Broadcasting (Jan - June 1940)

USING this collection of equipment to illustrate his points, Henry Grossnan (left), chief engineer of WABC, CBS New York key station, early ,n April discussed "Eastern Division Special Event Pickup Facilities" 'svith CBS employes. Chatting with him is R. G. Thompson, WABC superJdsor of field engineering. The lecture, held at CBS headquarters, was the sixth of a series of engineering and general radio lectures which began ^Feb. 5 and held every Monday for CBS employes wishing to attend. BMI Acquires Cole Catalog 'i (Continued from page H) article writing and publicity. A graduate of Princeton and Columbia Law School, he has been a lawyer, teacher and writer. He practices law in New York and his writings, published under the name Dickson Skinner, include both fic,^tion and magazine articles. Most of his article work has been in the musical field. Actively promoting the aims and purposes of BMI to the public, the Jback page of all BMI sheet music carries the story of this new publishing company, through which ■'broadcasters are working to assure equal opportunity and fair compensation to all composers." J'BMI," the message concludes, ''gives to American music a free''dom for creative progress that it 'has never had before. BMI for the i|first time gives to you who listen ,and you who sing and play the op.portunity to take full part in that .progress and to guide it in accordsance with your own desires." Round the Cage i Promoting BMI also to the ^broadcasting industry, the company has prepared a leaflet pointing to BMI as the broadcaster's 'means of escape from the squirrel cage ASCAP has had him in. "You paid for an ASCAP license because ASCAP controlled the music that was popular ... As music was added to the ASCAP catalog that music became popular because you were broadcasting it . . . Round and round you raced in your cage. Because you played the music it became popular and because you had made it popular you needed the license to play it. ' "Nowhere else in the record of modern business is there a case in which a monopoly has been equally successful in making its victims [themselves operate the mechanism that held them prisoners." Going after other users of music than the broadcasters, BMI has wi'itten a letter to the operators of coin-operated phonographs which is being distributed by a number of operators' associations, urging them to cooperate with the broadcasters in their own self in terest. Pointing out that ASCAP has long attempted to tax coinoperated machines, the letter quotes an ASCAP statement supporting a law now pending in Congress that the minimum amount ASCAP would expect to collect would be $60 a year a machine, a minimum total of $12,000,000 a year from this source. Supporting BMI in its campaign against the ASCAP music monopoly, the National Council of State Liquor Dealers Associations, representing more than 150,000 retail liquor establishments, passed a resolution at its annual convention to the effect that ASCAP is "levying arbitrary and unreasonable fees from users of copyrighted music". Urging Council members to give full support to BMI, John Fetterman, legal advisor to the Buckeye Liquor Dealers Assn. of Ohio, stated: "Our field of activity has suffered great hardships at the hands of ASCAP. Under the strong leadership of BMI we have affiliated interests on our side who will help us battle this unfair monopoly." Song Writers Views Charging BMI officials with being "willing to sacrifice the interests of the songwriter to benefit their backers, the chain broadcasters and some of their affiliates and independents," the Songwriters Protective Assn. has issued a statement protesting BMI's avowed policy of making its music available for transcriptions at the statutory sum of 2c per composition per record in place of the customary charge of 25c or 50c per pressing. [Broadcasting, April 15]. The songwriters, who divide these mechanical rights fees evenly with the music publishers, dispute the statement of Mr. Tompkins that "the maximum fee which can be charged for the right to mechanically reproduce the work is 2e per composition for each record manufactured, regardless of the form or purpose of the record," and state that they would welcome a "test or construction of these compulsory license provisions". SPA statement, prepared by John BMI'S NEW TUNES Seven Numbers Approved by Editorial Board SEVEN new BMI tunes, including a waltz and a "hot" rhythm number as well as foxtrots and ballads, have been approved by the BMI editorial board and will soon be ready for release to BMI subscribers. The new tunes are: "Give Me Music", waltz, music by Malcolm Reid, lyrics by Robert Sour and Don McCray, arranged by Helmy Kresa. "I'll Be Goin' ", foxtrot, music by Lee Wainer and lyrics by Robert Sour, authors of "What Good's the Moon?" "Keep An Eye On Your Heart", music by Henry Manners, lyrics by Milton Leeds. "What's the Matter, My Darling?", ballad, words and music by Charlie Beal, swing pianist ; arranged by Sam Grossman. "You Mean So Much to Me", music by Edgar "Puddinhead" Battle and lyrics by Ken Byron. "Puddinhead" Battle was formerly featured trumpet with Willie Bryant's orchestra, and is now arranging and composing for leading orchestras. "Boogie Woogie to You", rhythm "jump" number, with music by Ernest Gold and lyrics by Don McCray, authors of "Here in the Velvet Night", is being arranged by Jimmy Mundy, formerly arranger with Bennie Goodman. "Please Don't Tell Her I Told You", music by Irving Wallman and lyrics by Max Wartell. Performance by both NBC and CBS of several of the six popular tunes released by BMI early in April, also has been reported. During the period April 17-21, NBC performed four of the tunes and CBS two. Schulman, SPA counsel, continues: "Regardless of the BMI construction, the fact is that transcriptions have been treated differently than phonograph records. The acceptance of BMI's construction would result in a substantial loss of revenue for songwriters. Insofar as members of SPA are concerned, it is my view that they have the protection of the uniform agreement, since any attempt by a publisher to treat transcriptions in the manner suggested by BMI would be a breach of the publisher's obligations to the songwriters." Aid to Songwriters Asked for a reply, a BMI official replied that the 2c fee is the only one authorized by the law, that it is of immediate benefit to the broadcasters, and that the song writers will also profit by it in the long run, since it will encourage additional use of their material on transcriptions. A breakdown of BMI subscribers, made at the organization's headquarters, shows that its 290 station subscribers represent approximately 53% of the industry numerically, and handle more than 80% of the industry's total billings in dollar volume. 'Woman's Magazine' Dropped DROPPING of the Woman's Magazine of the Air, five-day-a-week participating talent show, which has been on NBC-Pacifie for 12 years, and the paring of duplicative jobs, brought about the release of about 20 persons at the KPO-KGO headquarters in San Francisco late in April. Affected were artists, producers, secretaries and stenographers. CO' 5000 Watts Day and Night starting early May MANHATTAN'S IRRESISTIBLE RADIO MAGNET ^ Call MElrose 5-0333 ^ BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising May J, 1940 • Page 79