Variety (Apr 1937)

Wednesday, April 7, 1937 MUSIC VARIETY PUBS AT 'See Us Rrsf Letter to PuU ight Pick-Dps Hfhat Is expected to result In iitl- gation are the Implications made in a warning which the Warner Bros, publishing group has sent to the trade on the subject of copyright re- newals. This warning, contained in a circular letter to some 20 publish- ers, advised that the latter better check with Warner before acquiring the copyright renewals oi .any works in the WB catalogs. lictter stated that many of the works published by the WB firms prior to 1920 were written by em- ployees up4er contracts for hire and that such . copyrigHts had been se- cured as proprietors, which, under section 23 of the copyright act^ holds .th6 sole right to renew and copyr right such, works. Letter further sug-^ gested that competitive pubs might avoid acquiring worthier -claims in compositions currently controlled by Warner by calling on the latter for copies of the old contracts; Some of the publishers Who have during the past year" obtained copy- right renewals on works originally put out by WB firms declare that their lawyers have advised them to stand pat on their acquisitions. These lawyers hold that Warner Bros, will have to prove that the writers *under hire' had worked solely on a salary and that under "^P circum- stahceis- did this involve k. drawing account. InL Mosj^ Clorp. Formed On Iji^st; Popkin Heads Hollywood, April 6. International Muisic Corp formed here last week to handle' its own and outside pop numbers. Officers are Leo Popki , Ralph G. Pollock, Marty Arden and Ghairles Craft. 'A Penny lor Your Thoughts,* by Arden and Craft, is the outfit's first nmnber. 'Coronation Waltz,' by Oscar Baum in collaboration with Arden and Craft, iH being readied; Fmes of $1,785 Slapped On 27 Coast Masikers Los Angeles, April 6. Musicians local, 47, AFM, has assessed fines totalling $1,785, and handed out one expulsion, ifoHowing conviction of 27 of its members for playing 'side line' engagements. \^ith independent motion', picture com- panies under scale. Expulsion from the union, plus a |500 fine Was assessed one of its contractor members. Fines of $100 each were assessed two members,; eight drew penaltiies of $75 each; threfe were socked i$50 each; one drew a $35 fine, and 12 others were nicked for $25 each. Baddy Morris West Edwiii H. (Buddy) Morris, gen- eral manager of Warner Bros, music publishing interests, leaves Friday (9) for Hollywood along: with Harry Warren and Al Dubin. Morris wiU spend a couple weeks i the Warner St u d i 0 s discussing forthcoming fllmusical material. Warren and Diibin have- com- pleted a number of tunes for Merwyn LeRoy's next production, Mr. Dbod Takes the Air.' FrankFs Promotion Abe Frankl, who was replacied by Sidney Komheiser as manager of Famous Music Corp., is leaving for Hollywood in a, week to. become as- sistant to Eugene Zukor at the Para- mount,,studios. frankl will serve as musical ad- Caution If radio Is to curb the radio billing^ it may lead to the same results which first killed . oS the 1929 Hollywobd-sohgwriting af- finity. Those silly song titles such as 'Woman Disputed, I Love You' and 'My Dynamite Man* i Love' were no gag. It was naivib but purposeful means of hooking up a pop song title with a picture title. Today the Hollywood and tin pah alley men are tdo canny for anything as crude as this, yet if Hollywood wants that radio plug badly enough, it inay well achieyet it. by' means of having a title song for almost every film ireleased, and thus serve as a musicial plug for the pictures. Radio must; recognize this> and radio—needing music as hungrily as it does, for its very lifeblood—might, 'play ball,' however, and not lead itself into any . such absurdities. MEON, $imwo Royalty distribution which the American. Society of Gon^josers, Authors and Publishers starts mak- ing this Saturday (10) will represent the largest for any one quarter in the history of the organization. Col- lections for the first quarter of 1937 are figured to be over $1,250,000. Initial quarter of this, year started off with $150,000 already in tbe kitty. The collections for the final 1936 quarter had been underesti- mated by $70,000 and there was a surplus of ^0,000 more which had been set aside for foreign affiliates but found not due them. AUSTRIAN EXHIBS TO PAY ROYALTY FEE Vienna, March 26. Austrian Association df Authors, Composers and Publishers scored a major victory wheii the high court upheld the former's claim to collect a performing fee an each ticket sold at the box" office. Under the decision the film houses must pay the association (AKM) two groschen (not quite half a cent) for each ad- mission. Max Hellman, president of the Austrian exhibitors association, which fought the claim in the courts, states that . his organization will abide by the verdict^ although he fiiids it-il- logical, since the auttiors and com- posers collect a", fee'.from the pro- ducers direct. (Latter fee is for synchronization, rights and under the laws ; of most countrieis suchi rights are separate from that of perform- ance.) Decision is expected to bring AKM an additional income of $200,- 000 a year. Street Singer Suit Up A. Arthur Tracy (the "Street Singer') was ordered Thursday (i) by N; Y. Supreme Court Justice; Leary to furnish Brunswick Record Corp. with a bill of particulars in his suit to recover $24,300 which he claims the company owes him in royalties. Tracy Claims that runsWick failed to pay him for records he made be- tween 1932 and 1934. Defendant makes general denial, claiming the Singer was pai in full for his serv- ices. Othieir Music Houses Bow to Ukase Inspired by Mu- sicians' Union Tabbing Tunes Out of Films as Commercials PLUG LIMITS Sidney Clare and Harry Akst are cleffing tunes for 'She Had to Eat' at 20th-Fox. . Despite the bowing of every other firm in thie business to the. new NBC rule which.bars th^ broadcasting of. restricted film tuneis on sustaining programs, the Warner Bros, publish- ing group proposes to stand pat.on its policy of gettiiig picture title credit f or such uses, or else. Warner group is prepared to have the: play- ing of restj^icted film tunes liniited to commercial projgranis, figuring that in the final analysis the plug value will be appreciably enhanced. Warner Bros, policy has been to keep its fiiim tunes .on the restricted list of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers until the y/sek of ithie pictures's gen eral release. It doesn't see why it should abandon this procedure, even if it means loss of repiresentation in programs emanating from .NBCl's New York or Chicago studios. If the network extends the bari tO pro- grams involving bandj picked tip from hotels, cafes and other spots, Warner may assume more militant tactics and resort to other methods of getting the right proportion of plugs. The Wrong Way Management of the WB publishing group feels that NBCi: has gone about the things in the .wrong way. As Warner sees it, the network could have been lea$ drastic and tiaken up the situation ith the publishers whO: hiave film score affiliations. NEC could have explained that the New York musicians union had piit it on the spot by demanding that the commercial scale for instrumentalists be applied to sustaining programs which make mention 6f film tune sources, and W^.''herv along with other companies, would have been glad to co-operate^ Warner firms' managenient holds that it has a right to control and regulate the per- formance of its musical works as it sees fit and that this right to restrict is a cardinal principle in the licens- ing agreements, issqed by ASCAP. After ..the network had last week started to prune restricted film tunes from it^ sustaining programs, there was a hurried meeting of publishers who are controlled or affiliated with fllm> producers. Represented at this gathering in the offices of the Music Publishers Protective Association were the Ghappell Co., Irving Ber- lin; inc., the Sam Fox Music Pub- lishing. Co., Famous Music Corp. (ParamountPictures) and the Metro- coiitroiled group which consists of the Rol^bins Music Corp,, Leo Feist, Inc., and the Miller Music Co.. While the pubs- at this meeting, agreed to lift the restrictions im- mediately on . whatever film music they had on the market; the Bobbins group, reserved the righi' to change its policy when it cam^ ready to release the scores of 'Broadway Melody of 1938' and 'A Day At the Races.' Robbins, like Warner, may decide later .to forego all plugs on sustainiiig programs originating in NBC's' New York studios, and Rob- bins, like Wfi'ner, may take a mili- tant stand if the ruling is extended to remote bands. In announcing his proposed action against film tunes carried on ASCAP's restricted list John F. Royal, NBC program chief, last week took the position that the film companies had been riding on a free ticket" long enough and that if they wanted their pi'oduct plugged by way of musical number it could only be done on commercial programs, something Which, he ad- mitted, the. network had to protect. Edwin H. (Buddy) Morris,' gien. (Continiied on page 52) Paine h ASCAP As General Mills to Be Outside Most Played oh Air To iamiliarize thi trade with the tunes, viost oii the air dround New York, the follow- ing ^dngs were most- played on the netybofks last week. Coni^ hined plugs WEAF, WJZ and WABC arte computed /or the week, from Sunday through March 26-April 3. • Vve Love t« Keep Me .Warm 1^ Too Marveloas for Words Boo Hbo. Trost In Me t Ltttie Old Lady • Where Are YouT: • Sweet Is the Word for You On Little Bamboo Bridf ie • Moonlight, and Shadowfi When Popples Bloom Aicain What Will I Tell IWy Heart? How. Conld To«? • September In Rain <* You're Laochlnir »t Me Serenade in the NiKht • You're Here, You're There Wanted •Goodnight My Love •When Love Is Young. • Let's Call Whole Thlnf Off •Swing High, Swing Low • Wa« it Rain? • May I Have Next Romancer • This Year's Kisses Mood I'm In . • Indicates /ilmustcal song. t Indicates stage prodixction The others are pops. ASCAP SLEUTH STUFF OKAY First attempt of a miisic user to riestrain the American Society of Composers, Authcirs . and Publishers from going after infringement evi- dence failed last week when the Fed- eral Court In the southern district of California dismissed a suit 'filed by the California Federated Institute, Inc., a trade,, association composed of tayern operators. Word of the court's action was received Monday (5) by ASCAP's general counsel, Frohlich & Schwartz. In its plea for an injunction the CFI charged that by digging around for infringement information the society was interfering with the business of its members. "The com- plaint also accused ASCAP of being a monopoly and asked that it be rer strained also from bringing any in- fringement suits. This dismissal vras on a motion of ASCAP counsel. John G. , ine, chairman of the Music Publishers* Protective Asso- iation; has caT'*'i ' mefetihg of the: organization's directors todax, (Wednesday) to tell them of 'tfie proposal to make him general man- ager of the Aimencan Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Paine . ill .reconunend that Harry Fox; who' has had charge .of the IWPPA's mechanical liciensing bu'* reau, be assigned: to replace him. ASCAP board of tflreclbrs yester* day (Tuesday) voted to proffer the job to Paine, with his entry date May'-l;, Under the new setup C. Mlills will move from direction of the Society's operations and assume thie chairmanship of a newly formed executive or adtninistrative commit- tee. Move is without political sig- nificance and has bieen under con- sideration, for over a year. It has been the Impression of the ASCAP board that things coUid be run more efficiently if Mills were relieved of all- office detail, so that he could de- vote, all his time out on the road contacting ASCAP's distilct reps and making himself locally available in anti-ASCAP legislative and liti- gation matters. Directors intend to solve the. Society's . undermianh^ problem by adding other executives. Business of the Society has grown so in recent years that more thor- ough departmentalizing and desig- nation of executive duties have been recognized as necessary. Paine's^»' new connection- would bring him $25,000 ai year. Mills is payrolled at around |50,000 and expenses. Paine started with the Victor Talkr ing Machine Co. as a copyright ex- pert some 15 years ago, later going to Warner. Bros, to handle '»'■; copy- right clearances in connection with filmusicals. Paine came to the MPPA when Mills left for, his pres- ent ASC/U* post. PAINE-WOOD WORK OUT NUTDAL PROTECTION Music Publishers'Protective Asso- ciation and the Music Publishers' As- sociation, Ltd., of London, hav^ got together on ai reciprocal representa- tion artangement. MPPA will act for the MPA in' is country, while the. MPA will look out for the MPPA's affairs in Great Britain and the Continent. Alliance was consum- mated last week between John G. Paine, MPPA chairnian, and J. H. Wood, the MPA managing, director. ike the. MPPA Wood's oi-ganiza- tibn exercises a number of agencies and trusteeships for publishers, such as synchi^onization, phonograph rec-^ ord and transcription rights.. Extent of the MpPA's' alliances will be made more, international when it closes a deal pending with the Bureau de Internationale .Eklitiones de Musique, or better known as BIEM. This bii rcau, . 'ith which'the MPA is allied, deals in all classes of mechanical pro diiction. rights in almost every coun try on the globe. Opera for Umon Benefit Gets Musiaans at Lowest Rate; WEVD's Exchisive Musicians' Local 802 last Thurs- day (1) displayed its friendly atti- tude toward other affiliated unions when it waived an old steadfast rule and permitted a broadcast of an opera, without miislkers in pit receiving other than 'hall perfor- mance' pay. Normally, 'there in added charge when, a show is broad- cast Occasion was benefit staged at Madison Square Garden by Local 89, Garment Workers^ Union, with 'Aida,' staged by Salmaggi with troupe maestro had appearing dur- ing winter at Hippodronie, the bait. Union permitted performance to be aired over WEVD, New York's 'labor-Union' station. On a sustaining baisis without pitmen getting extra coin, but clamped'down on idea of WMCA doing same and spurting program out over the inter-City Systiem. WMCA had carded broadcast, but revolted at last minute and filled In With other hastily hewn shows when station learned the musikers playing the opera had to hav6 extra pay. WMCA was iihwilling to make the otitlay iand Garment Workers wouldn't come across with the coin, eithei-. Consequently, WEVD alone carried the two-and^half hour ozon- ing- Songpluggers' Benefit The Professional Mxisic Men, Inc. -r-ritz for sOngpluggers—stage thei third annual benefit show this Sun- day (11) at the Alvin, N. Y., with Joe Santley in charge. Unlike last year's; gross of $6,2Q0 for the souvenir program, the journal is now near the $10,000 mark .in ad space. PMM show is strictly a benevolent organization for the tin pan alleyites.