Variety (June 1933)

M U S I C VARmrY 45 AustraKiis Squawk No PayoflF Till U. S- Rep Arrives for Investi-j gation of Royalty Ta,vigle 5-Day Week MtiiBlc Publishers Protective As- sociation is eOntemplsiting seAdiatr a representatiye to Australia to straighten out the tangle existing oyer rdJrttlty"teeB claimed—bjr-rthe xnemhers ot the perfomiinir rights society on synchronized films re- leased In .that cduntrr by/American producers. All American pictwr^. -flirms doing-buslness^there Ji:re_d«>-. manding that j'the M.j P. A. do. vBoinethinlf- Inniedi^^ the situation. Complaint, from Australia '^haa 'been to tb© effect that the local trius lp men had prevailed upon the government to hold Tip-nhtrrelease of American product on the ground that American publishers have been delinquent in paying therii their share of tho'synehronissatlon money received froin, the American, pro- ducers. John Q.. Paine, chairman of the MPPA board, in a - left«B|rV eeyerjU. weeks agrb urged his membership to -help- nintanjfeief-the , Jain by paying their AWtraliah publisher agents "wfiaSTviPSiSVTr^^ -fllm^Hiiniliere^haye^^ that the quickest way to solve the situation would lie by dispatching an MPPA representative to the scene. This rep, they say, could make a survey of the Australian music ■ men's demands and squawks and directly effect a settlement from this end. Philly Bootleg Case On Trial This Week] .'Large representation .of I^ew Tork pubiiahers^Tid—authorS^has- been-| summoned.\for,jte8timony in the trial of "the hootleg sphgisheet case against; Mi. L.- Fisher; described as a printer and dlatrlbutor of the con-, Uuband, Which opens in the U. S. iplstflcV' ^CouflT" in Philadelphia; jchyrsday _.C29) Members 6t the Music Pub- llsherd Protective Association have agreed to make it a five- day week during July and August. Saturday closing is. to apply only to the pop Hone division.'; Standard publishers haye expressed themselves in favor of the moye but say that the fact , that most of them also operat ie ret ail---stor es .would — tnake Saturday shutdown in- convenient. to Probe Dance Bands AHeged Under-Scaling on Air It's been thb contention of the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers that next to Niew York, Philly rates as; the 6ity Where, the sbngsheet evlL prevails at lis WorstTTM PhillyraccDrding to the | society's findings, the l:>ric peddlers have regular stands i . fronit of the primary and high schools with the sales from such sources estimated to run anywhere from 2P,Q00 to 30,- ODD copies a-Week. a nog or a Run, So the Plnggers Chieago, June 26. Pulse^r.eaders think- thie. nite - club ^^tuatloh has markedly Improved in the past week, .Early June patron- age 'Was poor" but . the increase in tourists already noted by the thea- tres and ballroMns has brought in- creased btisiaess^and; a more op^ Klein Goes From v^an Back to the Fire Pittsburgh, June . 26. i^etting away from, the night club -business -fo r -th et^flrst.. ilroa_in__iP; yeaTs,"EddTOn^eIn~fotJfnd~it~:^ use w»d he's back in the couyert charge, trade again after a short fling at the Wholesale beer. biz. He's opening the. Mayfair hotel jfoof tot the .sumirteri^lnstallihg .a band__and_ floor^ show on a inihimiim check ppl Last summer Klein operated the Patio, an outdoor garden- spot with Fred Sanders, but tliey came to a pay?ting of the ways at the end of thfi Hftgisnn fliTid ganders is oper atin the roadhpuse spot himself this year. ri f. .,-.-. . «r U I timistic tone to toe ca^es. uaYO^-tyinBiis^^ tne'^iiiin ^ (24) With, qiift WihehlU and I)on .Fernardo orchestra underlined. Wheji Hollywood, June 26. I this spot closed a couple of Weeks As usual, the Sluggy Songpluggers tj^^ world 'was on the have an airtight alibi for the trounc- yerge of panlb fearing they had eement Songwriters' - PrPtective Assodar tion is demanding from the picture jproducers .'a iatahdard'basic cohtracti claiming a document of this nature is necessary in, order to safeguard, the Interest of writers for screen musicals who are without publisher afilllations. Preliminary discus- sions tcward the working of some uniform agreement have .already been lieM with the Hays .' office. 1 . It^is SPA-s -Gontention_that-jDQiL- • tracts under which..._tLe screen musical writers are now bound to producers are too haphazard and vague In scope and that there should be a basic set of conditions to cover the author's rights to the manuscripts'outside of their screen usages. " Wiriiers-Want'Surprus" Among the ang'tes that SPA seeks to make clear is Whether the writer isn't entitled to the Surplus compo sltions' after he has written, say, .10 songs for a* picture aiid only three are used; Another question to be determined is whether a copi poser is entitled to dpiibie Cpmpeh saypn.'in'the-event-a-manuscript-Is used as a production sonV nuJ^^ in One picture and as a musical background in another - put of the same' studio. But the main concern of the SPA, say; its-pilots. Is to set' up some /workingagreement whereby the writer has some authority over dis- posal, of the publication rights so .-that -hiS: manuscripts see the rink, of, the printing preiss .and eventually reach the music counters. It's ah extra - compensatfph' that "he's en- tltlcd to, says his o:^ahlzatioh, re- ga'rcliess of^wHatever cPln'IHe fe-T ceives from the producef whlld on the -Job turning them out at the studio.. let" go "a blast "©f~inaignation-:BO scorching that the publishers de elded it was a matter of not count ing they took from the Atoe j-.yman over-rguessed the -value of the band in a hotiy contested ball g ame world's iFair . to t he dine -dance Monday which wound~up 14—13, piapes. with the tune pushers behind the jg entirely certain that all eight-ball as expected. —— Uhe cafes will prosper-but at-least- The losers claim'that lOiey^^^ tide is now running the other been on top fexcept for the un- ^^y again. There is still the ques- gehtl emanly c onduct of Monsi Ly- tion of sp enders whose nunabers are man who said he^d take bis team j^jj Yoontew and "whose patronage home if he didri't have his own way. goes to three or four favorite haunts The big light occurred when Clar- ^^oBt of the cafes are geared for ence Freed, coaching the Pluggers .^argo crowds and nominal per cap t at third, yelled for a Lymanite to Lta expenditures, peg the. ball down , to the sack al SPIER HARMS' G. M., SO KERN-DREYFUS B(PAND Immediately folio wing their return, from the annual cpnvention of the American Federation of Musicians in Chicago, the board of governorii of New Tfork Local 802 purpose -ipiuFting-^ P -into—wage scale- cdnditlons prevailing among dance bandi holding down chain cpmmer- CiiaJis. Reports that Undetscaling has becoinel commph, particularly where units- doubling ..from hotel or cafe Stfinds ~ : invQlyed, prompted the deeist^n-tdicall^he^^^^ iUg. • Info received by tlie union has. been to the effect that advertising agiencles have, made a practice Pf o ffering one price to bands fil ling a regular dance job and another to those without similar mooring. The bargain rhunting agencies prefer! so" the Ipcal has learned, to do business With the former element since the difference Ah..statUs, the;a^^ fig- ure; aliows for a WideTdifference in salary offer; . ' . According, to the agency point of.. vieW) the band, with a regular dine and dance, connection should. look Upon air money as so'much velvet. IB^e" b'fficW^f "Tiafffis; lnc".,"^lt3"Song siieet distributing agent, and sets up; his own. quarters for the latter purpose. Controlling the stpck in T. B; Harms—ar.e—Jerom PI Kftrh nnd MffT Larry Spier leaves Fwnous Music Corp., Aug, IB, to take over general management of the T; p. Harms Co.- WitH-lnciUsion-of-Spier^i^^^ ..ly^j, company T^ Harm s-mav-ea.oul.nf. Dreyfus. What they have in mind JsJtOLjMpandJthe-jaifiEfttlQns^ cprhpany SO ' thait It - will' npt oiily take oyer the distribution of the ifern- -wprksr- but pubiishingrT-the- works of other writers. Spier's contract as general .man- ager of Famous Musi c had ano ther year'to go but !a release was amic- ably obtained. Title of g.m. will be taken over by Abe Fr-ankl, Spier's, present. assistant, when the shift in jobs taices place cording to the uhldn's info, have made a practice of overlooking not only the matter of special arrange- ments costs but the minimum, wage levels for Local 802 members. ^Sever al o f th e ad agencies gi v en ' to this type of approach are. known ln--Tthelr.-.-own--buslhess--^lor—their- thoUgh no :1)andsman ^as--covering-| -— it.; When the other complied and a | songplugger romped home, Abe rcr j»jKafi.dr^be=;iBjgag^jic<^ and hside Stuff-Music Muslp publishers have cpi^Pleted their draft • of the new synchPonlza tion agreement and submitted'-It to the jpicture producers' committee; ing the run or else not getting any j Copyright bwper element faypi^s "making It a three-year deal .and prO: future'plugs. So business won out ] poses that the J^ettlng of. Coiaipbsitipn fees, clearCnce of cync rights, etc., oyer pleasure. And With the hearts] be left to a. board, of three men representing the Music Publishers Pro- cUt out of them this-a,way, tlie pto-I tective Association, the ' Songwriters Protective - Asispciatlon and the CQpy distributors curled up. putting] producers, oii.thelr bedroom slippers. The ones Negotiations pn the contract, replacing the ERPi agreement which With the. nfcei round heels." expired lait Septembeif, istrucic a snag iseveral Weeics ago when tlie prp- JBatterles for the game were:, Ly- ducers wanted to.. knoW how their interests would be protected. In the man Orch.: Lyman, p, Herman, .c; event the American Socl;?ty . of Composers, Authors & .I^ublisheirs;.went Son gplu ggers; C. Freed*- p. Jack out of existence Dec. 8li 1935, and-the copyright-owners-were-left to Mass, e. ~EJEfCTi team^scored four^^^^t^^ runs apiece in the fourth round. j Agreements between the society and its members expire Pn that date Pluggers are thirsting for re- J Producers, since the question Was first brought up diedded to drop the venge but each will probably be point altogether and take a chance on the continued existence of .the glad to settle, for a tune on the present performing tights combine. Lucky Strike hour. Anyhow, .they'll have a return try at the Lyman | sigmund Romberg is slated to leave New York the end of August for Lions on Wednesday (28) if they I p^ris to supeiyise the unyeUlng of the score of his neW pjperctti^^^^ can persuade the kiCj at La Clenega|-pr*inceV at the Theatre du Ghatelet. Two-Frisnchmen, Mouezy 'Bom aind PlaygrpUnd, BevCrly Hills, to scram ^^i lletz, are Jesponsible for the book and lyMcs. 'Hose of .France' from the ball ground.. 1 will replace Romberg's 'Nina, Rose*, which has been playing the same iiouse for three cpnsecutive years. Last Saturday's was -'Nina's' 1,067th performance at the -.Chatelet,. Romberg is due. back Oct 10 for the rehearsals of anothennew one'he's written fbr thb Sbuberts and Which will star Maria Jerltza methods -pf sellitig, tiiemselves to clients as especially possessed of the knack pf"-buying.- talent at- .^rock- bottom' prices. Advertising placers themselves have nothing to lose here in-the^way--of—commissions Bince^— what is 'saved' in entertainnient Is, as a. rule, applied to. the purchase of additional stf^^^ for'the hook- up. V To either expenditure the agency adds-the custpmary-cbmmlsh- billlng^ of 15%, but the fact thac the per- formers on the program have been knuckled :dbWn a few hundred ddl- lars from 'thPlr previous air sala ries V. BaiAd *BiiHle' Off Chicago, June 26 Leo Reisman orchestra leaves the "Hawaiian Room pf the Congress I Members of the.Los Angeles musicians' union are publishing a monthly hotel Juiie 30. Carlos Mollno tango four-page paper on the coast under the title of 'Tempp'f First issue, ensemble^^^rwiil 'foilDw; ' datctl" JunTB~l57JComprIses;jnostiy news p£. iacti-vity , of junlpn^^anda, and , Hptel realized that twp competing individtial musicians. AlfiiduEi^ Priced at lOC, first was a throw- name bands Side by side Was poor away aroUnd the film studios and radio stations, tactics. ' For-a time both Reisman Charlie Brnge Is managing edl'tPr and Ward Humphrey busIncM m^ ager. In the editorial Column It Is denied that the paper Intends to direct a. barrage of criticism at the officials of Local 47 (the, li,. A. Musicians' Union). QTTAIIE MABK, ADVISEE Ottaile Mark, former superVlso:* of music rights for ERPI, has opened jm pfflce tp -a^yice pictu"o produceirs, broadcasters and music publishers on the means and methods of acquiring the copyright to a composition In any or all coun- tries^ She's calling.her .organization of experts in this field Itie Music Copyright Research Bureau, Inc. Associated as head of the legpl department is Biernard Katzen. and Lopez were Pn notice and it wasn't certain which would be re-- tairied. 'Lopez is better known In Chicago'. Reported Reisman could have con- tinued but terms offered by H. L. Kaufman weren't attractive. SOAt'S ACTS AND OBKS ^ ^ , _ • Albany, June 26, '* Sifowbpatn^Hew^'Xeba Which opened last, week, is booKlng local and barnstorming orchestras for one night engagements. It's also playing acts, from Sta- tion WGY, Schenectady, and else- where, on week ends. jlha males' Green M^X "ighiCago7"Jun^""?C^ Green MJH, which w^s completely demolished by fire three months ago, is to be rebuilt by Tom Cha- maies, cafe and theatre operator, Whp ^las the lease pn the Law- rence-Broadway corner, New cafe not expcctetl to be ready before fall, Members of the Songwriters Protective Association now have at their disposal an. attorney to help straighten put any tangles with the pub- lishei'lS pn their pld contracts.- - Legalite is- Pauline Mr Berkp. - Slip's Under- retainer to the SPA and the writers who consiilt-her do not make indi- vidual payment .fp.r her s.eryices. Principal purpose for attaching Miss Berko to the SPA. staff is. to -have_heE_servj3..as .AuiiaSAn ofricpr be tween the wri t ers and publ ishers in cases of disputed provisions of agreements made prior to the a'doptipn of the uniform standard popular sPngwriters'con^ Reps from the Songwriters Protective Association and the Muslp Pui>- llshers Protective Asspciatlon are currently engaged Jn drawing up a uniform contract covering the publication of standard works. It is'exr pected that the document will be ready for use among the members of both organizations in about two months. ' . Covenant will be tlie first of Its kind in the standard field. Standard. =nfiifom==CDntract^for-popuiar=songfl;-agpeed-^ in joint conferences, was introduced into the trade several months ago. Ed Perkins, in signing the pianist, Janet Olcott, pdopted daughter of the late ChaUncey Olcott, figures on .Sponding $5,0p0 to put the girl over in New York, believing ^he key cities,.-vyhioh were Chaunccy's .money, towns, will carry 10 to 20 concerts her first year. If the New York debut clicks. Miss Olcott is 17 and a looker^ or the pre.vailing levels, the agencies figure, should tickle the bargain pro- pensities of the advertiser. Two agencies that have garnered a repu- tation in this way each rat^ high in the radio fietd in the matter of ex- penditures for time. * This buying at 'rockbottoni prices^ has raised havoc with, band salaries the past several months. Average figure for a . broadcast i^eceived by clas^' lB bands in the fall was |750. Now it averages ground $400. No band fcanr^vere the Tinldn; out^^^^ this money iii.ay its cPminlssions, the union scale and for the special ar- rangements expected of it. With the average ,unlt composed of 12 men, this item alone figured at (24 per man comes to $288. For a half hour's ptb^ram at least sixi arrangements, are-expected an.d. even -at $2S per arrangement, a cut- rate quotation for this phase of the business,... there Is another $150 .to come out of,the leader's pocket. Un- less'the bdnd 'directoi: looks to the music publishers to shoulder the cost of these arrangements his only other recourse Is a kickback, avers the union, fI'orii the men in- his Unit, Witmark Lands Songs From Tlim Hollywood,- June 26. In addition to pubilshing all of the Warner-First National tunes, Wltniarlt " will " fclc^ the" Songd frorn thfee'pictures made by other producers. Bjeala were closed here by. Buddy Morris, and Were hinged .oiv^tho_loan...of^ Witmark - writers .for:. thp. other assignments, Plx are 'Roman Scandals;'. (Gpld- Wyn) ;■ 'Flying Down tp Rip'. (Radio), arid two songs from * A Guide to Love' (Para), which Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson are writing for Maurice Chevalier. RCnialnlrig Jium- bers from the latter, production, by Lep Robin arid Ralph Rainger, will =^be=publi.shed--by--lCamo:Ufl.=^^=-^^.=~^ Wilriiark' hals Warren and Dubln ■oh 'Scandals/ tlie Eddie Cantor pic- ture, and Harms has Vincent You- mans doing the melodies on .'Rio,' ■with Kahn .aiding Edward Eliscu. with the lyrics. While Harrris has the latter pic, Witmark will prob- ably publish the songs.