The billboard (Oct 1910)

44 Tl^e Billboard OCTOBER 1, 1910« MUSIC PUBLISHING IN ENGLAND. (ContlQuecl from page 8.) Auotiuff metiiOfi employed—a uecessarlly limltt£ii oaf. — i* tbat of "ft^fdlna" the moslc - tesciieni. 'i'tw; latter are Mtnt free copJeii aod it hi boped tbat ttiey will teacb tbe bod^ u> tUe pupils nnd tfiat the latter will buy copieii. Sivt these Una*, after all, depeofl moat on tbe flbfiity of their traTtflers to sell tbelr music, or rather to place Jt with the dealers, and on the whole tbey are fortunate in the men who xepre«4*nt th^m. Yet here Ifaejr are up against s terrible obstacle, and one that affectts both ildes of the houk business, la the terrible apathy of tlie dealers. Almost Inrariablr In Eusland the mneic seller Is one who primarny exists for the sale of planOH ami other moalcal fniitrumenta and who tells music purely as a aide line—oae that helps blm to make his shop window look a trifle more lot*-retjtIoi$. Of puiiblng^ bU music be baa , no idea. Ills stock Is of the' most limited order and if you sltould happen to ask him for a num- ber which he has not got in stock it frequently takes him a week to procure it. Ja»t as an in- stance Mr. Charles Warren, the EogUsh man- ager of Witmark & Co., t<rfd me recently that at a very basy and demsely popolated town, tlie weU-knowjQ artiste. Hayden Col&n, was slu^lng^ a Tery popular ballad called Starlight. Thlnk- log^ tbat here was a ciiaoce for the mneic dealers of the place to do business, Mr. Warren sent each of ttiem a supply of copies of the BODf with title pages to display in tbe windows. Do you tbink they did? Not a bit of It! All of them had arzvngt^ their windowis months iwfwe and they were not going to undo all their work la order to sell a few copies of a popular ■oni^. **If peuple want it," tbey said, "let tbeiD come and ask for It." So far aH I know tbere are not more than half a doxen lire music sellers In the whole of Lon- don, and probably no more In the rest of Great Britain. Popular songs here are s<^d In spite of, and not because of, tlie dealers. 0p to just lately Uiere was another way, and a very faT(»-lte one, too, of pnttlng a soug on the market; It was by iiavlng it sang in musical comedy. But this way, however, la practically dead. At tbe present time it is the custom of the composer of a. musical comedy to con- tract with the producer tliat only Ids moslc aball be used la the piece. This, of coorae, completely abots oat the Interpolated fKmg; so this metlftod is now a thins of the past. One cariona fact in connection with moslc exploitation In England la the change now com- ing over the reapectlTe positions of singer. author, cermpoeer and pabllsher. In the days gone by tbe singer was supreme. Upon bim it was felt, rested the whole fate of the song. It was worth while to pay him heavily * for slnsing^ it and it was only Jnst to give liim a royalty on tbe c<9lea eold. Tills system of paying the singer still snr- Tives among the older generation of ballad piAtllsbers. Bat on tbe moslc hall side It Is ^lag oot ccKnpletely. The aothor and the com- poser are pnablng themselves to the front. They emialder ttaemselves of equal importance—^If no more—to tbe singer. Tbey feel that if they bad not made tbe song tbe alnger could never have anog It. In their opinion they are entitled to an eanal dlTialon, at the least, of the spoils. Conseqoently an aatbors and composers* onion la now In being. lU objects are to pnt an end to the practice of paying a singer to slog a Kong and at the same time increase the royalties paid to themselves. "Why should we pay a suiger for giving him tbe chance of making bis living, and perhaps, at tbe same time of making his reputation,'* Is tbe conten- tion of the union. There Is certainly a good deal of force In this argoment and it Is rapidly gaining ground, but at the same time the old convention of giving a singer a royalty on-the pnblishing rights—especially in regard to bal- lads—seems almost anaBsaUable. The general practice in regard to tbe Tevenoe obtained from a song is that the pobllsber takes half and the author, singer and composer split up the rest between them—that Is if they have not disposed of their rights for a inmp sum. But, altboogh tbe position of tbe author and composer of a song Is not all honey even these days, yet it Is far better than what . it used to tie. At one time tbe iilgbest price paid for a stmg was ten shillings. Charles Sloman, a prolific song composer of the mId-VIctorian era. stated that his price for songs was ten shill- ings, wblle he was prepared to supply poems at the rate of 5 stilUings for twenty lines and three pence per line after. Nowadays a good stmg writer receives from one to ten pounds for tbe singing rights alone of his work, "^ille tbe royalties on the publishing, when be does not sell the song to the publishers outright, may reach a very big amount. Tbe big music ball song publishers here, like Francis, Day' and Hunter, or WItmark's or Sheard's. each turn out several hundred popular songs a year. To get their money back and tnm In a slight profit they have to sell about 50.- 000 copies, the standard price being one shilling and sixpence (3G cents). Of course, every now and then they publish a song which sells like hot caki's and can ^ot be printed quickly enough. For Instance. Day & Hunter sold several mil- lion copies of The Soldier of the Queen: almost aa many were sold of 1 Wouldn't Leave My Lit- tle Wooden Hot for Von. Love Me and the World Is 311ne, published by Wltmark. sold to the tune of nearly a million cOples, imd other songs of theira, like George Lashwood'a Just a Girl, Will You Love Me In December as You Did in May? and Idol of My Dreams, were also sold by the hundred thousand. One great feature of the business at the mo- ment Is that the publishers no longer have to fight the "pirates." For a time the depreda- tions of the latter gentlemea almost mined the publishing business. Disregarding all questions of copyright, they sold in the streets for a penny, on inferior paper and with Inaccurate printing, of course, songs who.se standard price was eighteen pence. During several years, dur- ing which publishers, writers and composers were nearly drlren to distraction, the pirates went their own sweet way. New legislation, however, and a rigid enforcement of the old law has now practically suppresse«l them and publishers are once more at peace. It Is in- teresting to note that it was during this cri- sis that Francis, Day & Hunter Introduced the experiment of Issuing songs* at sixpence a copy, and. altbongfa tbp other publishers looked In askance, tbe experiment was a success and has been continued ever since. But the severity of tile piracy onslaught can be imagined by the fact tbat over one song alone. Lore aie and the World is Mine, it vas estimated that $10,000 was lost In one year through the operatltms of these genfij. At this time of year preparattons are already commencing for the pantomimes and the songs which are going r*» Iw the sacctjsses In the lat- ter are already pushing themselves to the front. This year. It Is already apparent what songs win be the favorites lu pantomime time. The chief of them are: Flanagan, suzig by Florrie Forde; Herman Darewslcl's On the SBvery Sands, sung by Madge Temple; There's a Little Black Cupid in the Moon; For Nights and Nights and Nights, In Cherry Blos-s^n Time in Japan, My Southern Eose. Miss O'Hara. If I bad the World to Give You. Sam. I'm Shy. Mary Ellen; HI, Hi, Mr. McKay; Tiger Lily, A Good World After All and The Two Bobs. These are enough to go on with, but some of last year's favorites like Let's All Go Down the Strand and I want You to be My Girl, are sure not to be left oot in the cold. Ylp-i-addy is another little ditty aure to be prominent ev- erywliere—a taking soog has a Iwz Hfe— a merry one—In England, MUSIC HALLS IN ENGLAND. (Continued from page S.) kind. Tile chairman would call up on any known frequenter for a song and the original custom was that any man not singing bad to supply the rest with drinks. Bat after a time It became the practice to engage a professional chairman; and if it hap- pened tiiat the" honse numbered am<Higst Its fre- quenter several with really excellent voices and talent, then these were exclusively engaged to sing at that establlstmient. And so gradually professionalism came into vogue- Tfae Chief song and supper rooma of the time were the Cyder Cellars in Maiden Lane, the Coal Sole In the Strand, OHIey's in Henrietta street, the Dr. Johnson In BoH Court, and Bvan«% after- ward Paddy Green's,-In Covent Garden, where the National Sporting Club now has its bead- quarters. There are atlll many Londoners alive who remember the Isttar place well, it was opened close on midnight and tbe entertainment consisted of love ballads and drlnldug sougs. It bad a.'couple of singers attaclied to It and liie rest of the entertainment was v<Au»taxily sup- plied by tbe patrons. In the place was placed nnder new man- sK^nient and tbe bnlldlng ' was zecMMlstmcted and improved. Tbe new hall was over seventy- two feet long and magnificently decorated, toe decorations costing' over twenty-five thooMnd dollars. A striking Innovatlfm was ttie intro- duction of a regular raised platform for singers. Ladles were not admlttted to the hall except on giving names and addresses and tiien were only permitted to view the proceed- ings from b^iind the rails of a blgb balcony. The whole of the program was contrUmted by men and there was a very efficient choir of boys in tbe bargain. Proceedings stapted at eight, but it was ^>out mldnlgbt before tSiS room began to fill. By tliat time eferj table was crowded and there were to be seen the leading llghlB In the literary, artistic, theat- rical, I^al and social circles of the day, dis- cussing tbe performance over their chops and atout. Tbe great sing^ at Evans* was Jack Stiarp. In these days he would be earning about a thousand dollars « week, but at that time his salary was five dollars a weeic, with supper and a certain number of free drinks thrown In. And yet, many of tbe best Judges bave declared that Jack Sharp was the moat talented variety perfOTmer ever seen in Bngland. In his method he was sometliing like Arthur Roberts, tMit tiad an ever keener and readier wit. In his time he was the rage of the town ahd in con- stant demand at Vauxball and Cremome Plea- sure Gardens 'and all the piAllc dlzmers of Uia time. When be had finished his Bfmgs be used to take copies round to those present and try and dispose of them. When things were good he was known to make as muc<h as fifty dol- lars a week by these sales. Unfortunately, the poor devil took to drink and dl^d in the wort^OQse at the. age of thir^-elght. Space will not permit me descilbing other famous singers of tbe time, like Charles ^oman, Sam Cowell and Herr von Joel, who used to aug- ment his : salary by selling tickets for his "benefits," which were always l>elng postponed and In the end were forgotten. The Coal Hole was the other great su{^r room. Copying the methods of Svans, the ih-o- prletor soon bad the place the resort of "the bloods'* of ithe town. New features, however, were introduced lu the shape of dancing and tSie prestldlgitateur. Rhodes, t3ie prt^rietor, was the pcwsessor of a really admirable bari- tone voice, and besides taidng tbe (dialr, he was In the habit of contributing several first- WANTED--SHOWS and CONCESSIONS For the Biggest Street Celebration ever held in the United States I Cleveland, 0., Centennial (POPULATION LAST CENSUS. 600,000.) October 10, H, 12,13,14,15. §200,000 to be spent for Street Decorations and Free Features. Monster Pageants every day. Dedication of $3,000,000 Court House and New Federal Building. Naval Rqgatta and the Curtiss Airships (four aviatore). MIDWAY ABSOLUTELY FREE Located Wood Street to the lake (foui blocks), entrance between Post Office and City Hall on Euclid Public Square. Positively in the iieart of the City. All big free events at foot of ACdway. THE MEDLEY BOYS We want clean shows of every description—privil^ra of all kinds, without buy back. Following write:—Doc. Turner, Sibley, Farley, Metz, Blitz, Al. Whitney, Wiseman, Mills, Backman. Joe (Jonley, Al. Lotto, Faber and Moxey, Geo. Anagosta and Dutch Charley. ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO R. H. McLaughlin, Centennial Secretary, offices: No. 10, HOLLENDEN HOTEL. P. S.— yff. H. RICE has been engaged as director of the Midway. Cheapest Excursion Rates Ever Offered. THE 0. T. CRAWFORD BOOKING EXCHANGE GOOD VAUDEVILLE ACTS WANTED AT ALL TIMES We book all the best houses in St. Ix>uia. Send in your open time. Get busy. F. R. Stewart, Mgr. Gayety Theatre Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. AN OLD FKIEND, BUT THE MOST POPIJXAK BOHO TO-DAY •'SILVER THREADS AMONG THE GOLD Song orchestratloM !a B flmt and C, for yonr piogniniB PARAPHRASE—"SILVER THREADS AMONG THE GOLD" Orchestra 15c; with comet, 'ceUo, or trombone «oIos. 20c: band 20c WALTZ-"SILVER THR EADS AMONG TH E GOLD ''-Orah. 16 eta. HAMILTOIV S. GORDON. HQ W. aoili SI . NEW YORK. NATiONAL MANUFAGTUKbKS' AND HOUSEHOLDERS' SHOW CONVENTION HALL. WASHINGTON, D. C. ^^rr^e^ vrr^'^ s! CIGARS From 99 per 1,000 On up. All orders shipped SAME ?f ^•''•'''•«*- Send DEPOSIT with Order. Prioe List FREE. L. DENEBEIM & SOW. Dencbelm Bldj.. 1233.34 Oak St.. K.nsa. City. Mo. These boys are meeting with great success with their classy wardrobe, real harmony sing- log and wooden shoe dancing. Not tbe best, but as good as the rest. "Kof Ced." Tours for saccess, PEABSON and AUiItAN. CROWN FILM SERVICE 111-113 4th Ave., PITTSBURG, PA. SuppUes strictly Independent service with postera, $2.00 per reel DCr week. Week's supply in one sliipment. Write us. —WANTED— HEAVY MAN, SOUBRETTE, BAND ACTORS, and B. and O. MUSICIANS