Variety (Jul 1932)

VARIETY MHSIC-RAOIII TujesiSlay/iralf 26, 1932 Is Tin Pan Alley True? (Continued from pagre 1) Inspiration technically and eco- nomically. Today, however, It means nothing as is evidenced by the pres- ent No. 1 song, 'Lullaby of the liCaveiB,' which has sold 125,000 copies. In former years It would Jiave meant a small fortune for the songwriter^. The No. 1 song before thftt, 'Paradise,' went to 250,000 qoples.; Million or a halfrinillion sales are a thing of the past. „ ■ Radio, thus, was rcgardfed as the sole teihalning hope ^or compensa- tion to the' songwriters and pub- lishers, but the recent parleying of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers with, the National . Assodiatlon of • Broad- casters has had an unsatisfactory i«BuU to the Society. ■ ' With jridlo'a inroads foreseen years ago, arid its constantly: en- e'rvating inilluencfe on the song.busl-. riess ■ an aictuality for the past sev- eral years, the situation was never as acute as today. With everything now at a mlnhhum, what should have been the chief soured, of 41- reict incomo-rsheet music and phon- ograph record sales—lias been un- pi-dductly^ for -years, and all as- crib'ed io ra416; So with no out- side sources for supplementary in-- come, radio beicame the sole salya- tton for Tin Pan Alley. Even the Hollywood oaflls faded OMt for the sbng tirade white the musical show^s are now generally , restricted i to 'name' composers." ■ -The etheir performing rights, long 'classifled by the .XQUslc pa<>lishers a 'small right,' along with other 86Urces of by-product reveriued, has become the major right and it's not ienough say thpse concerned. , Tin Pari Alley. Is in. an. uproar which maihly decries the $1,2P0,000 ^I'for the taai.6 performing rights made bfetwe^h .the American. Sor c'iety.' of ;Cdfniiosers,' Authors and Publishers and the National Aflsp- . elation of 'Broadcasters. It is os- teibibly. a 26% increase in favor of the songrwriters: and publishers* . . : But in actuality; this $1,260,000 Itutinual revenue, on. a deal which Will obtain for-16 months from Sept "i, "is regarded 'asvhavlngr beea paid off by the radio interests as a ..'riulian.ce TsUue.' Tfita makies the ■ti^e(rt . doubly; reM^ . ' • . . "it'4a, (i) riot>deemed adequate, Iri ' it» 'returns '.for ■ the •.music which, froin^ the tpiulylewpolnt,. forms the 1>«&|cbone of radio;. (2). it is treated iw a; 'nuisance* payoff .by :antelng : the oiriginal $1,000,000 deal another . iB* to »1,250,000. fit ■ is . felt that ■ It dbean't treat . inuiste iri the same percentage inter- est .ai^'t^^ecenuirierclat biuadcasters ' l^»gard . their J telephone facilities, land wUreiii, . control rpoms, talent, eoiitlriulty, etq. It takes no cogniz- ance, say the songwriters and', pub- lishers, of their contention that music, b^einflf the iriiportant' ingredi- ent of 'coiriinereiat broadcasting, that lt>Bupposedly is, shouid be accorded i^vflxed pej^centage - surcharge over and above the sum total ol the cost of ariy ttrograriu- Jf a.^ big program costs ItS^OOO in toto,'^ why shouldn't G^%( or 1760-, be tacked on as a sur Charge for the musie privileges. . The music interests are willing to 'gairibiis.! on .sU^cii^ terms: rather than 1^ paid cA 'as a '.nuisance, value.' , Rficiie:[Ak Octopus' ; A^lde'ffoin these, ^tbteal reactloris, the generial. e<^onotritc deal ii» also . deemed urisatisfaictory. It shatters the holies of the entire music in dustry which, have clung tenaciously through long lean months,, since last , winter, fiwaltlng a new deal- where.< by radio} would; he :pro.ductiye of ' compensating' tiiem - for losses of revenue along other lines. . . Badio' is regatded by riiusic men as tiie octopus which for the i>a8t few years has strangled the heteto fore prosperous business of music publishing and stifled the':wlll to create by the writers of the nation's popular songs^ So, if radio is to be tolerated .(music men "can withdraw their performing rights-from the air on short notice), writers and pub- lishers alike had eagetly looked for- ward to being adequately coriipen.^ sated. The new deal actually represents an eciualization for the losses the music group Is experiencing from reduced Income, due to so many picture theatres being closed or go- ing dark. The theatro music tax is 10c. per seat per yeair. It also makes up for a great loss of revenue here- tofore obtained from restaurants, Cafes and ballrooms which, too, with cessation of operation, are no longer productive of revenue from • • the performing rights of copyrighted ■ /'music'" - On tQt> .of - that, the new deal calls for the elimination of payments (or radical reduction of such payments) from the lesser broadcasting sta- tions, i.e., those with a minimum of commercial revenue. , It places a somewhat bigger burden on the larger stations, which either are af- filiated with the majot, networks or have their. own localized extensive commeirclal revenue for ether adver- tising. ■"■ There are alternate cries of havr ing been .'sold out' by a group of 'weak-itneed, Jtelly-backed,' repre- sentatives (a group of eight com- prising writers and publishers), against which Is contrasted a riiore conservative, somewhat complacent attitude that now .isnft ttie- time to flght, nifitlonal economic conditions being what'they are, • '■ . 'Turmoil-, The pros arid cons are fast arid furious with the music riien tearing their hair as they tear their herring over the/way they've been allegedly 'sold down the river.' The word and riiusic smiths are -writing paeans of condemnation as ^hey express their mental palri at a 'lousy deal.' ' On the. other hand' the conserva-^ tives, living on their past laurels and now enjoying a $4,000-$6,000 annual - Income from the Society, catechize themselves rhetorically. 'Why • Jeopardize an assured living Incoriie.from the Society?* they.say. 'We. all know that that means-UO.O bucks a week or tiiereabouts firom the Society's collection of perform- ing rights. We all know» atlso, that writing a bit. nowadays riieana: very little. It iised to run into tlie thou'-r sands; now a hit riieans'a few hun- dred dollars. So 'it's? the' Society which is giving uff a means of a fair livelihood in- parlous times» ■ Let well .eriough-alone.' ', The committee of eigUlT in whoEie hands this' entire music-radio pa- laver-was. placed took that same attitude, only couching it in more digni&ed language. What dthe^ in else is vital to their own econoriiio existence, The publishers point to' this dwindling of disk sales from sums averaging $250,000 a year to less than $20,000 today front riiechanl- cals. On the 07-3$% split with the publisher on'the long end, . It gave the average miajor pui> an arinu'al income: of $.176,o6o from disks alone. Arid this was only a byproduct To- day it's 10% of that Badlo Is blamed. ' No 1 Sorigs 125^ Sale Song hilts of 1,000,000 copies are only history today. " The prtsent No, 1 song, 'liUHaby of the Iieaves,' has .'sold but 126,000 copies. 'My Sllerit Love,' No. 2, ^s around 75,000, Last year, on the ebb; tide of music sales* 'Goodnight Sweetheart' sold 680,00.0 copies and Kate Smith has brought the 'Moon Over the Moun- tain' so often thiit it's, managed .to accumulate 660,000 copies. '. It gives an idea of preseint day -and recerit sprig sales' ;reiatlyity. 'Paradise,' a waltz outstander; with a gigantic radio plug, and the well-knit Feist organization back of it, I has Only gorie to 260,000. Normally, for' that type Of song Feist could push -such waltz hit. well past the 1,000,000 'mark.. ■ The publishers again are chiding themselvesfor a lack of nerve.' It's repetition of the -old t. p. a. blue$ that the boys would never stick to- gether. This refers to thia proposal of starving the country on sheet music or withdrawing ..the perfonri- ing rights' privileges of their cata- logs. RadioVNeeds » : ^adio doesn't depend on the cur- rerit or :fUture - stuff. Radio riiost rieeds the esta-bUshed music favor- ltes;'..the 'familiar- airs; the wealth Of : operetta, musical coriiedy a'nd yesteryear song hits; " Radio, such as-wheri the Stand- ard Oil Co', of Ohio gOes On' the .air, needs, a 'Beau^ful Ohio' waltz for its theme. Radio, such as when a bathing suit account goes on the air, rieeds a 'By. the Sea,', a fariiillar theme, for its musical . keynote. dustry,'they argue, can state it-had -When a fruity shljlplng line wants itis Income from a.ny one source guaranteed for an increase of 25% for the next, year? Their further argrument-is that too severe'demands might result in dire legislation, a legislation th.it might, rule thO' publishers out of business.' - Tci this cbntenilon .the die-hards replied -with a resounding' 'nerts,' polritinj^ to the futile efforts of years by the 'picture exhibitors to dodge paymerit of a . music taib It had been fought up to^ fhe U. S. Su- preme Court and back and forth ag^in and again, with Judicial vlc- toi^ to; the compbsets arid publish- ers on the theory they' were en-i titled'to a benefit from their copy- right ownerships. ' . : A Year Lato Radio Interests, In this particular pow-wow, ."kisyohologicaliy swayed the settlement of the compromise deal by stating, 'If you had made these demands a year ago, you'd have won ali the way. But now, ^rith these cancellfitions, (pointing to docuriientary proof of many radio conunerclals /going off the air)' lt*s impossible. Perhaps a year .or t^p hence, when conditions improve, we'll go into it agalri.' . And to this, too, the die-hards have answers; that the cancella tlons are seasonal, in that mldsiim mer is always a slack radio com mercial period; that NBC alone re ports a $16,000,000 gross ' revenue for January-June,. 1932, which is a $3,000,000 increase over the same first six months -of 1931, and that a year, from now the radio interests will again laugh at the music men and state, 'If last year you had held your ground we would have i>een compelled to yield, but now It's too late.' And so the verbal strife wages back and forth. The committee of eight representing the miislc men voted 6-2 against demanding too much. ^ ; Tl^e malcontents among the rank and file ° of the American Society state that o£ the six who prevailed, composer' - author committeemen, such as Jerome Kern and Otto Har- bach« are npt truly representative of the average tin pan alleyite. Both iare wealthy men, they claim, rich from boxofnce royalties and not depend ent on any catchpenny royalty per centages from mechanicals and sheet music. It la no secret that the richest of musical comedy scores are meager revenue producers from the music or disk sales as compared to the Incomes on bpxoflflce percent ages due the authors and coriiposer, Hence, argues the songwriter who Cashions the ditties of the da,y, this revenue ft'om radio and anything Radio to exploit. itself, only a 'Yes, We Have No Barianas* can set, the' mo- tif, npt some unknown and unpopu- larized new song. - Therein lies the value of the mu- sic men's copyrlgtats. Let them' withdraw permission for public pier- formance Of these tunes and radio would be ori its knees, argue the Iwlllgerents. But in .the next breath they concede that none dare to take tbis position, kriowlng full well. tha,t there will be recalcitrants, double- dealers, and. opporturilsts who will step in to capitalize on the acute situation of 9, . music embargo. This faction .firgues, 'If we're to go down, we'll take radio with us. As. it is, they've about sunk us. 'What have we to f^ar from any legislation no matter how.: power-* i!ul the interests behind radio may be? One thirig they can't do is make legislation re'troactive . as regards oUr already established copyright rights. Having those, we're pro- tected. 'What they do as regards future matierlal is something else again, but that shouldn't worry us particularly. 'We have everything to gain and very little to lose. As regards what's left to the. music business, it's, like throwing good money after bad. So what difference does it riiake ' if we go . under? 'At least we'd have put. up a good flght And then we have every chance to win.' 2 Or 3 Or 5% The-music men refer to their original intention ot taxing 6% on all commercial programs for the inusic-Tights.. The theory is that music is the backbone of every com- mercial program of any proportion The advertising agency spends large sums itpr radio 'time', facili- ties, for .talent for land wires;3nd for/radio continuity, then whylipt an additipnal percentage pn the siim tPtal fpr the use pf the coprlghted music? If 5% under present- conditions is excessive, the die-hards were agree able to a .2 or 3% coriipromlse fee ori commercial program costs. That would have meant a $2,000,000-$6,- 000,000 income to the music inter ests.; ■ In answer to this the other side maintains that the 26% .addltlonai concession of a guaranteed Income, Increasing it to $lt250,000, is a posi tlve concession of the yaliie of copyrighted music to radio. To which the retort is, 'If they gave us only $10 extra that, too, would be a manifestation of their conces ston.' What, the music. men need, they insist, is a greater revenue to make up for the dire effects on their busl ne'ss which radio allegedly has CONSTANCE BENNETT With Max Sterner** Orehestra Adela Rooers>.St. Jphn Qeo^ Cukor and David O. Selzniok 'Hollywood on the Air* 30 Mine. COMMERCIAL WEAF, New York This is RKO Radio Pictures' an- swer to I:. H Aylesworth, the RKO and NBC proxy's attitude on the co-ordination of films and radio for mutual benefit A grand plugfe'st for 'What Price Hollywood,' It's not without Its general entertalriment and, regardless, is assured of con- centrated attention because of the name ntar., ThaVii be the ariswer to all the rest of the RKO-NBC hookups frorii the Coast or. for any other Aim company's availability of the invitatiori. from Aylesworth ex-^ tended by him repentlyi. Picked up firom sound stage' 8, where the Bennett picture was shot everything about the broadcast had a note of authenticity -which was effectively transmitted via the mike. The Hollywood locale of the picture was perfect for the Inauguration of this series of -Hollywood on the Air,' which -will continue overy Sat- urday at 1 p.m. Coast time, which, with daylight saving, hits New York-at.6 o'clock Iri the afternoon. David O. Selznick, executive y.pi. on Radio production, contributed a nice speechlet brtcay observing that the radio public ish't Interested In producers on the air. Followed Max Stelner with a medley of pic- ture song themes,; and then to sound stage No. 8 for a re-enact- ment of 'What Price Hollywood* in the scene . where. Miss Bennett sings a French number. She did it In equally effective manner, her French lyric diction coming through so clearly, that even those wi^h ele- mentary command of the language got the lyrics. A musical ^heme is referred:to In passing as dei^icting the 'falling of a star* (Lowell l^hermari's mental turmoil in'thei 'picture, but riot so announced, with everything to the Bennett).. This-scene Included some chatting Ly Adela Rogers St John, Who wrote the story, and < George Cukor, the director. Miss St. John did several minutes Ori her own latei* in a very natural and seemirigly extemporaneous man- ner as evidenced 1>y a not stilted and plausibly,faltering delivery,.but highly effective withal as she In- terpreted Hollywood's price by- re- ferrlrig to Wally Reid, Valentino and Mabel Normand from her fund of memory.- . MI9S €t John stressed that Hol- lywood doesn't deal in buttons which come from a inould, but'.ln warmth, temperament, beauty and talent, and must be understood to be appreciated. She threw a bou- iiuet to Oene Fowler, who contrib- uted the comedy portions to the picture and also an institutibrial builder-up by opinion 'you should love the movies for the great pleas lire they give yoU.* It was all done In collociuial delivery, simple and down-to-earth; Iritenttorially- or not the best probr>ble api.eai for picture fans' understanding and interest Stelner rourided' out the half hour with excellent rhythoilc syncopa- tion. Stelner is the RKO Radio studio maestro who scored 'Holly- wood.' If this is a sample of the pro film plug idea as requested . by Aylesworth it's a winner. It's a cinch for dial-in attention on several elements, not the least of which is the stellar appeal by a Bennett vr other star, - and the authentic 'behind the studio gates' aspects of the microphonic -pro- ceedings. AbeU •P0HTRAIT8 OF GREAT CHAR, I Disraeli,' 6th'of Series) Dramatib 15 Mins. Sustaining WMCA, N. Y. Carefully planned and plotted. Just what chance a dramatic halt hour such ais .this has at 9:30 p. m ' on Fridays over a lesser station (WMCA), against such major pro- > grariis as Iloffman's ginger ale Pond's beauty creams; Armour hams and Woodbury soaps, all with ultra talent is a question. .At best It's a talky seiiuence, Tom Frobertt .co^authpr. with. Paul Titus of this series, doirig the narrating. Elmo Rues, the studio pianist-^or* ganist assists on the musical back., ground as Prpbert sketches the life • of Benjamin Disraeli. It's.prlricipally a narration. Only • snatches - do John Flemriilng ( who is also the author and pro-^ ducer of the London Crime Club • series), Charles Capps (author and . producer of WMCA's Mysterious Plays, series) and Helen Harrison (newspaper woman and radio ac- tress), do their stuff respectively as Disraeli, Gladstone iand' Queen Vic* toria in the dramatic highlight bit i It's tough to-keep the dial from not switching, with the fancy musi- cal and song opposition further ud the dial. Next week, Louis Pasteur. • ■ Ah€l^ j AILEEN SrTANLEY-SCRAPPY LAMBERT With PAUL WHITE- MAN'S Oldsiriobile Program 30 Mins. Commeroial WEAF, New York Paul Whiteman has been on tho ■ air for some time, Is on the alt: commercially and institutionally; and. yet manages to produce pro-t grams fresh and crisp and distinc- tive, an unusualness which' comes chiefly from his own music and not the variety Interludes who may be featured as his guest stars. This Friday night Oldsmobile program was colored almost entirely by Whlteman's owri music. Aileen Stanley, a proved and ap- proved songstress, as the featured guest .artist- did only one number, 'Kentucky 'Way of Saying Good Morning.*: .Earlier, Scrappy and the Songsmiths* version of ^St Louis Blues* w-ith a brilliant musical back- ground was ahother vocal highlights But the punches from the start were that medley of three rumbas, 'Mania Inez,' 'Fiesta' and 'Bahama Mama'; two straight pops; a pip dance arrangement of Maurice Ravel's eerie 'Bolero* and othei:; rhythmic numbers. Each carried & bit ot explanatory chatter by White*, man himself, cued by. the announcer. As for Miss Stanley, the guest star, she displayed again a cool, ap^. POa-ling voice of fine diction and fin- ished delivery. Lambert's hot-chal contributions were equally notable. In between, Iri My Merry Olds* mobile,' is an okay thematic for thia O. M. branch of the Whiteman se*. ries. , Ahel, , DON BESTOR arid Orehesira 16 Mins. WEAF. New York Don .Bestor is the outgoing dance purveyor from the Hotel New York er, who will, have been succeeded by the t^me this sieies pririter's ink- by another of the hotel's idea of swing Ing maestrbs, Tom (Grcrun; Bestor Is no novice to the mike, to New York or to class hostelries, as hb shifts around In th - .key hotel spots and knows his fOxtrotology. . Bestor knows his stuff, featuring a ptanist-composer, Dudley Meek- ham, with that 'Sweet Potato Man* nuniber, or otherwise breaking up the straight dance stuff. It's smooth, melpdlc, rhythmic, with a nice change of pace. Having but 16 minutes, Bestor saw to it that a sympathetic waltz such as 'Mardi Gras,' the novelty Meekham number, and two nicu foxes came into the musical picture for an engaging balance. Kelvin Keech did the announcing. Abel. wrought. Thip million and a quar ter -would be okay if It were Just a by-product source pf irevenue, but there's practically ho. other music biz, with sheet music sales what they are, Hence| if radio is the biggest market for copyrighted compositions, radio should pay for it'la the'point they bfiake, u -- state-lake inaugural With Olive Olsen, Lee Sims, llomay .Bailey, Qeorge Beatty, Alibe Joy ■ and Harry Kogon Musioala ^ Siistainiria '^1 WLS. Chicago A cousinly nod from N]^C to RKO - occupied the choice hour of 8-8:30 on Wednesday (20) over this 60,000- watt statiori. Being another ot those unrehearsed affairs, its value was exploitive iprimarily and for the State-iLake starting off on the long-, riiinbred, flrially-achieved vaude- > viUe revival; 'Usual RKO them* song was employed. - Most iriteresting 'item proved to be Olive OlSen,' blonde comedlerine, who sang 'Humming to Myself and T sounded, without iritendlng to, ex- - aotly like Mildred Bailey. Miss Olsen sounded a bit lackadalsicaK Or it may have been the heat. Or Just the' waiy .these unrehearsed plug programs' sound. Anyhow It . was pleasant and so imllke heV gen- eral style as to furnish surprise.- As for the others, they are fa-< miliar on the radio -with the excep- tion ot George Beatty, who pre- sented a portion ot his vaudeville chatter and wasn't too good In the strange mediurii. • ; < Land. BILLY HUGHES' ARISTOCRATS Orchestra Sustaining WGY, Soherieetady Unit on the air for a luncheon-- hour iand late-evening broadcast from an Albany hotel. Sticks to straight dance, stuff, and features a soft/ smooth style of music. Billy Dunn, a sympathetic tenor, does the vocals. ' While effect achieved Is ear-easy,, there Is a sameness to programs that becomes noticeable when ail orchestra broadcasts as frequently as this one. A change of pace, via novelty numbers or a broadcastlnfif of the vocal base, would help. Boys get a break when Warren Munson, station's beat dance-orches-r tra announcer. Is at mike, evert though It's under remote control ar-« I.rarigeriient. - * .:, Jaco. ,