Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1958)

GOVERNMENT PASTORE WANTS ASCAP'S ANSWER TO WRITERS' CLOSED DOOR CHARGE • Smothers bill opponents defend BMI's position • One witness lashes out at SESAC requirements With Senate hearings resumed last week on the Smathers bill (S 2834) that seeks to divorce broadcasters from ownership in BMI and recording companies, Chairman John Pastore (D-R. I.) served notice on ASCAP that it will be called on to explam charges that unknown songwriters have not been permitted to join that organization. Sen. Pastore, who is chairman of the Communication Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, has held periodic hearings on the bill, introduced by Sen. George Smathers (D-Fla.), since last March. Testimony was taken for two days last week from opponents of the bill. The hearings will resume May 21 with representatives of NBC, CBS and the movie industry to testify. Many songwriters have testified, including Mrs. John Axton last week, that they tried unsuccessfully to become members of ASCAP. Mrs. Axton, a Florida schoolteacher and sometimes rock-and-roll composer ("Heartbreak Hotel"), said she wrote two letters to ASCAP which were not even answered. To which Sen. Pastore said, "I will say this with all candor because I have tried so hard to restrain and contain myself in commenting on the bill or indicating in any way how I have felt. ... I have been quite disturbed by some of the testimony that has [been given] to the effect that some people have tried to become connected with ASCAP and they have had difficulty. Now I would like to see that explained in the record. . . . "I would like to have somebody come in and explain to me what happened to those two letters that Mrs. Axton wrote. I hope somebody will explain why she was ignored. ... I call upon the side that is interested to come in, if they can explain that, because I think there is a very substantial point made here today ^that needs refutation if it can be refuted." Sen. Pastore pointed out that proponents of the bill have extolled the virtues of ASCAP, charging that the American public is being deprived of music, while on the other hand "these young creative people are coming in and saying we tried to connect with them and couldn't until BMI came along." ASCAP will have a chance to answer Sen. Pastore's query when rebuttal statements are taken at a yet unspecified date, probably late June or early July. Robert Burton, BMI vice president-secretary, said ASCAP members can resign only if they are willing to incur substantial losses because their catalogues must remain with ASCAP. BMI, he stated, has obtained performing rights of only two former ASCAP publishers. He said BMI rejects songwriter members only when their material is obviously unacceptable and publishing firms only when they charge writers a fee to publish their songs. He explained the "tremendous" changes in the techniques of promoting new songs since 1940, when it was necessary to get live performances on radio from top artists. This is no longer necessary, Mr. Burton said, because of refinements in recording techniques and BMI's "open door" policy. During the last 18 years, he said, he has met face-to-face with hundreds of performing artists, disc jockeys, talent representa tives and broadcasters and they have "universally characterized as utterly and completely false" conspiracy charges of the bill's proponents. "We in America are protected by the underlying constitutional principle which provides against encroachment upon the maximum dissemination of intellectual property," Mr. Burton said. "The proposed legislation would effect an encroachment upon the rights of broadcasters to carry out their public duty to bring ideas ... to the people of the U. S. and the world. Such legislation is certainly not in the public interest." Omar F. Elder, secretary and assistant general counsel of ABC, said American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres objects to the Smathers bill on four points: "(1) It is unnecessary and would not serve the public interest in any way to require AB-PT to dispose of its music publishing or recording business. "(2) It is discriminatory against the broadcasting industry. "(3) It is undesirable to undertake to determine issues already pending litigation in federal courts. "(4) It is so broad that its application will be extremely difficult — if not impossible." AB-PT owns Am-Par Record Corp., Mr. Elder stated, which in turn owns two publishing firms, Ampco (affiliated with ASCAP) and Pamco (BMI affiliate). "There is no justification and certainly not the slightest evidence from which any inference can be drawn that AB-PT has ever discriminated between ASCAP and BMI music," Mr. Elder maintained. He pointed out Am-Par records make up a small minority of those played on ABC and its owned stations, who program predominantly ASCAP tunes. ABC owns 4V2 % of BMI, he said, and the only reason broadcasters own BMI stock is to assure that an "adequate alternate competitive source of supply of music" will be maintained. Paul Raibourne, vice president of Para J LEONARD REINSCH (c), BMI board member and executive director of the Cox stations, discusses the Smathers bill with four witnesses who testified Tuesday against the measure. They are (I to r) Uoe Gale, New York publisher; Avefy Claflin, serious music composer; Lewis R. Chudd president of Imperial Records, and William Schuman, president of Julliard School of Music, New York, N. Y. Broadcasting BMI VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT BURTON (r) ended his organization's case against the Smathers bill before Senate Commerce Committee. Three other witnesses testifying against the bill were (I to r) publisher Bill Lowery, Atlanta; publisher-songwriter Winfield Scott, East Orange, N.: J.. and publisher-songwriter Terry Gilkyson, Hollywood. May 12, 1958 • Page 49