Variety (Aug 1940)

Wednesday, August 14, )l940 MUSIC 33 .. A price .war Itas^^^^^^^V^ the V ietor ^hd Oplumbia compariies; oyer'classicaiirecordings;, rollov^ closely on. the heeb of the^ a mertt last Sveek by X^oluinbia 50 cuts in the prices; 0(f its classical t^^ cordirigs, the^ Co;, maker, of Victor^ records^ Jnv a j^I^graih, to its thouMnds of dealers thrpughoiit the. country; Friday' (9) stated jas fpliows:. 'We wiir s^ / set new 'prices on all. Victor 'Red ^cal Records, .With very few excep- lidns 12-ihch records ;wiil list iat ' $1 and "10-inch at 75c. The -price . siaihing started .about ■ s year ago, .when Golumbia, which- had been trailing ;Victor for '.years in .quality of recording, price and; numbeirs of narne. artists, launched: a campaign- tp/regaih its former: statu^ of 1903 ani thereaboutis when - it ranked on Itpp'. . It. raided the'.Victor /list ini an attenipt- tp: seizure pbpular; 'artists .and secured such pisrsonali-; ■ ties as. Niho Martini,: t harmonic. Orchestra, arid Leopold SlpkowSki. , .Prices were :- driasticaliy slashed and the, .quality of . record-^. •■ ing considerably " improved. Not .stopping there, . the. conipany cpn-r tinued to .;; battle its competitor., and slashed prices .again.pn. its 1940; catalog ;, last weiiek, , reducihg . the, . prices to $1 ;for IZ-inch. records and 75c for id'ririch. . About a month Ago . Victor atteinpted to rheet the competjtiort by inst«dling . a .Black Seal catalog in which records were sold at about one third, off the fegu-. ■ lar. jirice ;6f $2 and $1.50 and name singers such as GarusP and Gigii and famous prchestyds were included. This did not meet. Columbia'.s grp\y-: ing cpmpetitibri, -so. RGA decided re- teiitly to go the whole. way, ; : Leblanginff Bampaint Victor; dealers are upset: .over the. situation; It is no secret 'thilt despite the: signing of. pledges promising no reductions in list pirices, cuts from 10% to 25%: can be secured oh any Victor, record ;in many, . jperhaps most, of the stores in-. New York; Despite ia fepiihg that the cut in prices, will aid sales .slightly, it Js felt that; the 40% from iist allowed the dealer will hardly allow him to make a:- living if: He, through com- petition, is forced to sell a $1 record; purchased from Victor :at 60c for 75c; A. 15c margin hardly covers, breakage in stock, let alone upkeep)..: Especially hard hit will be the large east side salons which cater to a welI-tordo> clientele and refuse .to cut the list pride. The few recr Prds which may not. be cut ai*e tho.'je in )which: certaih name artists are: still being paid oh st royalty basis.. ■Whether Caruso's recordings would come under this category . yet is not known, as the teiipr's contract with Victor expired in 1933, 12 years aft«r his death. His :ejstate is still receiv-. ing royalties from his recordings, In the earliest.. days. of record i hg Victor was the first to put out clas.'ii- cal recordings, pressed: from' Euro- pean masters in 1902 under the .5,000 and 91,000 series. Columbia a year , ].«ter issued the flret:series, of Ameri-. : can recprdings: placingr such ^ persbns : ijn(ler contract as Edo^rd De Resjike, .Ernestine'SchurhahnrHeink,^^ A .Scpttj, .Miarcella, Senibrich and others; VictPr ratided Columiba a wilhih a few ybiars acquired all the lamous Columbia artists with the ex- ception of De Reszkej aind with the acquisition: of ; Caruso;: .Pbtaihed 'an advantage which has lasted tP this day.; ■•:;. ....■..■.-.. ;.•.■. .-^ • Prices, however,! have contiriually been on the down girade. Abqut 30 years ago a • Caruso singl "-faced •.record cost; $3 as did thosfe of other artists of siniilar calibre, The sextet "Pm 'L^ucia' with Caruso, iSembrich; Scptti, etc., sold for $7 each :with the quartet frPm 'liigole.tti' priced at $6. In 1923 Victor igaih meeting Goliim- o'a corriijetitiori, reduced its prices. ?ipuble-faced its recPrds, arid . sold J2.inch recordings at $2 and 10-inch at $1.50, , a price, w has lasted r»-om 1923 to this time, : Latbuche iii ASCAF In the advance annpuncements of its 'Tribute to Radio' broad-: cast 'from, the two world, fairs' Aug.': 3, : the ' Natipnail Assri,' of Broadcasters 'made particular mention; bf the fact that the 'Opening dran^atic portion. p)E the show, 'G|de to Radio.;' was writ- ten; by John Latouche, lyricist of 'Ballad ;fpr Arnericahs.* What; the broadcasters aiiparf ; ,ently overlooked; was that :La- tbuche's application; for niember- ship had, been .accepted some ; time'; before' by; ASCAP, the spcr cial target of N.A.B. arid the : rietwork-sired BMI. Ariierican'.Federation of Musicians has set (the scale for' film' recordings, used in coih-ppefated machines, Ifs $30 for fereie hours and $7.50 for eacK additionai three minutes,:. The contracts ' - to provide that the film rinade:for.such: machi.riei, riiust riot be used for other purpPses. - Leader salary:' , ;as usual dpuble the scale for musicians< 18 Hours of Rehearsal Kyis HaverEn Piece oa Air Salute San Franci«:Oi Aufi- 13,- ; Elaborate . cpmpbsitipn by Ciarl Havierlin arid Paul Nordbflt was to have been Ijroadcast as part of; the; ^Tribute to Radio' prograin from the twp. Fairs on Aug. .3, but was dropped; ,because it wias tbo com-: plicated for presehtation" without ex- terisive pireparation. Piece had taken about two months; in corripbsitipii. , Tiaris first called, for Frank iBlack tp conduct a 70-piece orchestra .arid. 40-vOi,ce chorus in the \ selection. However, Black was uriwillirig to ac- cept the assijgnment, so Howard Barlow was called in, After studyr ing the scpre. Barlow estiniated it would lake about 18 hours of re- hiearsal to dp such a complicated and difTicult piece. That would have in-^ ,VPlved a cost'of considerably over $3,000. That erided it for; that prP- gram. ilLLER DENIES M/S CHARGES OVER'SLEEP' . ■Miller'/ kusic's 'replyV to;''; /. in- fririgenient action .: of Jerry y«gel IWuSic Co.;'..;inc;;,; -N;; V, federal court, ..generally :;denie.s arid cPuriter claims affirri^a,tively. V.bgeiv-ias:OW^ of .; the .:;copyi:ight ■ of' ;:'Visipns . of. Sleep.' written. ' 1923 by Adam Geibei. charged.: IVIiller.'s- publica'tipn of. 'Sleep,' by Geibel and Earl Burt- riett, infringed;. ' .its:: cppyrighti Miller 'Musiic cla there is nP in-; fririgemerit;; that .; the sprigs .are di.s- siriiilar; and for its counterclaini as- serts, that: the. repeated, stateriients. of . infringement; by ■Milie "iri- j lired the : ^ prospective ■ - sales / - of 'Sieep,'.35 customers . afraid, to iicerise and . are refu.siiig to ..credit the. defendant. with -royalties..; . : An irijuncti ' .against further in- lerference.'by: the. plaintiff is sought, as well as a'court declaration that there .Tip iiiriilarily .between: the ■songs, Petrillo Demands \A,1^ MusicianilV Uhibn by Lalbior Day, AHhough' Most: Bie- :long to Four A-s Affiliated Union—All Are Within A.F. of L. . BOSTON TARGET? ; QUeistion of jurisdiction' over solo concert instrume.ntajis.ts, never ;. - firely.. clarified,, has .bberi 'made an open issue by.: James: C. Petrillp, presideipit '.of the - American, Federai- tipn Of Musiciaris; . Nearly, all such perfprmerS are .ribw xnernbers pf the Americ^ri Guild of Musical Artists, but Petrillp has . annouriced that .all riiust join :his union by Labor .Day, .Sept. ;2;:' ■•;':■ : Both AGMA and AFM : are AFL unions,. AGMA being.; an affiliate of the Asspciated Actors, i' Artistes of America. : Latter ' prgaritzatipn; last year .wa$ involved . in a. costly v dis,- pute with the Interna.tional Alliance Theatrical Stage. ;Employees (stage- hands),; Faict that AFM. and; lATSE have a ;wor"king agreement is seen in some quarters as ppssible motive fpr the,new mbye by:,Petrillp. Real/point .or.pressure of the;AFM, however, is figured to be the Boston Symphpny orchestra and. othe'r such; npn-union organizations. AFM has never been able, to obtain a foothold there, but : since ariy .brchestra: is largely: dejpendarit oriJisoloists to draw at the. boxofficej ;PetrilIo could pre- suriiably orgjani?:e;:them if he coii- trblled: the rianie splpists. ;' According, to: - Henry jaffe, AGMA. attorney; the AFM has had jurisdic- tion; in the musical .field; for 40 years, yet .until the prese'nt has never made any effort to oirganize the sblb inr strumentalists. He professes tb be at loss to .;.unde;rstand why . Pjstriilp is suddenly so cioncerried ; aljbut the situation, Petriilp .was quoted as saying that maiiy splp instrumental- ists, want, to join AFM. B.ut Jaffe points oiit that iaby having; such a desire are at liberty to do sp any time they want.. :; . : There ■ nothing in the; AGMA regulaitions to; bar its rriembers froni joining AFM and, m fact, a few who have conie up from the ranks of or- (Continiied on page 34) Leeds Sues 1L S. Record Leeds. Music<' Inc., ; his brought suit aga^^ U; S.' Reicord Cpi-p. (Eli Oberstien) ' the N. Y. "City cpiirt tb recover $3,000 in royalties alleged to be Iping overdue.:: Bernard L. Miller, who; filed the action,./ claims that repea pyer a peripd of: four: niPiith."? to' get even 1 a part payriaeht failed to get anywhere. • '■:.'■•"■.■'.■ ; ■■■■.: ■' tips Angeles,.-Aug-13:1; V ;There; is hp; cause for; alarm bVer the threat of other music replacing the output - of the .Anaerican iSociety of Gbmposers, Authbrs-and Publish- ers,.. prexy /Gene; jBuck told 190 ASCAP meinbers at a dinner at;the Anibassa<|k)r; hbtiel her was the largest ASCAP gathering ever .held in Hollywood; : Buck exbiairied :' in de.tail ; wh at ASCAP is asking firpm .the broad^ casting indu^ry under the rie'w: con- tract, effective nejtt Jan; I. De- mands, from the .smaller radio sta- tions are being : reduced, - he said,- while .. increiased reyeniie ■ is :being sought; from the larjge netwoirks. He disclbsed that- the. turnbver iri rby- alties from CBS to ASCAP in 1939 was only $3i60,06p, calling it a small amount in; view of the great volume of :;busihess ' done by ;:the network. Big music prOgrariis on. the air, he added, are. in dire need ,pf ASCAP tynes. :.'- ; Buck annouhced:: jin ASCAP pay at the Sari PrainciscO; Fair late ^^his mpnth,. with eastern and; western. memberships; cpmbined in a two- hour; musical iprbgram Oh "Treasure Island. He will eriicee the show hirii- self. Broadcast. Music,.' Inc., announced yeisterday (Tuesday); , th.iat it sig-. natured 55 more. stations during and after the National A.ssociaitibn; bi Broadcasters convention in San I'rancisco . last week. - The ne\y- cQriiei"3 in a large measure are Mutual afriljate.s,; thi$ . rush .to the bandwagon ;resultirig. f rom that riet- wprk's annoiincernent at the conven- tion tha t i; ;*,;'0uid, apt accept the.new :ASCAP contract. ..-- Also .:arporig 'the; new joiners.: are the Hearst .stations, excepting WCAE, Pittsbiu:"gh, WOW,. Omaha; and :WHK and. WCLE,; Gleveiaridv^ ;Only l5 :bf the; 55. are without.; netwdvk- affA'a- :tion,;:."-■; ■■;•■ ;:';-■■; .■ •-■;:;■••.■ -.• :.-.''■ ■"■: :,:' ;. A!SGAP: .\ publishers : a it i r.i b u;t'e; 'rbmniy /I5prsey'i sudd With BMr ..tp, .bitter peeve on the part-of the baridleader which dates back tP.: last fali; wberi he ..was put-; ting out his giveaway fan paper, Bahdwagori. p.orsey, asked the.-puijs:! to support his paper with' adyertis-i ,ihg; -bU:t''. the .' Mu«^ic PublisheirsPr(T- tectiye; ■ Associatipn.... tabooedl : ttie krigle as in .violation, of . the' afi.s6cla- tion's code;: iTie: paper ; shpr^^^ te:rwards folded, . Do'rsey ' cur these pubs alsp point out, is working for ■ ; 'aigency.:..Lord Thoriia.s, whicli' haridlcs .the RCA and .NBC accounts:-'' '• :;-■-. .■.-;■':.•. TURNPIKE JINX ENDS Bad.. Month Broken .By W.^afher ■■--and'-Ted-Weeins . ■ ■ -..;' . Lincoln, Aug. 13, Cool weather upped Ted ; Weerns' b.p. iait; -the Turnpike .i^uesday -. (6) tp $650 grpss, trips since- the Glenn Miller .bri July 2. Advance paste^ boards ; went for ;85 cents, tariff wais $1.10 at the turnstiles. . ; Date was. first :Winrier in month for eight-miles-out .spot. Blue Barr ron's due here Friday,. I6thi : J Sid Lorrairie has been upped^ b Max : Dreyfus, from Coast ;rep- for Glrawfbird Music ib' general profes- ?ibpal. headv; it's, .a .sfto^^ dover tails into the , previous duties, held ,dbwn; by .Henry ; Sp.itzer, . resigned exec with the Chappell and CraW-: ford music firms. \. Under Loriraine will continue Al Pbrgie, loppirig the Crawford Music pliiggeriB, and liddie Wolpin, on the Chappell. end. . Reix)rts of:"these .twp; Ibbking askstrice at. another breyfus employee being' brought in oyer thwri are 'denied ail iafound^ as was a .re-: port : that they offered to resign. Pbrgiej" for one, .states he's sticking pri to:- cppperate with Lorraiirie: and coord inate with the geribrsil Dreyifiis inusib: setup. ':;.; . • ;; This leaves Louis:Dreyfus, ^Evacu- ated ..brother-of 'Maxi and -• head of Chappell of Erigland,, free; tb ;worry about his British .shbw, biz. and' music interests. ..;:'". Spitzeri ;;irieantime, whbse cpntract expired last , riibnth' : and who' was ■paid therepri through July althbug^^^ leaving; Dreyflis, after Ibnis associa- tion» in the ^pririg, \t looking around for a catalog;'/He's; virtually set tb align. With sorigshiiih Abner Silver as publisher-partner. Latter,' in turn/ is; bowing out Pf his Mayfair Music partnership: with Willie Hprbwitiz. Latter niay merge With Larry iSpler,. as and . vrhen . Silver bbWs put officially.. ' :'-; Spitzer-Silyer have been: taikiiig to Lincbln Music and Melrb^e MusiP for catalpg takeovers^ .~ ; With , Lprrairie:; shifting ; east, it ieiaves the Coast; ispot at Grawfofd still open. : • Joe Naidell. rejps Chappell iri; Hollywood./:;: ■ 12 Yearis Mimagi^^ lie Win Oslmrne-R^^^^^^ One of the Ipngest daihce band riiariagerial . associations known in the . trade has ended with, the split between . Will ;Osboirne .- and. Harry Ronrinri; '; (General.;: Amus. .; Corpl). Rpmm riianaged, Osborne for moi'e than 12 years,, biit still is in the dark in riegards tb why: Osborne suddenly: switched over: to -the 'Williiaiii; Mbr- ris office. ■ \ : ' As; a pairing /gift;: Osborne' gave Rbijnrii ia;wrist watch, biit no reasons for h;is breaking away. - Ironically,- Csborne's salary receritly at the Strand, on Broadway, was; the; high- est in his; careeir and negotiated by; Romm. .;■■': Romm handled Osborne; arid ; kept him in the liriielight during the Rudy Vallee era. At thait time' Os- borne ■ maintained that Vallee had copped his croonirig style and; held- niuch bitterness fpr Vallee, who is; neyer known to have replied to the lifting charges, " There was np contract between Rbmni and Osborne for the' past few years.; V Tw'o pacts had run out and then Rpnim.arid tiie baridrtiastteirj he-' caiise of ;their close friendship, de-. cided thait' contracts between them were" u n necessary. HENDERSON & BROWN SCOUT MSE^^a^ ^acl(He$s Departs ChicagP^ Aug; ]3,:v Resignatiori of:. Jack■ ;iHe.ss as head ] of press ideparthfient. of Music C'orV ! poration: of America here,' effective : Saturday (17),; with reason given.-as 'due to. unmanageable inter-organir zation politic set-up; .of Chicago bf- j fice,' makes: him another, in ^.the list' of Chi: .■ MCA p..a.'s '.whip, h.iaye ' Scrarhni:ed after a few; weeks at:the- ; Ray Hendersbn arid Lew Brown,; whb havp ; decided ;. tp : re-enter; the^ miifiic: publishing business urider' the :pld name: biE Brbwri & . Hsridersprii' Inc.,' a.re.scputirig around for a.,cata-: log w.iiich.; would serve : .. the ; nii- cleus of their enterprise,. ; It wa^;; repPrted tha^; they ^were; dickering tor the Suri Mu,sic Cb., but thi,'; was denied. Bill (j'rcen, was Hess*: iriirnediale pi edeces,soE, ; No successor ha.s been rianied for.Hess; ' ' JIVE PATEIOTISM : ., ■ San Francisco,,,.Aug. 13. . Linda Ware, Hbllywopd starlet, in-; trodiicecl new patriotic riuriiber ,of her own cpmposi,tiori at Exp3.<>itipi7 Suriday dl). Calls it 'Ypiir Uriel* j3om/- .'..;.';.' r' -'V'-.. ^--^'^■'.'■:■■-• Iff ;{)n the jive side.