Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

Hearings Begin on Copyrights; Oppose Court Broadc-ts Mills Rejoins American Society L. G. Caldwell Appears for Broadcasters at House Session Feb. 15: Rosenthal Post is Filled E. Claude Mills special counsel COPYRIGHT legislation as it affects broadcasting comes under the scrutiny of Congress Feb. 15, when Louis G. Caldwell, former general counsel of the Radio Commission who has been retained as for the organized broadcasters, appears at hearings before the House Committee on Patents to present the broadcasters' consolidated views on proposed copyright bills. Coincident with the announcement by Rep. Sirovich (D.) of New York, the new chairman of the committee, that the broadcasters will have their "day in court," it was definitely learned that E. Claude Mills, formerly president of Radio Music Co., an NBC subsidiary, on March 1 will return to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers as its general manager. Mr. Mills succeeds the late J. C. Rosenthal, who before his death in latter December was working on a new "yardstick" for levying copyright license fees upon broadcasters, manifestly designed to increase the Society's revenues from radio. Work on this scheme of fees, which was to have become effective Feb. 1 but which has been indefinitely extended, has been left to a committee over which Mr. Mills will presumably now preside. Sirovich Writing Bill THE HEARINGS on Capitol Hill are of a general nature, with no definite bill pending before the committee. Rep. Sirovich is himself planning to write a new copyright bill for introduction by March 1, and Senator Dill (D.) of Washington is also writing a copyright bill. At the hearings Mr. Caldwell will state the views of the organized broadcasting fraternity, after being introduced by Philip G. Loucks, managing director of the National Association of Broadcasters, who will state the scope and aims of the association. The general copyright hearings began Feb. 1, with the Authors League of America presenting its arguments. Whether Mr. Mills will appear for the Society is not yet known. It is understood that he has been on a vacation trip the last few weeks. His resignation from Radio Music Company was effective shortly after it was decided to reorganize that company. Mr. Mills returns to the Society, with which he was affiliated before he joined the NBC subsidiary, with an intimate knowledge of radio and, it is presumed, with a more compromising attitude toward the broadcasters than that of his predecessor. On copyright matters he is regarded as one of the best informed men in the country. A native of Denver, v here he was born in 1881, Mr. Mills spent his early youth in Texas, attending the schools of San Antonio. He spent some years in Mexico and South America, including three years at Panama with the Isthmian Canal Commission, before becoming general manager of a string of theaters in the Southwest. He came to New York in 1916 to help organize the Vaudeville Managers' Protective Association. Three years later he became executive head of the Music Publishers Protective Association, and shortly thereafter he reorganized the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. CHARGING its committee on professional ethics to investigate and render a report at the next convention in Washington next fall, the executive committee of the American Bar Association at its winter meeting in Charleston, S. C, recently, declared that the broadcasting of criminal court cases from the courtroom and the photographing of trial scenes is "out of harmony with the solemnity of court procedure." The professional ethics committee was asked to suggest disciplinary action for members of the judiciary who are members of the association who allow broadcasts and photographs at trials. The committee consists of Thomas Francis Howe, Chicago, chairman; John Hinkley, Baltimore; Earle W. Evans, Wichita, Kan.; George B. Harris, Cleveland; David J. Gallert, New York; D. J. F. Strother, Welch, W. Va., and Francis J. Carney, Boston. Disk Program Nearly Trebled in 1930; Five Distinct Advantages of Use Cited PrejudiceAgainst"CannedMusic" Disappearing; Great Care Insures Perfect Reproduction MORE THAN 75 regular weekly electrical transcription programs sponsored by national advertisers were on the air at the beginning of this year, according to a survey by Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc., advertising agency. Representing an increase of about 175 per cent over the number of programs of the same character broadcast as of Jan. 1, 1930, the figure indicates a steady growth since the advent of the transcription programs in 1929, the agency pointed out. The present figure, however, does not include those records made as catalogues without sponsorship and sold to stations or local advertisers as individual broadcasts. Broadcasting by electrical transcription, the agency stated, apparently is meeting a real need. Its advantages from the standpoint of the audience, the producer and the station were placed roughly in five classifications, as follows: 1 — It can bring together a cast which could not otherwise be assembled for a direct broadcast or series. 2 — It permits practiced presentations, thereby insuring a perfection in some cases beyond that of the regular program, often broadcast after a hurried rehearsal, or held under unfavorable conditions. 3 — It enables the producer to have his program recorded when and where he wants it and to review the finished product before presenting it to the public. 4 — It frequently permits greater selectivity geographically in reaching the desired audience. 5 — It often affords coverage of a territory not reached by chain stations. "Present transcription programs," according to the agency, "are of three general types: the news program which includes news events, dramatic episodes and musical scenes; the all-musical program of orchestral selections, choral numbers and vocal solos and the dance program recorded entirely by an orchestra. "A specific example of the news programs is the Radio Newsreel of Hollywood. Its weekly releases have included the arrival of a famous actress on a trans-Atlantic liner, meetings of the Los Angeles Breakfast Club and Wampus Club, a Hollywood first night, and scenes taken during the actual filming of feature pictures. Made on the Spot "IN EACH case these transcriptions were made on the spot. They were recorded as news events, with a large cast of stars and important people whose participation could not have been secured for a studio broadcast. True, they were carefully planned in advance, but the actual recording occurred at the time they were news. "A mayor's welcome to a distinguished visitor might be recorded similarly but it would be broadcast immediately, perhaps at 10:30 a. m. when many listeners are away from home. Transcription enables this same broadcast to be made at a time selected as most propitious from the listeners' point of view, taking into consideration sectional time differences. "The Seiberling Singers represent one of the best all-musical programs now heard and the transcriptions of Vincent Lopez and his orchestra are certainly one of the superior dance programs. "These musical programs do not have to be made at a definite time, and it is therefore possible for the singers to be in their best voice. Some regular radio artists say they prefer electrical transcription, claiming it assures them true voice reproduction and obviates the possibilities of mistakes such as occasionally mar the direct broadcast. In the recording laboratories it is sometimes necessary to work for a day or two before the master Radio Threat Concerns Press, Says Don Gilman FREE SPEECH, free press, free radio — these were presented as cardinal principles of American liberty by Don E. Gilman, NBC vice-president in charge of the Pacific Division, speaking Feb. 4 before the San Francisco Advertising Club. Radio and newspapers, Mr. Gilman said, offer two distinct fields to advertisers and are not competitive. "Radio is being made the subject of a political attack consitiuting the most serious situation it has faced thus far," he declared. "More bills directed at broadcasting have been introduced in the present session of Congress than ever before. I do not think any of them will succeed, for the regulation of pleasure by self-appointed mentors has gone about as far as it can go in this country. "Any threat to commercial advertising on the radio is a threat to all forms of advertising. Only a year ago, William Randolph Hearst expressed this thought in a discussion we had, when he said that whatever reflects on commercial radio reflects on commercial newspaper advertising also. You cannot turn back your dial to catch something you missed, as you turn back a page of your paper. Lacking the repetitive element, radio offers a wider horizon of influence than the newspaper; the two run in parallel, not in conflicting lines." record is passed as perfect by the director. "Outside the studio experts examine the wax disks with microscopes in advance to make sure they are mechanically perfect. The disks are then placed on the turn tables and a signal is .eriven for the program to start. One false note and the record is cast aside. This continues until there may be many records piled against the wall. "Once the record is made, however, whether it be of a news event taken 'on location' or a musical program, studio recorded, a duplicate is made to insure a perfect copy in case of breakage in shipment. The actual electrical transcriptions which are used in broadcasting are the result of several involved processes, during which plates of brass, copper and finally a hard shellac composition are used. "A review of fan mail from various sections of the country indicates that the prejudice to transcription programs as 'canned music' has been largely overcome by the superior quality and careful recording of the regular sponsored programs. "The transcription records used on most regular programs are of two sizes, the 12-inch records which run at exactly 78 revolutions per minute and the 16-inch records made to play at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute. On the larger records, with their slower speed, it is possible to record a program lasting as long as 15 minutes. "To insure their perfection the copies are only used from five to six times. For scheduled broadcasts separate new copies of the record are sent to each station and afterwards destroyed." Page 8 BROADCASTING • February 15, 1932