New York Clipper (Apr 1923)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

18 THE NEW YORK CLIPPER April 11. 1923 COMPOSERS' SOCIETY PREPARES TO FILE SUI T AGAINS T RADIO CO. Test Case to Detennine Legal Rights of Muuc Cc^yriglit Ovmen to Collect Rojralties or Fees From Broadcasting Stations to be Filed This Wedc The looK-expected test suit looked for- waid to by both sides of the radio station license question may be started next week when the American Society of Composers, Anthers and Publiiihers ask for an in- junction restiaining one of the large local hotels and the largest broadcasting station in the. East from sending out music, the copyright of which is controlled by the society. The suits for injunction may possibly be started against the Hotd Pennsylvania, the Vincent Lopez' Or- chestra playing there, and the Westing- house broadcasting station, WJZ, at Newark, New Jersey, through which medium the Lopez orchestra has been relaying and sending out mnsic belonging to tibe society. J. C Rosenthal, general manager of the A. S. C, A. & P.. has written to the hotel owners and Vincent Lopez, request- ing them to. refrain from broadcasting the society's music for profit, as the license issued to the hotel limited the playing of certain music in the hotel only. "Pro- miscuous broadcasting" said Mr. Rosen- thal "of the society's music must stop" is the edict and if the request in the letters is not complied with injunctions will be soo^t' to restrain the offenders. The concensus of opinion is that the average radio statioa wiU welcome the test case, as matters must come to a head sometime and free, broadcasted music can- not contintie forever. As it stands now. the radio stations are in the position of one giving something for nothing, in a way. and it most come to a halt sooner or later. That radio concerts are hurting com- posers. aoAors and publishers in many ways is without question, according to Mr. Rosenthal who quoted a recent state- ment sent out by a Chicago station to. the effect that ra^'o concerts were rapidly replaang pbonogiaphs and records. As a matter of fact, statistics compiled re- garding phongraph record sales in radio cities such as Detroit, Philadelphia and other places where wireless concerts are plentiful, show a decrease in record sales of 20 per cent since the radio craze has been in \ogue. The letter sent by the society to the Hotel Pennsylvania follows: "The West- inghouse Electric & Manufacturing Com- pany, holds no license from this Society to broadcast copyrighted music belong- ing to our members. "We note that the program for Tues-< day, A'prW 3, 1923, at 7:30 p. m., in- cluded 'Dance Music,' rendered by the Vincent Lopez Redcap Orchestra, and we are informed the music is performed at your hotel and by arrangement with the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company to broadcast through their sta- tion. "The license granted to your establish- ment to your hotel and we hereby notify yon that any arrangement whereby the composition of our members are broad- casted from yonr hotel, must be termi- nated at once." The above communication is signed by J C. Rosenthal as general manager of the A. S. C, A. & P., as well as the fol- lowing letter sent to Vincent Lopez: "En- closed herewith you will find copy_ of a comniunicition which we have this day forwarded to the Hotel Pennsylvania relative to the broadcasting of copyrighted musical compositions through the West- inghouse Electric & Manufacturing Com- pany. "You will also find a list of the mem- bers of this Society whose works are re- stricted against public performance for profit, at or by any broadcasting station v.-hich does not secure our license. "If you will telephone our office upon , receipt of this communication, I will be * pleased to explain to you in detail the position of this society." FEBT GIVES WRITERS SI.OOO Leo Feist donated $1,000 to The Song- writers, the organiration formerly called the Composers and Lyric Writers League, the money to go toward the -erection of the proposed $100,000 dubhonse to be used as a home^ etc. for song writers. Amiotmcement of the donation was made at the weddv set toscther affair of The Songwriters held at Keene's Chop House every Wednesday evening. A committee is arranging a series of benefit performances in order to raise the money needed for the doUiouse. PEASE DIVORCE SUITS DISMISSQ> White Plajns, April 9.—Supreme Court Justice Morschaoser dismissed last week a snit .and comiter suit for divorce biuughl respectively by Mrs. Louise Pease, of xoolcers, and Harry Pease, her hns- tand. Hie songwriter. Tbe Judge m dismissing the suits said that tbe tiuth of the charges on each side was obscured. The Pease case has been in die oouts for nearly a year. Each duig e d tfie other with infidelity. RADIO TO BAR COPYRIGHTED TUNES The Radio Corporation of America and the Westinghouse Electric and Manufac- turing Company Issued a statement on Monday night that because of the objection raised by an organization representing au- thors and publishers of copyrighted mnsic, all such music will hereafter be eliminated from> the programs of the WJZ radio broadcasting station in Newark, operated by these two companies. The statement points out that although the station gives free performances and makes no charge to the vocal and instru- mental artists who participate in thc_ pro- grams, conditions under which permission to use copyrighted music coald be obtained would involve a considerable addition to the heavy expense under which the station is operated. Therefore the copyrighted music will t>e eliminated, but the station says that it will continue its broadcasting activities as heretofore, devising the best programs possible. GRAFF AND GRANT WRITING SHOW Geo. Graff, Jr.. and Bert Grant are col- laborating on the book lyrics and mnsic of a nenr iiinistcal comedy which they ex- pect;fD Inve* ready'in "tiDfe .for production thit . sunnu e i-. '. ^ The Woilc Is being dpoe - alooy. jHjtiiutfe .* -:- ■;■ PUBUSHINC MUSIC IN HOLLYWOOD Hollywood, Cat, now boasts of a popu- lar music publishing firm, the Veritas Pub- lishing Company, whose first publication is entitled "Just Like a Woman," which is making considerable headway on the Coast. A. J. STASNY IS DEAD A. J. Stasny, music publisher, died sud- denly at his home ui 'New York early Monday morning. Mr. Stasny had been iU but a short time, suffering first from influ- enza, from which he believed be had re- covered, and, going back to business, again was taken ill. The second attack was in- flamatory rheumatism, which confined him in the house for several days. He was re- covering rapidly, however, and on Satur- day believed he would be well enoue[h to return to business. He was taken with a severe heart attack on Monday morning, from which he did not recover. Mr. Stasny was well-known both in this country and abroad, having about two years ago, in addition to his New York publishing house, established offices in London. Mrs. Stasny is now in England in charge of the offices, while her late hus- band was back home in N'ew York. Mr. Stasny was well known throughout the entire industry, had a large acquaint- ance among writers, publishers and dealers the country over. He had a pleasing per- sonality, was well liked and had innumer- able friends. CLARKE AND LESLIE START Grant Clarke and Edgar Leslie, -who withdrew last week from Uie firm of Stark & Cowan, opened offices Monday in the Hilton Building under tlie name of Oarke & Leslie Songs, Inc. with Sidn^ Caine as general manager. They wilt engage in a general music publishing business. Other members of the staff include: Frank Marvin, head of the band and or- chestra department; Harry Warren, pro- fessional department, and others, among them being a professional manager whose name will be announced next week. The catalogue of the new concern for the present is composed of "Now That I Need You, You're Gone," by Clarke, Les- lie and Joseph Meyer, which will be the plug number, and "Page Paderewski," a novelty instrumental number by Pete Wendling, Joe Samuels and Larry Briers. A new come()y song by Clarke and Leslie will be put out shortly. NEW COMPOSERS' SOCIETY STARTS In order to further the production of modem music, a Society is bang incor- porated under the. name of "League of Composers." A series of concerts are planned for the season of 1923-1924 at the Klaw Theatre, devoted to the work of. modem composers of various nations. An executive committee of five compos- ers will handle the business for the League and tiie concerts given will be in a sub- scribers series. Lectures will be offered to subscribers by musicians, scholars and critics. _ The committee is composed of Leo Omstein, Gruenberg, Lazare . Saminiski, Emerson Whithome, and Arthur Bliss, the English composer who is coming to the United States for a prolonged stay. An advisory committee of composers.' musicians and lajmen is being formed by the board of directors. Affiliations have been estatblished with eminent musicians abroad who will facilitate the exchange of manuscripts and appear as guests at the concerts and lectures. WBAV TAKES OUT UCENSE ' Emer & Hopkins, operators of radio broadcasting station WBAV, Columbus, Ohio, have taken out a license from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the fee being $200 per year. This is the second station to take out a license, in each case music being used on the program being only incidental to the other subjects. "SWANEE MOON" SUIT DECIDED The United States Circuit Court of Ap- peals upheld the decision of the lower courts and denied the motion for a pre- liminary injunction asked for by Edward B. Marks, in his suit brought against Leo Feist, Inc., on the grounds that the song "Swanee River Moon" infringed upon a- composition entitled "Wedding Dance Waltz," copyrighted in 1905. Expert testi- mony proved that there- was no similarity in the two compositions if "Swanee River Moon" was played as written, the rhythm and accent being different, in the five or six bars alleged to constitute^ the infringe- ment. A musical composition entitled "Cora Waltz" was exhibited, published be- fore the Marks composition, which con- tained several bars of music similar to the latter, and Circuit Judges Hough, Rogers and Manton further decided that the use of six similar bars when used in a com- position of four hundred and fifty bars was permissible. The suit for infringement of copyright was brought by Edward B. Marks in March. 1922, in the United Sutes District Court, which refused to issue a preliminary injunction on the grounds of six bars of similarity being in the defendant's composi- tion, several months after "Swanee River Moon" had had considerable , success. The decision -written by Circuit Judge Manton follows in part: . . The appellant's composition comprises four hundred and fifty bars of music and he points out that six bars of this are infringed upon by the appellee's comparison. They are found in the chorus. The composer of 'Swanee River Moon' swears that he never knew of the composition entitled 'Wedding Dance Waltz' and never heard it played until October, 1922. Appellee has submitted another composition written and published long prior to.'Wedding Dance Waltz' and that, too, has an entire identity in at least four bars which are found m both ap- pellant's and appellee's music . . . ". . . ^ust establish that the appellee had actually copied or pirated the com- position, not merely while ignorant but after knowledge of the previous composi- tion. Musical signs available for combina- tions are about thirteen in number. They are tones produced by striking in succession white and black keys as they are found on the keyboard of the piano ... in a popular song . . . combinations of tones limited to the range of ordinary voice and skill of player. . . . Neces- sarily, within these limits, there will be found some similarity of tone succession. ". . . some of the bars in the "Wed- ding Dance Waltz' arc duplicates of four bars of the 'Cora Waltz' published before appellant's composition. To constitute an infringement ... it would be neces- sary to find a substantial cop}nng of a substantial and material part of it. ' The ri^t granted ... by copyright ... . doe5_ not exclude the appellee from the use of six similar bars when used in a com- position of four hundred and fifty .bars." Francis Gilbert, of Gilbert & Gilbert, represented Leo Feist, Inc., and O. EUery Edwards was attorney for E. B. Marks. BARKER IS BOLLS BOSTON MGR. ■ :BtUy Barker is now in charge of the. "Boston office of Jack MOIs, Inc. Teidacing ' .yjnoent^Marquise. ■' .l ' - ." Jj; NEW FEIST CINCINNATI OFFICE The Leo Feist, Inc. offices here have been moved from No. Ill East-Sixth street .to Nos. 707-708 Lyric Theater Buildmp. LETTER FINDS BETTY The fame of little Betty Gulick. the ten- year-old writer of "My Mother's Lullaby," published by the Triangle Music Publish- ing Company, has travel so far and so ex- tensively that a letter mailed to her from Denmark, bearing the address, "Miss Betty Gulick, U. S. A.," dated March IS. was delivered to her widiout the loss of a sin- gle day. The address was supplied by the post office, which had 110,000,000 people living in the United States to pick it out of. Evidently one of the clerics in the post office had read one of the many stories printed in the newspapers ^bout Betty. In fact, it was a story printed in tiie Danish lUustrateJ FamSy Joumat, in Denmark, which wis rtafoiaMt for Ae letter.