Broadcasting (Jan - Dec 1935)

RESTATING AN OLD LAW . Backwards. • -^Jut* returns, 1.* of «^ the law stated backward^ bee ^ of increasing *"our advertising closely you eonfiney markets, to the heart of your the more --^JLs the Lo«« gpent , !lt the minimum vlle trading ^0 ^ur 917,000 of cost. 420,uuu actically primary Wrte.n rtoJer "Distance hounds" m Mexico «• _ ^ } their Confusion Over ASCAP -Warner Split (Continued from page 7) listen-in sometimes, own expense FREE & but it's at their they are privileged to perform. It is seriously doubted, however, whether that will develop. More than likely it was thought, ASCAP at least would issue some sort of blanket extension, with a retroactive clause to bridge the emergency. Moreover, the possibility that broadcasters may be in the position of choosing between the two catalogs, and using only one, is seen. In the public domain field, some consideration is being given to the contract proposition of Langlois & Wentworth, New York transcription producers, who claim to have recorded more than 30 hours of public domain music. Whether this music, however, is fully safeguarded against possible infringement, has not yet been ascertained and no recommendation has gone forth from the NAB to its member stations that they contract for it. Transcontinental Mystery VEILED IN SECRECY at the moment, but apparently timed for the Warner withdrawal from ASCAP, is Transcontinental Broadcasting Co., Inc., an enterprise which is offering to non network independent stations a transcription service, with an agreement that the music used will be protected against infringement. The proposed contract, offered to a number of stations, states that the company would procure national advertising for the stations, paying them 50% of their card rates and absorbing all overhead and commissions. THE KEY TO AMERICA'S IDEAL TEST MARKET A Few Important Facts to Consider WSPD is the ONLY Radio Station in Toledo. WSPD is a basic Columbia outlet. WSPD now operates on 2500 Watts day and 1000 Watts night. Since the installation of our New 5 KW. High Fidelity Transmitter — WSPD covers this great market with a blanket signal comparable . to a station with double the power. We enjoy proving our statements and your inquiry will receive immediate attention. Represented By: — John K. Kettlewell Joseph H. McGillvra 919 N. Michigan Ave. 485 Madison Avenue Chicago, Illinois New York, N. Y. WSPD Address: Commodore Perry Hotel, Toledo, Ohio Transmitter: Perrysburg, Ohio Working on this project has been James Waddell, San Francisco attorney. He has tentatively retained former U. S. Senator C. C. Dill, now practicing in Washington, as counsel. The project has been unofficially linked with Warner Bros, as a means of promoting its motion pictures by so timing its featured musical compositions in its movies to coincide with release dates. Mr. Starr denied any knowledge of the company over the telephone to Broadcasting, and said he did not know Mr. Waddell. He likewise refuted a report that became current after the Warner withdrawal from ASCAP that its music houses had been combined with those of Twentieth Century, Fox, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, and other motion picture producers who are large scale music publishers, and that the new combine was behind the Transcontinental project as a means of breaking into radio on large scale. Such a combine, it was estimated, would represent control of perhaps 85% of popular music. While it was impossible to confirm the reports concerning Transcontinental, there seemed to be one well-founded story that executives of Warner and perhaps other motion picture producers, rather than the publishers themselves, were back of the project at this time. The Warner board of strategy on music, it appears, is centered in Hollywood rather than in New York, and Mr. Starr at this time is apparently simply following orders. Mr. Waddell has been in Washington on the Transcontinental project since last August. How the litigation affecting the composer members of ASCAP who publish through the Warner houses will be brought, is still in doubt. ASCAP's insistence that it will continue to represent the authors and composers in Warner unit despite the withdrawal of the publishing houses in one way is the key to this whole controversy. It is thought possible that the Songwriters Protective Association, of which Sigmund Romberg is president, will institute the suit, perhaps by deliberately performing a number over stations or networks written by an ASCAP author member and published by a Warner company. The exact amount of music controlled by the Warner houses, which include the four major pub Sell The Southwest with SBS Twelve Major Stations for Twelve Major Markets ! SOUTHWEST BROADCASTING SYSTEM General Office — Fort Worth lishing firms and seven subsidi ries of smaller consequence, is doubt. Heretofore the figure 40% of the "popular music" pc formed over the air has been us<; ASCAP now says it is somethi: less than 25%, with the compos situation threatening to reduce to a negligible amount. The defection of the Warn houses seems to be a serious bl< to the. government suit agair ASCAP, which is founded on t contention that ASCAP monor lizes the music field and th broadcasters cannot buy music a competitive market. The suit scheduled to resume on Jan. 6. Irrespective of that, the wh' music field is now thrown into ti moil, with the broadcasters the i tegral part of the fight becau they contribute the principal re^ nue. It is not impossible tli ASCAP may be forced into diss lution in the final analysis, accoi ing to competent observers. Meanwhile, the ASCAP board in constant meeting endeavoring reclassify its apportionment revenues by virtue of the Warr resignations. Whether it will ma any new proposition to broadca ing stations of its own volition seriously doubted. Starr's First Statement FOLLOWING the board meeti at which the resignation of t Warner houses was submitted, R Starr issued the following sta ment: Our resignation from the Americ Society of Composers, Authors a Publishers has been rendered nec sary in our own interests and in thi1 of the composers and all concerr in the music publishing enterpri with which we are connected. The chief reason for our action what we consider to have been insufficient and inadequate royalt collected by the society from ra broadcasters. The society is sim an agency. The inadequate paym' obtained by the society for the l of music on the air — and music the life blood of radio and has ma ly built up its uninterrupted and creasing prosperity — has strangled legitimate possibilities of music p lishing until drastic action is nec sary if this business is to contin This has injured the creative as v as the business end of these enl prises. Therefore, we have decided t' hereafter we shall conduct our r( tions with radio, so far as our mi interests are concerned, independer and directly, in order to secure fair returns to which we and our sociates, including emphatically authors and composers, are entitled A quick check up indicates t approximately 40 per cent of all music played on sponsored radio i grams is published by our compan We have reason to believe that same proportion holds on the s taining programs. Our five-year contract with the ciety expires on December 31 of 1 1 year. Thereafter all our arrangemc i with radio stations and broadcast I chains will be made by us dire' j and on a fair and proper basis. The seriousness of the situal j which has compelled us to resign fi j the society may be judged by a c parison between the sales of pc lar songs only a few years ago today. Formerly a hit song mi (Continued on page 5h) WFIL adelphia Only Philadelphia outlet for N. B. C. Basic Blue Network 560 Kilocycles 1000 Watts Page 50 BROADCASTING • December 1, 19