Exhibitors Herald (Mar-Jun 1919)

EXHIBITORS HERALD AND MOTOGRAPHY NAZIMOVA IN SCENES FROM "THE RED LANTERN" Produced at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars, this Nazimova production is said to be the distinguished artist's greatest achieves in cut. It is the first of a new series of pictures to be distributed •>> Aietro. St. Louis Exhibitors and Musicians Will Fight Copyrighted Music Tax Theatres Bar A. S. C. A. P. Music and Play Numbers Furnished by Publishing Houses Not in Combine; Move Is Successful The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, which has been reaping a harvest from exhibitors all over the country, struck a snag when it opened its campaign to collect tribute down in St. Louis, Mo. Convincing Missouri theatre managers that they must pay 10 cents per seat per year to the A. S. C. A. P. for the privilege of playing copyrighted music proved about as easy as attempting to collect a tax on the air patrons breath. Exhibitors Organize to Fight Instead of paying up and signing a contract, the St. Louis exhibitors with t he cooperation of their orchestra leaders are selecting music not controlled by the A. S. C. P. A. and the results up to date have been very satisfactory. In fact, publishers connected with the A. S. C. A. P. are said to be bending every effort to get their music back in several of the theatres which have thrown it out and are waiving the tax privilege. Thomas Terry, orchestra leader at the Lyric theatre, is one of the most active of the theatre men opposing the combine. Thomas Terry's Statement "The Schirmer and Carl Fisher Publishing companies, representing two of the biggest music publishers of any kind of music except ragtime in the country, and Jerome H. Remick, representing the ragtime music, besides numerous smaller concerns throughout the country, are not members of tbe society and their music can be played without tax," declared Mr. Terry. "Some of the leading picture show musicians in St. Louis have not only cooperated with the managers but have gotten together and decided upon refusing to play any of the A. S. C. A. P. music, not only for the time being but in the future unless their rules are modified considerably. "I have noticed rubber stamps and printed permission on numerous orchestrations for public performances in theatres on the society's music." Others Expected to Follow The step taken by the St. Louis exhibitors and musicians is expected to result in a determined effort to avoid the tax in other parts of the country. Many states have already signed up contracts with the combine for the coming year, but are expected to organize their opposition before the present contracts expire in 1920. Buffalo, N. Y., is one of the latest cities to be invaded by the A. S. C. A. P. and on threat of being called into federal courts, most of the exhibitors are said to be signing up. A representative of the Herald, who recently toured Illinois foand the music tax the principal topic of discussion among all exhibitors. Feeling against what is termed "excessive charges" runs high. Ohio Is Now Invaded CLEVELAND, OHIO.— At last the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers has made good its threat to come into northern Ohio and force the exhibitors to pay a license to play the music of its members or play other music. And the exhibitors say they will boycott the organization's music and get along with that composed by others. The society has established headquarters at 1019-1020 Guardian building, Cleveland, and engaged Frankel & Frankel, a firm of well-known attorneys, to put on the "clean-up." These lawyers have sent out letters to all theatres notifying them of the society's purposes, and that they must have permission of the authors to play their copyrighted music. To get this, the attorneys inform the exhibitors that they must call at their office "and arrange for the issuance to you of a license to perform such musical compositions. They also give the exhibitors due notice that if they do not secure such a license they must immediately desist from using such compositions, and enclose a copy of the copyright law, copies of recent court decisions rendered in favor of the society and a list of its members. This list contains the names of most of the composers and publishers of note but there arc many well-known authors and pubb'sher^ not on it, among them the Von Tilzers and Terome H. Remick & Co. The exhibitors say there are enough composers and publishers not in the society to keep an ordinary theatre going ;t year without repeating any music and that they will get along nicely without music by the society's members. Thanhauser Directors Form New Corporation (Special to the Herald.) NEW YORK.— The Eugene Moore Productions, Inc., has just been incorporated with its headquarters at New Rochelle. Eugene Moore, former director for Thanhauser, is president, and Harris Gordon, former assistant director for Thanhauser, is vice-president. George H. Mohr, local cierar manufacturer and secretary to Mayor Waldrof of New Rochelle, is treasurer and general manager.