Variety (Aug 1932)

TneB&y, AugaU X 1933 VARnSTT Si YOUNG MUSIC JOBBERS OUT Contract T|iKe P^ndbig Radw Tax Aip^ Ail negotiations pertaining to the ; ^vlaed contract between the song- "writers and the publishers have t>een temporarily shelved. M. P< p. A. and the Songwriters Protec* tlTO Association hav(B . agreed to hold no further conferences In that : direction until the tax situation with the broadcasters has been settled. In suggesting, the postponement the publishers brought out the point - that the outcome of the ether rights tangle might so affect the entire Structure of the miislc industry that any covenant drawn up at the pres- pnt thne would turn out meaning- less and ' so much labor lost all aroUnd. ' ? Before the contract discussions were put into abeyance the con- ferees had tentatively, agreed on several clauses to go into the new contract Among them was the writers' demand for. a minimum adr vance fee and that the composi- tion copjrright revert to them if the song "was not published within six months. Revised chart of mechan- ical percentages bad also been ap- proved by both, sides. SONGWRITERS' GROUP INSURANCE VIA SP.A. \ lietters asking them whether they favored coming In on a group In- surance plan were sent put to the £Oa-odd members of the Song- writers' Protective Association last week. Idea had been okayed by the SPA'S board of directors, with lur . ther development of the idea how depending on the reaction from the , association's rank and file. Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers tried toi sell its . members on a similar project about a year ago, but when it came to closing with the Insurance - un- derwriters it was found that the premiums were ^ prohibitive-for the: ASCAP exchequer. Only Two K<Hiilieiser - ' Songs Bought by Dtish Irwin Dash' didn't buy the entlro catalog of Phil Kornhelser, Inc., for Bngland, but only two songs, 'Happy-Go-Lucky-Tou' and "The Song That Broke My Heart.' Rest of thei Kornhelser catalog for Eu- rope is stiii undisposed of. liOit-minute hitch flopped the deal, bet-veen. the newly formed Dash Music Co. of Iiondon for Stept & Powers* catalog. . That's still unsold for abroad. Dash' had wanted to sign up Sammy Stept also as a writer, which was the cause of the deal falling through. Dash returns to England on the 'Minnetonka* Aug. 3. PIHllSHlllli IS LOWER TERMS FOR ALL FOREIGN MUSIC DEALS Band Shirts San Francisco, Aug. 1. Dance . bands across the bay in Oakland coming in for considerable shifting. Tom'^ Coakley, recently at Athens Athletic Club, openfa Aug. 15 at ^he Hotel Roosevelt, Hollywood, With Betty KeUy and Virginia Haig vocalists. Mickey liazarus and 11 men into McFac'.deh's ballroom. Pat S.h a b I e y inaugurates week-end dancing at his Hotel Xieamlngton, putting In Pat Gordon (Heche) and band. . Jease Stafford In at .new Sweet's 'ballroom and Reg Code. in Athens Club. lAtter reported closing soon with Del Courtney to follow* Chicago, Aug. 1. /Wholesale switch of dance orches- tras locally this month, Bernle Cummins is scheduled for the Trianon ballroom. Jack Miles goes into the Granada Cafe. Clyde McCoy takes Carl .Moore's place at the Drake Hotel. Johnny Hamp will probably re- turn to the Congress where he was popular two seasons ago. Long Branch, N. J., Aug. 1. liod' Kibbler's orchestra has reir placed Carl Hartman and band on the Recreation ^ler, laing Branch. Hartman shifting to Wildwood Park, N. J. Other band changes along the shore include: Veno -Faulkner re- placing Walter Clinton at Shore Gardens, Asbury Park; Jo Wood- ward in, Al Fielder out, at Club San Itemo, Long Branch; Lou Michael- eon out at Price's Long Branch (no replacement); Willard Rodman out at Log Cabin, Long Branch, with Harry Olson in. Under present conditions all hew foreign music deals are being made at much lower terms than in the past, both as a break for the foreign publishers and also as a means to induce the payment of cash in U. S. currency a.nd payable in the United States. Income in English pounds loses much on the rate of exchange and similarly there are restrictions on the exportation of francs or German marks. The new deal for ohe year only whereby Campbell-ConnelU will handle Robblns* 'stuff in Bngland commencing Nov. 1 calls for only {15.000 advance. Keltb-FroWse paid Robbins {87,006 for two years; ex- piring Oct. 31, 1932, which, however, dwindled to (66,000, with Robbins paying a 20% and 6% tax to the British Govt C-C'S deal provides for Robbina getting the (15,000 in U. S. currency and Campbell-Con- nelly paying the British government levies themselves. Editions Campbell-Oonnelll, the iTrench subsld, will also handle Rob- bins* catalog in France, paying (4,600 for those rights. Albertl in Germany continues. Metro, which controls Robbins, wouldn't sign for more than a period of * year with C-C. . Two years ago Robbins had vol- untarily extended all foreign rights for France, England and Germany for a year. gratis as- a good-wHl gesture in order -to pave the way for certain Metro musical rights abroad and also as a squarer for too stiff a deal under eventuating con- ditions. In line with the foreign deals, some of the lesser foreign pubs in dealing with the lesser American firms are buying up only Individual numbers rather than entire catalogs as an economic measure. Fourteen Publishers Com- bine for Central Shipping Unit with N. Y., Chi, L; A. Branches—Robbins Only Major Firm Out, but Sympathizing—40% Uni- form Profit Margin As- sured and Small Dealers' Squawks Eliminated INSURES 25c PRICE Score's 3 Publishers Laurence Schwab-B. O. DeSylva forthcoming musical, 'Humpty Dumpty,' will be published by Harms, with Bobby Crawford's Arm, DeSylva, Brown & Henderson, and Feist's sharing on percentage. Tills comes about through Rich-; ard A. Whiting being under Harms', contract, DieSylvla to Crawford, and Naclo Herb.Brown to Feist, GOLDEN BEGUPEBATING Ernie Golden, orchestra leader, Is recuperating from a recent illness at Londonderry, N. H. . He suffered a general breakdown. HERE AND THERE Bill Hogan'a orchestra replaces the Irving Aaronson combo at the Frolics, Culver City, Calif., Aug. 2. Aaronson's Commanders returning to New York for the new Irene Bordlni show. Marvin Welt with Mills-Rockwell to handle radio promotion for the Xiawrence Music Co., one of the firm's subslds. • Harold . Wald, who assisted his brother, Jerry, on the 'Graphic* be- fore the paper folded, Ib now' with Mills Music Paul Tremaina has taken over the bandstand In Elltch'ii Gardens^ Denver, for the balance of the' season. In line with iho dasperate at- tempts of the music publiahara to rasusitate ■ dacadant business, the desire to aliminata tha middla-man, the jobber, who has been raflardad as no asaat to the music business, .will b« put to a vote tomorrow (3). It is expected tha move for 14 of tha leading publiahars to combine into a central shipping unit will go through without delay in order to gat under way by Aug. 15 a pro- posal to ectabliah shipping dapts. in New York, Chicago and Lot An- gelas. ~ This is in line with the decision to fix the price of sheet musib at 26o retail and 16c wholesale. It will afford a uniform 40% margin of profit for the retailer and will elim- inate any squawks from the small- er merchandisers that the. syn- dicate stores arei able to undersell them at 26c retail whereas they, buying their smaller lots at 18-20c wholesale, can't afford to subsist on a nlck^ or 7c profit per sheet of music. The ft^ng of the retail 26e price will meet with no legal entangle- ments in concerted price-fixing, this step being circumvented by individ- ual action by all tho publishers. Robbins Music Corp., . the ^ole major publisher which will not join the 14 others in the combine, is taking this stand because of (ae dictates of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, its 61% owner. It's always been m;-G-M'8 policy to play the lone woir on film situations and It wishes to follow through accord- ingly on the music end. However, Robbins will function sympathetic- ally with the central shipping plants and sell its music at 14c wholesale to the three focal dis- tribution points. The extra penny per copy, it is hoped, will pay the overhead of the shlppihg centrals in N.T., Chi and Li.A, and pos- sibly help towards a small net profit. This net can always be pro rat'd If it becomes too large. Pubs Own Middle Men The move will eliminate jobbers sucl^ as l>laza, Lyon & Healy, Sher- man-Clay, J. W. Jenkins, Richmond Music Supply, et al. Publishers feel that if any middle-man must exist, they'll be it. The extra pen- nies per copy that the jobbers must tack oh to the publliahera' wholesale rates have been the caus^ aver the publishers, for the small retailers being compelled to charge 30-60c per copy retail in order to enjoy a satisfactory margin. . This is no problem with the syn- dicate stores, as they buy in large quantities and deal direct with the publishers, and thus' enjoy the minimum wholesale rates whether on 'new issues' or established hits, the latter always costing a penny or two more per copy wholesate. The uniform 16c wholesale figure for everything will obviate that. While the printed 25c retail price on the title page will eliminate, over-charging, publishers also feel that with the large margin of profit, it may encourage dealers to push bargain sales to vend five copies for $1, This, it is hoped, will move merchandise faster off the coun- ters.' The meeting tomorrow of the MPFA will iron out the final de- N. Cafe and Roadhouse Bands' Salaries Bonded for Protection Comparison Dardanella' from the piano rolls alone earned |10,000 in royalties, and that was consid- ered a very small right. T)day a hit of similar, pro- portions can't get a yield of $160 from the piano i>aper. Looks Like DooghBot Cootrad Didn't Say So; Kdm Off %]lykoo' Roger .. Wolfe Kahn is out of 'Ballyhoo,* the forthcoming Norman Anthony, Jr.-Delacortis-Gensler mu- sical production, refusing to con-, tinue Just for the glory iaa the at- traction only offered , the regulation $82.50 union scale per man. Kahn would have had a chance for some real dough when and if the 44th Street roof nite club in conjunction with the show eventu- ated, but the 'Ballyhoo' manage ment refused to put that into tto contract «o Kahn walked, and took a couple RKO vaudeville dates. He was at the Palace, N. Y., last week. Frank Tours Is now the niusicftl conductor for 'Ballyhoo.' Kalm Is slated for a Warner Bros, short and will go on CBS shortly for ja radio commercial. An epidemic of bouncing , checks, short payoffs and no payoffs at all by shoestring roadhouses and cafes bias resulted in a ruling by Xibcal S02, New York, of the musicians' union, requiring the postlns; of a week's salary in advance for all bauds by nlte clubs, cafes, hotels and all other places whose custom- ers sit at tables. The legitimate and reliable places are forced to take the slap. along with the no payoff spots that brought on the ruling. ' Out In Chicago recently; Jimmy Petrillo's union passed the same rul- ing,, and for the same reason.. • Bonding for ihuslclans will t«- semble that required for legit «hows by Equity,, with a week's salary in escrow at all times for thei players' protection. In the event of tio pay- off in the future by a toiadhouse, the bonded money will be used for the final week. There's no chance of a stranding for the. musicians, since they can't play if no bond is up in advance. Unless waiving it. Schuster Has No. 1 Song*, But Let Out as Gen. Mgr* Iiet out by Witmarks as profes- sional manager, Ira Schuster has in •Shanty in Old Bhantytonm' that firm's No. 1 song right now, and the best seller currently; This anomaly comes about through Schuster,, who also uses the nom de plume of John Siraa, being under a Joint writing- professional staff contract, drawing an income as a Wltmark writer, although deposed as prof. mgr. . Schuster thi$ week joined Ager, Tellen & Bornstein as a writer, with his Wltmark connections havlJrg since lapsed. B. & H.V New DeSyWa David Freedman has joined the Liew Brown-Ray Henderson team as the book and idea man. He replaced Buddy DeSylva, who broke away from Brown-Henderson to write independently and with other& BREESE ASH FUBLIZ Minneapolis, Aug. 1. Publix Is negotiating with liOu Breese, former conductor and m. e. at the plinnt^anta^ jiqW ClOSCd, tO head a 12-plece orchestra at the State or Minnesota, starting in the falL Offer to Breese, however, entails a slash in salary for him and for Ills men. He has rejected this opening bid. tails of the auditing system under which the 14 publishers will split the cost of operation of the central bureaus, etc. She(fet music heretofore wholesaled at . K^c for 'new issues,' l.e. stuff Just out and on which the retail- ers took a chance and stocked up. Some of the popular hits graduated to 18o, 20c. and 22 %c wholesale per copy in large or small lots, thus necessitating a prohibitive retail price which, the song publishers aver, has dented their business badly. In line with the 15 c economy, all editions will be two sheet affairs, sans the insert,: to save on' the stock, shipping costs, etc. Feist some time ago pioneered with the printed ^5c retail price, but following retailers' squawks eliminated that.. Now it becomes a I concerted practice. ' L A. POUCE JOIN FEDS IN SHEET BOOTLEG VAR I<os Angeles, Aug. 1. Iios Angeles police department Is now co-operating with Department' of Justice Investigators 'in clearing the city of song sheet racketeers, with one ariest and one. conviction this T^eek. Alexander Aggle,v 14-year-61d wholesaler of the 1>6otleg lyrics, now in Juvenile hall awaiting trial on a new Federal copyright in- fringement charge. Boy is already under a conspiracy indictment to violate copyWght act. ■ ' Thonuis Welfltt, with a long rec- ord, was convicted of similar charges Thursday <28) in tr, S. District court. 15 Song Sheet Peddlers Nabbed k N.Y.; $5 Fines Reps £rom the American iSoclety of Composers, Authors and Publish- ers, accompanied by plainclothes cops, swooped down over the week- end: among the sidewalk peddlers of nickel songsheets and netted 16 ar- rests. Pinches were made along Broadway and the Coney Island boardwalk, with the culprits being fined |6 each on peddling without a license charge in' various magis- trate courts. In the latest mop-up of the un- lawful purvey6rs of copyrighted lyrics,. :the society confiscated alto- gether about 9,000 sheets. Coast Wax Sales Gain As Air Programs Panned I<os Angeles, Aug. 1. V Noticeable pickup In record sftles on the coast during the past month Is attributed by sales people to a llstener-ih disgust of radio pro- grams and an inability to get sta- tions to play request numbers. Corresponding increase in calls for phonograph needles is also aii Indication that many talking: ma- chines are being ha;uled out of mothballs; Feting Jack Hariris When Jack Harris, baton favo at the Embassy Cliib, Ix>ndon> arrives on the Burdpa tomorrow (8) hell run into a surprise welcome framed by several bandmen. Heading the delegation will be Abe Lyman. Biefore pulling but for this side Harris was entertained at a lar©- well party thrown by,the Prince of Wales.