Wilson | ^y^r the date. EUiOt . Wexler, IS m charge of distribution, mer- B. G.'s manager, hkd a^^ chandising, chain store sales, sales j okayed it, then GoOdmati can- statistics and^ the labeL division.. celled. In the meantime, MCA McAllister will handle adyertismg,, had confirmed the booking to tlie P'i^^li^ty palladium. It put MCA in a spot McAllister has been head of pop that's now dissolved. is "Rosewood Spinet" and "Love record promotion since 1941. Wil- | son has been in the classical field. I Frances Renault, femme imper- Both are .subordinate to Paul, sonator, on a series o£ one-nighters, Southard, CRC y.p. Jn charge of w^ll pWy Cofastltiitiott .merchandising.'.:. i ingtoi»,;Fiei>i;.14.;'-;;'\:;7-;< .special field agent accompany How- ard's orchestra, when on tour, to set up local disk jockey tie-ins, re- tail promotions and publicity. First release under new set-up l