Broadcasting (Jan - June 1942)

ASCAP Required 'o Reply to Suit ppeal Refused by Court in etion Brought by Marks I'ASCAP must file its answer to the 'suit of BMI and the Edward B. ,'Marks Music Corp. in the New 'York Supreme Court by June 1, jfollowing a denial by the court's . Appellate Division of ASCAP's moition for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals. This decision, handed down June 22, marked the end of a series of 'appeals by ASCAP which have delayed the necessity for answering I the suit for more than a year. Regarded as Test Case Filed by BMI and the Marks f music publishing house, which withdrew its membership in the Society and gave the public performance licensing rights in its music to BMI during the "ASCAPradio war", the suit is specifically Ij concerned with control of these rights in compositions published by Marks but written by men who have continued as ASCAP members Suit is described, however, as actually being a test case to determine whether the licensing rights belong to the publisher or to the writer. As long as ASCAP was the only t major licensing organization this point was of little practical significance, since both writers and pub'lishers, as ASCAP members, as, signed all of their performance li£ censing rights to the Society, which I divided all revenue from the sale I of performing licenses equally between its publisher and writer '' members. j Now, however, a large part of the Marks catalogs, comprising thousands of numbers, are not being performed because neither ASCAP, representing the writers, nor BMI, representing the pub ^lisher, can be sure of its right to license the performance of this music until the courts have decided the point. Since in answering the suit ASCAP will be forced to side with either its writer or its publisher members, a move that might possi POSTER STAMPS A TIMELY ANSWER FOR AN EFFECTIVE PREMIUM PROGRAM Replaces plastics or metal. Investigate this proven quick action premium program. Exclusive applications can tie-in with products, travel and resorts. Interesting and appealing. Send for case histories and detailed information of How You Can Use Poster Stamps Effectively — at Low Unit Cost. No obligation. I MidStates Gummed Paper Co. I 2515 S. Daman Avenue, Chicago, III. WGH to Join BLUE WGH, Nevrport News, Va., will join BLUE as a basic supplementary outlet in the Newport NewsNorfolk-Portsmouth area, eff^ective October 1, making a total of 128 BLUE affiliates. The 250 watt station is owned by Hampton Roads Broadcasting Corp., and operates on 1340 k.c. Evening hour rate is $120. DuPont Series Adapted For Shortwave Service FIRST advertiser to sign for its NBC program to be translated into Spanish and shortwaved to South America over the NBC-Pan American Network is E. I. DuPont de Nemours Co., Wilmington. The company's dramatized historical program Cavalcade of America, heard on NBC Mondays 8-8:30 p.m., is being shortwaved the same evening from 8:30-9 p.m. (EWT) over NBC shortwave stations WRCA and WNBI, and WBOS, Boston. The project, to be followed in the future by other NBC advertisers, has been worked out in collaboration with the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs as a means of exchanging cultural and educational programs between the Americas. All commercials were deleted on the Cavalcade program May 25, the night of its first shortwave broadcast, and this will be the policy with future shows in the plan. These will probably be of an institutional nature, as is the DuPont show. Agency for DuPont is BBDO, New York. STANDARD RADIO announces the following new and renewal suscribers to its program library service : WADC KGCX WLVA WFIN KANS KFNF WCOU WGBR WCOP KDKA WMYR WBAA WLAW WHBF. bly lead to the disruption of the Society, it is reported that some factions in ASCAP have urged that no answer be made, permitting BMI and Marks to win their cases, specifically concerning the Marks contracts with four writers, by default. Such a move is not feasible, however, since the Songwriters Protective Assn., through its counsel John Schulman, is filing an answer on behalf of its members and would certainly defend the case even if ASCAP withdrew. Another proposal reportedly advanced by ASCAP publishers is that ASCAP should agree that Marks' claims are correct. Still another rumor has it that some members of the Society want it to get BMI to call off the suit by offering to buy from BMI a half -inter est in its investment in the Marks catalogs, with both organizations retaining full but non-exclusive licensing privileges. Such a move would cost ASCAP $625,000, or $125,000 a year, on the five-year plan of payment under which BMI acquired its rights to Marks music for $250,000 a year [Broadcasting, Dec 15, 1940]. None of these reports has been confirmed by ASCAP. War Demands FACES of KOY, Phoenix, Ariz., special events personnel turned red recently when Navy enrollees in that city lost out on a scheduled transcribed interview. With enrollees on hand, time scheduled for the special event found no station engineers available. Hurried check-up on the sudden dearth disclosed Bob Thompson, chief engineer, with James Rose, Cliff Miller and Ed Janney, associate engineers, taking their physical exams — for the Army! Baukhage Renewed SPONSORSHIP of Baukhage, Washington news commentator, for another 13-week cycle through Sept. 11 on WRC, Washington, was announced last week by Planters Nut & Chocolate Co., Wilkes-Barre, Pa., through its agency, J. Walter Thompson Co., New York. Ihe series runs 6:306:40 p.m., Monday through Friday on the NBC outlet. Baukhage is a regular commentator on the BLUE. Quiz Coast-to-Coast NEC Pacific Coast quiz program Noah Webster Says on May 23 became a coast-to-coast series. With Haven MacQuarrie as word-master, the program features contestants in defining words. Prof. Charles Frederick Lindsley is judge, with Webster's dictionary as the authority. Max Hutto produces the program. SPARTANBURG SHIFT DENIED BY BROWN PUBLISHED reports that WSPA, Spartanburg, would join the BLUE Network and WORD, present BLUE outlet in the South Carolina city, would switch to CBS, are described as in error by Walter Brown, vice-president and general manager of Spartanburg Advertising Co., operating both stations. During the NAB convention in Cleveland last month, it was reported that the BLUE had made an "attractive offer" to WSPA> which operates with 5,000 watts day and 1,000 watts night on 950 kc. Mr. Brown said WSPA is under contract as the CBS outlet until 1945 and that any talk by anyone except CBS about the station leaving the network was "premature and now proves to be inaccurate". WORD is a local, operating on 1440 kc. with 250 watts fulltime. The Cleveland report emanated from a meeting of BLUE Network affiliates held during the convention week, and was ascribed to BLUE Network officials. Mr. Brown advised Broadcasting that "WSPA will continue under its contract as the CBS outlet and I have signed an assignment of WORD from NBC to BLUE until 1945. And everybody's happy!" A MARCHING SONG written by Baldwin Bergerson, composer, and David Greggory, lyricist, titled "This is God's War," was published by Associated Music Publishers, New York. The song was inspired by Carl Byoir's poem, "Joe Louis Named the War," which appeared in Collier's. 5000 WATTS 1330 KILO I The feature boxes o ,„ -who: wUo .» w^y^ IBROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising June I, 1942 • Page 49