Variety (May 1941)

Wednesday, Maj 21, 1941 MUSIC 99 N.A.B. VOTES BMI GO-AHEAD ASCAFs Slow Start on Mutual Because of the limited number of new songs that ASCAP publishers have available at this time the Mutual Network has let down the bars on the repetition of such tunes during an evening. -'Under the rule which the networlc previously had in effect duplications were restricted to two-hour intervals. Until the releases of ASCAP pubs return to normal and band laaders get the latest ASQAP tunes in their arrange- ment boolts there will be no restraint on the time between broadcasts for ASCAP compositions. While jubilant over the opportunity afforded by the Mutual deal for the exploitation of their music, professional managers of ASCAP firms expressed themselves Monday (19) as still stymied badly by the cir- cumstance that few of the dance bands carried on Mutual have ar- rangements of new ASCAP numbers and that it may talce some time for these bands to have the arrangements made. By the rules of their union the publishers' professional men are barred from furnishing the bands with free arrangements, or even extracts, and thereby expediting the plugging of their new tunes on the air. No small percentage of the -remote orchestras on Mutual are economically In a position to have the arrangements made right away, since they have been spend- ing their money on arrangements of BMI numbers since the first of the year. Professional men with ASCAP firms figure that it will take another two or three weeks before their i>ew tunes will actually get full play on Mutual. Their problem is not only merely to sell a band on doing the song, but on inducing it to make up a special arrangement Im- mediately. Meanwhile these bands have their ASCAP standards on which to draw.. . Mutual Oatlmes ASCAP Buildup Many Programs and Slogans Exploit Network's Pos- session of Catalogs Not on NBC, CBS Mutual, which until the special ASCAP program Sunday (18) night y/as merely dribbling a few ASCAP tunes into its shows, will for the next few weeks make an all-out splurge with the composer society's music. Besides havirtg several rjegu- lar musical shows devoted entirely to ASCAP selec jns, it will make periodic announcements over the air that it is the only network 'now playing your favorite songs.' This move to rub additional sting-into NBC and Columbia, follows the fric- tion that developed between Mutual and the other networks at last week's National Assn. of Broadcast- ers' convention in St. Louis. New program that started Monday (19) from WOH. New York, will be heard 8:43-9 a.m., Monday through Friday, and 8:35-8:50 a.m., Saturday, called, 'All-Time Hits.' It offers re- cordings by name bands and artists of ASCAP favorites of former years, with commentary by Irving Kauf- man, using the name of Musical Mack. He is also heard in various other shows under such names as Gaston, Happy Jim .Parsons, etcr Morton Gould orchestra series, John Duggan's vocal stanza, Eleanor Sherry and, beginning next Monday (26), Romano and the Tune Twisters, will also use ASCAP music exclu- sively for tlje-next few weeks. In addition, as the various organizations fill out their libraries with arrange- ments of ASCAP tunes that have been issued since the society's cata- log, went off the networks at the be- ginning of the year, Mutual's eve- ning dance band remote programs will carry an increasing proportion of ASCAP selections. The announcements that Mutual Is the only network offering ASCAP music will* probably continue indefi- nitely. However, after several weeks, the various Mutual shows will no longer make a special point of playing ASCAP tunes to the ex- clusion of BMI or other non-ASCAP compositions. SELLS BIZ COLLEGE WITH NEW ASCAP BAIT Cleveland, May 20. WHK-WCLE, local Mutual outlets, concluded agreement with ASCAP and began broadcast of' banned mu- sic on Friday morning (16). Return of ASCAP tunes was instrumental in WHK closing negotiations for one hour Saturday afternoon commercial beginning Saturday (17). Client is Wilcox College of Com- merce and contract calls for record- ed music under title of Campus Hop. MUTUAL AFFILIATES' ORG Oppo«« ASCAP Deal—Fred Weber Laeka Info on Them St Louis, May 20. Group of about 40 Mutual affiliates who expressed themselves, as op- posed to that network's pact with ASCAP met at the close of Wednes- day's (14) session of^ the National Association of Broadcasters' conven- tion and formed the Mutual Network Affiliates. No Indications were given as to the line of action the group would take on the issue. Fred Weber, Mutual general man- ager, declared Monday (19) that he hadn't heard anythnig official from this group and that all he knew was that every affiliate has continued to take the Mutual service. SONG RACKS' IMPORTANCE With One network, namely Mutual, available for the exploitation of its works, ASCAP music publishers look forward to the store-rack ar- rangement of the International Cir- culation Co. as an Important outlet for their sheet sales. This'distribu- tor now has 6,000 such musicsheet locations and It figures on adding 2,500 racks during the summer months. An Initial order for these racks is 15,000 copies, or three copies to a rack. How Important the ICC's service has become as a merchan- dising outlet is illustrated by what it did for the month of April. The ICC during that period ordered 130,000 copies and the returns amounted to 28,000 copies, which furnished a net sale of 80%, a pro- portion which is far above the aver- age that has heretofore prevailed in the sheetmusic business. Spitzer With Morris Henry M. Spitzer has joined Ed- win H. (Buddy) Morris' organiza- tion. Spitzer will work In a combined professional and business capacity on the Mayfair and White-Smith cata- logs, both of which Morris recently acquired. These are separate and apart from Mercer Morris, Inc. SIDNEY KAYE IS CHIEF SPEAKEII St. Louis Convention Session Devoted to Broadcast Mu' ■ic—Partakes of Evangeli' cal Ton^— Hough C r y s 'There'll Always Be a BMP —J i 11 e r s on Conspiracy Cramps - the Discussion a Little ELMER RAPS MUTUAL By BEN BODEC f St Louis, May 20. In a session which frequently took on the atmosphere of a revival meeting the delegates to the Na- tional Association of Broadcasters' convention at the New Jefferson hotel last week voted its continued support of Broadcast Music, Inc. Be- fore this action was taken the exec- utives and directors of BMI indulged them^lves in an orgy of self-con- gratulation over the 'great job' they had performed and Sidney M. Kaye, BMI v.p. and counsel, stirred ah ovation with announcement that the organization was putting into im- mediate effect a 33%% reduction in BMI performance fees. Harold Hough, of WBAP, Fort Worth, struck the evangelical key- note of. the gathering when with raised hand he shouted, 'Let'; hit the sawdust trail with the rest of 'em for BMI!' and then followed this with the cry, Ther«'U always be^a BMI!' In rapid succession testimony to the good works of BMI were given l>y Father F. A. Burke, of WEW, St. Louis; Niles Trammel], NBC prez; Mefford Runyon, CBS v.p.; Earl Glade, of KSL; Samuel Rosenbaum, WFIL, Philadelphia; John Elmer, WCBM, Baltimore, a BMI director, and two other BMI employees, Mer- ritt E. Tompkins and C^l Haverlin. Bosenbaani'i Olio Tarn It Vas a meeting also crowded with emotional outbursts and vaude- ville reminiscence. Latter contribu- tion came from Samuel Rosenbaum. He devoted most of his quota to the telling of a Yiddish dialect story and excerpts from one of the late Frank Tinney's routines. Rosen- baum warned the broadcasters that they had to be careful what they $aid about the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers when in such gatherings because of possible violations of the conspiracy, but that shouldn't, he added, pre- vent him from urging them to carry on with BML When asked from the floor whether the contract which Mutual signatured with ASCAP vfas in vio- lation of ASCAP's consent decree, Kaye, who again mentioned the con- spiracy angle, stated thtit the only way he could answer that question was to say that BMI's decree was similar to ASCAP's and if BMI gave Mutual the terms it got from ASCAP BMI would be violating Its decree. Shortly before this Kaye, in Outlin- ing the BMI rate reduction for sub- scribers, said that though BMI was making a per program plan avail- able he would urge that its sub- scribers support the BMI blanket license." 'Twilight Zone' Kaye, whose announcement of lowered prices was greeted with much applause, said that the net- works, NBC and CBS, would go on paying the same percientage as here- tofore but no mention was made of the zctual basis for the accounting or whether the webs were permitted to deduct the 'twilight zone,' or the difference between what they col- lected for the hookup and what they paid out to their affiliates. A.s for local stations taking a blanket li- cense from BMI the new rates would range, declared Kaye, from 1% to \%% of a station's Income. Under the old deal It ran from 1% to 2V4%. The per program plan (Continued on page 40) Accurate Reporting Service Changes To WOR (Now ASCAP) and Eight Subscribers (BMI) Cancel Forthwith Eases the Pain St. Louis, May 20. While attending the NAB con- vention Hulbert Taft, Jr., of WKRC, got word from his sales manager .in Cincinnati that the latter had sold two hours a week to a local beer on the strength that the station would have ASCAP music. Taft then sought to get a local license for his station but by that time John G. Paine, ASCAP general inatt- ager, had entrained for New york. Taft was one of the Mutual stockholders that switched his vote to the affirmative after the Mutual board had obtained enough votes to approve the ASCAP deal. MBS EXPLAINS ASCAP FEES Explanation, with mathematical examples, of how. the Mutual- ASCAP contract will affect MBS stations was contained, in a letter which Fred Weber, Mutual general manager, lent to the network's member and affiliated outlets Mon- day (19). Latter were advised that unless otherwise informed Mutual will assume that it is authorized to make the required deductions for ASCAP as of that date (19). Weber's letter pointa out that with respect to network commercials, Mutual will deduct 3% from net pay- ments to affiliates after agency co;n- misslon, discounts, and any line and service charges payable by the sta- tion in connection with- Mutual's operation. The letter's mathematjc illustration follows: This means that If, for ex- ample, Mutual's time sales on a particular station are $1,000 for the month, after agency com- mission and discounts, and If the station pays or allows Mutual to deduct $900 per month for line charges. Mutual will oply deduct 3% of the remaining $100, or $3 for ASCAP license fees on network commercial programs for the month. 'With respect to network sus- taining programs Mutual only deducts each month the smaller of the following two amounts: (1) One-half of the station's one hour rate, or (2) three-fourths of the station's monthly ASCAP sustaining fee for 1940, (3) If, however, the station's gross busi- ness for 1940 was less than $50,- 000 Mutual will only deduct $1 per month for network sustain- ing programs. 'In the case of the station used as an example above, the station has an hourly-rate of $100 but since its 1940 ASCAP sustaining - fee was $20 per month and since three-fourths of this 1940 sustain- ing fee is only $15 which is less than one-half of the station's hour rate, Mutual will only de- duct $15 for ASCAP license fees on network sustaining programs for the month. 'So far as the station we have used as an example Is con- cerned, therefore. Mutual will deduct $3 for commercial pro- grams and $15 for sustaining programs, a total 6f only $18 for license fees on all Mutual Net- work programs broadcast by the • station. If you will apply this basis of calculation to your own station, you will be able to de- termine very quickly the total deduction that Mutual must make to cover Mutual Network programs on your stations.' Accurate Reporting Service last Tuesday (12) bowed to the wishes of the majority of its subscribers and made a drastic change of policy in checking the performance of popular music on the various networl^s' New York stations. NBC and Columbia's key outlets, namely, WEAF, WJZ and WABC, were eliminated entirely from Accurate Reporting's listening posts, while WOR, New York, release for the Mutual Network, and which web has signatured a contract with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, was for the first time given major ranking on th* ARC'S daily tabulations. The move left those interested In the use of BMI music on all the net- works without any established source of plug checking and com- pilation. George Mario. BMI professional manager, announced Thursday (15) that his organization would undertake to make up for this deficiency by furnishing copies of the music logs of WEAF, WJZ and WABC. As the result of the change In policy Accurate Reporting Service lost eight accounts, each of which was primarily Interested In obtain- ing a count on the music of BMI and its affiliated publishers. The auto- matic cancellors included American Tobacco Co. (Lucky Strike Hit Parade), BMI, E. B. Mal-ks and.. Southern Music Co. The subscriber majority which prompted Accurate 'Reporting's action, represents a 100% member- ship in ASCAP. After the deal be- tween Mutual and ASCAP had been consununated the ARS mode a can- vas of Its subscrlbera and found that «n overwhelming majority was not . interested in what was happening to BMI music but it did want to knew what times were being broadcast over Mutual's New York affiliate. The majority also requested that WOR be taken out of the list of New York indie stations as far as the service's' breakdoiwn was concerned and that tt be treated as a major ' plug -channel. CBS HAS DATE WITH ASCAP CBS is. slated to meet with the American Society of Composers, Au- ^' thors and Publishers tomorrow (Thursday) for continued discussion of a licensing agreement, but NBC has apparently elected to -mark* time on the matter. No word had been received from that quarter by ASCAP up to late yesterday (Tues- day). For the past several days quite a number of writer and publisher- members of ASCAP have urged Iheir organization to start anti-trust and conspiracy suits against NBC, CBS and the National Associulion of Broadcasters, but the Society's coun- sel hag waved these suggestions aside. 'The lawyers hold that such tactics would be imprudent and that ASCAP can best gain ita end by continuing with the orderly process of negotia- tion. 'Dinah' CaHed Piracy Los Angeles. May 20. Ernest Dale Brown, compo.ser, filed a statutory damage suit in U. S, District court against G. Schlrmer Music Stores, Inc., chargin infringe- ment of copyright. Composer asserts be has been ■* complaining for years that the theme of his song, 'Lizzie,'., is the same as that of 'Dinah,' but' never got any financial satisfaction. 'Lizzie' was copyrighted in 1923- and 'Dinah' In 192S.