Variety (Dec 1939)

38 VARIETY MUSIC-DANCE BANDS Weduesdaf, December 13, I939 Performance Boost Unlikely in Canada Claim That Canadian Radio Fees Are Too Low Gets Little Encouragement Moiitical. Dl-c. 12. Canadian P e r £ o r 111 i n c; Rights Society is making anolher bid fov in- creased royalties from radio br.oad- casting lor 1940, submiltin.:; briefs to the Copyright Appeal Board which is holding its annual meeling at Ottawa to consider the GPRS tariffs on copyright musical works, but in- dications are not very favorable lor a higher rale. Canadian Association o£ Broadcasters (independent! and the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora- tion (government) naturally oppose higher fees for musical works. Broadcasters last year kicked in with eight cents for each radio re- ceiving set in Canada with CPRS this year trying to get royalty o£ 14 cents per set used in Canada. Coun- sel for the Canadian Performing Rights Society chargeH that Canada was the only country in the world Where composers are underpaid. Justice MacLean, chairman of the Copyright Appeal Board, said that unless CPRS had new proof to sub- mit there was no need for repetition of previous argument. Attorneys for the .broadcasters said that present rate of eight cents per set was adequate compensation for use of copyright musical material and that nothing had entered into the picture during the past year to warrant a higher royalty basis. Objections were also made by the Musical Protective Association of Canada against proposal of the CPRS that fairs and exhibitions be com- pelled to pay part of royalty fees about 15 days in advance. MPAC thought they could see possibility that a ruling of this kind might eventually lead to advance payment of royalties by every use of music, Musical Protective Association of Canada also moved to protect roving film exhibs, who put on picture shows I in tiny hamlets, from proposed li- cenEe of $10 for machine operated less than six months and $20 for ma- chines used from six months to a year. MPAC claimed that travelling exhibitors maks such small profits that license would work a hardship on them. Argument was also heard from RCA-Victor against proposal of the Canadian Performing Rights Society that a fee of $7 per annum should be levied on coin - operated gramo- phones. RCA-Victor protested that since they manufactured these ma- chines in Canada, company should not be penalized because of imported coin machines. VICTOR'S EXPLOITATION Wants Bands to Paint Trademark On Bie Drums As exploitation Victor is prevail- ing upon all its bands to paint the Victor trademark on bass drums. Hal Kemp already has done it and Larry Clinton, Sammy Kaye, Glenn Miller, Gray Gordon and others, are follow- ing. Puppet Opera show now at the American Music Hall, New York, partially subsidized by Victor for the advertising derived, goes out on a road tour this month, opening at In- dianapolis Dec. 18. Puppet action is synchronized to songs on Victor records by Laurence Tibbett, Gio- vanni Marlinelli, Lily Pons, Bcn- iamino Gigli, Galli Curci, and others. Show makes a tour of eastern and midwestern keys and shifts to Can- ada in the spring. Contacbnen Unionized Completely Sans Strife; Precedent for Biz Dec. 31 on Sunday Clips Meyer Davis Philadelphia, Dec. 12, Add New Year's Eve casualties; For the first time in 20 years Meyer Davis, the nation's leading- debutante orchestra maestro, finds himself without his personal pet booking for Dec. 31. For the past decade Davis has been playing at the swanky New Year's Eve ball of Mrs. Evelyn Walsh ('Hope Diamond) McLean, in Wash- ington. This year the event, the most lavish in the Capital, was called off because the date falls on Sunday night. The loss to Davis: $5,000. FT. WORTH AREA ACTIVE Ft. Worth. Dec. 12. Johnny Burkarth's orchestra plays for the holiday season (Dec. 15 to Jan. 2) at Lake Worth Casino. Blackstone Hotel opens its Vene- tian room for the first time this season Dec. 22 with Hyman Wald- mans orchestra. Larry Kent is at the Hotel Texas Den until New Year's. Music publishing industry has be come 100% unionized as far as con- tactmen are concerned. Contracts between publishers and the contact' men's union were formally ex- changed last Friday (8). It makes the first industry matter in years that has beisn carried through with- out considerable cross-action, re crimination, etc:, according to com ments heard within the trade the past week. All major firms have turned in their agreements and the only one among the small concerns that has declared its intention not to sign with the union is Red Star. At a meeting of the union's ex ecutive council last week Ben Cutler, the Rainbow Room (N. Y.) maestro, was cleared of any 'aritagonism' toward contactmen. The council, by resolution, took the position that there was nothing wrong or anything that reflected unfavorably on con- tactmen in the letter which Cutler had addressed to the publishing trade. Cutler's letter had suggested that contactmen, when calling on him, wear evening clothes and also refrain from smoking when passing in and out of the Rainbow Room. Resolution was proposed by George Mario, the union's prez. 15 Best Sheet Music Sellers (Week etidiiiff Dec. 8, 1939) )ld American Record (Yates) Decides To Fight Pecora Decision American Record Corp., as repre senting part of the Herbert J. Yates interests, has decided to appeal the decision which N. Y. supreme court Justice Pecora handed down sev- eral weeks ago on a preliminary mo- tion in connection with the Craw- ford Music Corp.'s $195,000 suit against the former disc manufac- turer. Crawford is suing to recover royalty alleged due on licenses granted before the ARC was pur- chased by CBS. Justice Pecora refused to grant the arc's request that Crawford be ordered to state a separate cause of action for each license agreement involved, which task would require a ream of filing papers. Counsel for other music publishers were on the verge of bringing separate suits against the ARC in behalf of their own clients on similar grounds until ARC announced that it was taking the preliminary issue to the ap- pellate division. The publishers' counsel have decided to defer filing until the latter court has acted on the appeal. The other pubs that pro- pose to sue are the Metro-Robbins group, the Warner Bros, group and Mills Music, Inc. South of th« Border.... Shapiro Scatterbraiji BVC My Prayer Shapiro Oh Johnny. Oh Forster Lilacs in the Rain Robbins Blue Orchids Famous El Rancho Grande Marks 11 Didn't Know What Time It V,'m ( Too Many Girls'). Chappell •Over the Rainbow ('Wizard of Oz') Feist •Good Morning ('Babes iii .■\rms') .Chappell Can I Help It?.. Rcmick Beer Barrel Polka Shapiro God Bless America "Berlin Last Night .; Feist In an Eighteenth Century Drawing Room Circle •Filmusieal. tProdiictiori. Music Notes Jimmy McHuffh checked off the Paramount lot after writing four songs for 'Buck Benny Rides Again.' Eddie Clierkose sold Republic two songs for use in 'Village Barn Dance.' Ditties are 'Howdy Neighbor' and 'Hail to Lyndale.' WABC'S STARK IN GRAVY Program of 'Old Fashioned Melo- dies' conducted by Charles Stark will be backed by Oxo boullion cubes lo- cally on ^ABC, New York, begin- ning Jan. 18. Airs daily except Sun- day at 8:15 a.m. Consists of semi-classical music. LiniE SHEPHERD OF MY DREAMS IRVING BERLIN, Inc., 799 Seventh Ave., New York, N. Y. CHARLIE WARREN, Prof. Mgr. Jack Bobbins has released the tune 'Thank Your Stars' to Willie Horo- witz and Abner Silver who last week acquired the Joe Davis catalog. The song had been turned in to Robbins several weeks ago by Silver, Walter Kent and Harold Adamson. Network Plugs, 8 iM. to 1 A.M. FoIIotoiTij; it a totaIt;afibn of the co77ibitied pluos of cnrrcnl tunes on NBC (WEAF and WJZ), and CBS (WABC) computed for the week from Mondav through Sunday (Dec. 4-10). Total represents accmiiulafed, pcr/ornio)icej on t/i« tioo major )ic(u'orl;s from 8 a.m. fo 1 a.m. Symbol'' denotes film song, t legit, oil odiers nre pop. r.RA\S TITLE PUBLISHER TOT.IL All the Things You Are... tVevy Warm for May..Chappell. 39 Can I Help It. ....Remick 3J Last Night......... ...Feist , 34 South of the Border...; .Shapiro 33 Lilacs in the Rain Robbins Oh, Johnny, Oh Forster Stop! It's Wonderful...tMask and Wig Show Spier Scatterbrain BVC , I Didn't Know What Time.. .tToo Many Girls.. .Chappell My Prayer. Shapiro El Rancho Grande Marks Honestly Santly •.• » In an Old Dutch Garden Harms 22 Goody Goodbye Olman 22 In the Mood Shapiro 20 Who Told You I Cared?. ..*Kid NiMhtinwle Witmark 20 Are You Havin" Any Fun?. ..tScandals Crawford 18 Faithful Forever. ..'Gulliver's Travels Famous IB After All Sun 17 Good Morning... ' ' Chappell 17 Indian Summer Witmark... 17 Speaking of Heaven Miller 17 Careless Berlin 16 Many Dreams Ago.. .• Harms 16 You're a Lucky Guy.VrtColton Club Parade Witmark 16 It's a Hap-Hap-Happy Day.. .'Gulliver's Travels..Famous 15 Blue Orchids Famous 14 Does Your Heart Beat for Mc? .Mills 13 I Thought About You Mercer 3 White Lies and Red Roses. ABC j3 Smarty Pants Robbins jj Bluebirds in the Moonlight. ..♦Gulliver s Travels..Famous \\ Ciri Biri Bin Paramount 11 Little Red Fox.. .'That's Right—You're Wrong.. Feist ]' Fit to Be Tied.. .•Tliat's Right—You're Wrong.. Feist Little Street in Singapore Shapiro Moonlight Serenade Robbins j" Tomorrow Night ...Berlin f What's New Witmark Inside Stuff-Music 10 Slgmund Krumfold scoring 'Open- ed By Mistake' at Paramount. Juggy Gayles shifted to Irving Berlin Music with Charley Warren ! when the latter switched from ' Mercer-Morris. Both recently left I Witmark to join M-M. Max Stelner gets the scoring jobs on 'The Life of Dr. Ehrlich' and 'Vir- ginia City' at Warners. ANNOUNCEMENT CHARLES WARREN NOW IN CHARGE OF PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES IRVING BERLIN, INC. 799 Seventh Ave.. New York. N. Y. David Graves George, who ha.<; been litigating with Victor over the au- thorship of "The Wreck of the 97' since 1927, will likely find himself in b dilemma, even if the higher court upholds a judgment of $11,000 that he had obtained against Time magazine in a libel action. The Victor Co. has filed an attachment against this money to cover a judgment it got in i Camden, N. J., court, in connection with'court costs over 'The Wieclc' litigation. After obtaining new counsel, George last week took 'The Wreck' case to the U. S. supreme court for the third time. His new lawyer applied for permission to present a petition asking that the case be reopened on the ground that the top court had, in its decision favoring Victor, made a mistake in the law, George drew another disappointment Monday (11) when, the U. S. Su- preme Court gave him the cold shoulder for the second Uutc in a monlh. At its opening at the Pennsylvania Hotel, New York, last Friday (7), the Will Osborne orchestra sprung a novelty tune, written by vocalist Dick Rogers but sung by Dale Jones, that was snapped up for publication the same evening by Jack Bregman. Tabbed 'Wouldst I Could But Kiss Tliy Hand, Oh Babe,' Rogers had been working on it for several years. Band played it for the first time at rehearsal the afternoon of the opening. ; 'Please Leave My Butter Alone,' a new song number, is expected to win I immediate popularity in England^ although rationing system does not ! become effective until Jan. 8. So Edward R. Murrow, CBS European rep, j said in a broadcast from London. On another recent CBS transatlantic, re said that there were now more dance bands playing in West End spots I than during the month preceding outbreak of conflict United States Record Corporation has increased its capital stock fionj $110,000 to $115,000. Former setup consisted of 2,000 shares preferred at $50 par value, and 10,000 common at $1 par value. Preferred remains tlio same, but the common has been hiked to 15,000. Mortimer S. Gordon was flling attorney,. oAtmOUncing . . . ORR\N TUCKER'S NEWEST NOVELTY HIT/ WOULD JA MIND MILLER MUSIC, Inc. • 1629 Broadway, New York . LON MOONEY, Gen. Prof. Mgr.