Variety (Oct 1941)

^ednesdayt October 89, 1941 MUSIC 43 SDN MAY SiflNE THIS WEEK JOHN SHEPARD DOESN'T GET EASYTERMS John Shepard, 3d, head of the Yankee and Colonial Networks, with headquarters in Boston, has failed to obtain a special deal covering his regional links from ASCAP. The Society wired him Monday (26) that It could' not see why It should treat his operations different from any other network and that the terms ac- cepted by othdr links would have to apply to his. Shepard had the week before spent much time around ASCAP head- quarters arguing for a contract that would put his networks on the same . basis as local stations which elect to take a per piece arrangement, namely, 8% on commercial programs . using ASCAP music and 2% on sus- taining ' programs containing tunes. All the other networks have settled on a blanket agreement, with no al- ternative per progranf setup. SONNY SCHUYLER TO HEAD OWN BAND . Sonny Schuyler, vocalist with Vin- cent Lopez' orchestra, will step out at tiie head of his own band a»und the first of the year. Plans areTiow being made for it, with Wm. Morris igency having the inside track on Iiandling him. ' Lopez \a at the Taft hotel, N. Y., where hell hold until next May. ' Georie Kelly and Charlie Adler turned in a song, 'I'm Glad My Num- ber Was Called,' for 'You're in the Army Now' at Warners. Needled' Into Beta It NBC and Columbia do not return the full ASCAP reper- toire, to their facilities within the week or two professional men connected with ASCAP Arms stand to take some heavy losses in wagers; The betting over the past weekend on this topic exceed the usual turnover In these when it comes to foot- ball. Most of the wagering resulted from needling that the contact- . men were subjected to by band- leaders! . Pepped by confidence exuded by their employers or partners who- happen to be on the ASCAP directorate, these profeuional men on meeting a leader would say. something about the immediacy of a net- works-ASCAP deal. The leader would crack back, 'We've been hearing that same line for months,' and before long the conversation got around to the citation of an actual return date arid the amount of the bet. Mrs. Harris Gets Delay Mrs. Cora L. Harris, widow of Charles K. Harris, has obtained through counsel an adjournment on the motion for summary judgment which the E. B. Marks Music Co. is seeking in the N. Y. federal court on an action over the renewal rights to "1 Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now.' E. B. Marks, who entered the suit, also named Jerry Vogel. Argu- ments on the summary judgment was to have come up Oct. 31. Marks claims that he holds a re- newal assignment from Joseph E. Howard, who wrote the melody of 'I Wonder,' while Vogel contends simi- lar rights from lyricists, WiU M. Hough and Frank R. Adams. Mrs. Harris' counterclaim Is that she has an assignment from Howard, which antedates all other assignments. Har- ris was the original publisher of the song. t/TY yf^^* i^ROM THE Record < Breaking HOUSSOF-HITS! "RANCHO GRANDE" • "BREEZE AND I" "AMAPOLA" • "YOURS", and Many More COWBOY SERENADE COLUMBIA 36244 — KAY KYSER ■LUiilRD. 811235—OlENN MILLER, VICTOR 27S28 —HARRY WOOD (7534 —ART JARREH DECCA 3989 —TONY MARTIN 3983 — RUSS MORGAN' •.I.IH4IM. —ROY ROGERS •Miiui tM. — ROY SMECK OKEH 6266 —GENE KRUPA 6310 — CHARIOTEERS RECORDS ON SALE EVERYWHERE ORCHESTRATIONS, SHEET MUSIC ON SALE EVERYWHERE WEBS HELPFOL Networks Inquire About Quit Claims on Anti-Trust Ac tions Against Th'em, BMI and N.A.B. NBC MOST SANGUINE A high NBC official declared late yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) that there was a 'very, very good chance' of the network signaturing a con- tract with ASCAP this week. He declined to name the exact day. but added that he saw nothing at the moment that would prevent a con summation of the deal by this Sat urday's (1) closing of business. CBS officials yesterday (Tuesday) report ed' that they were yet to hear from a number of affiliated station hold outs, but they would not state whether CBS would close its agreC' ment this week or whether ASCAP would be asked for a little more time to corral the rest of the affili- ated flock. This source added that it still 'hoped' to wind up things this week. In contrast, ASCAP"! management yesterday (Tuesday) beamed with assurance that the thing would be in the bap todav (Wednesday) as far as NBC is concerned. This source dis- closed that Mark Woods, NBC v.p., accompanied by network counsel, is slated to visit the ASCAP offices at 4 o'clock this ajtemoon (.Wednesday) to put the finishing touches to all papers in the deal. It was also felt that CBS tuould not take Tnore than a day or two longer to do likewise. The ASCAP board of directors holds its regular monthly meeting tomorrow (Thursday) and will hear reports from the management on the latest progress of the networks in tying up the loose ends of a deal. During the past several days the majority of the board members have been expressing optimism on the matter of obtaining signatured contracts from NBC and Columbia before the end of the current week. Most of them based this confidence on the visit that Edward Klauber, CBS executive v.p., paid them ,last Thursday (23). These directors felt assured that Klauber would not have taken this step if CBS weren't dis- posed to get the contract situation cleaned up as quickly as possible. There were still some directors inclined to regard the picture with i dubious and skeptical view, but they likewise felt that the Society had nothing to lose by going along with the networks for another week or two. Prior to Klauber's appear- ance before the ASCAP board last week the rank and file of the So- (Continued on page 44) LUCKY STRIKE STRIKES OUT ASCAP Lucky Strike has introduced some- thing new In the compilation of its song popularity ratings. It credits all the current numbers which are based on a particular public domain melody, but when It comes to per- formance on the Hit Parade the number selected is one that falls within the BMI-licensed repertoire. In the list of top pop tunes Issued by Lucky for the current week 'To- night We Love,' a BMI-licensed num- ber, is rated as No. 9. An asterisk besides the figure '9' refers to the following footnote: 'Compilation combines the following titles, 'To- night We Love,' Tchaikowsky's Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor and 'Concerto for Two." Latter two numbers are published by ASCAP affiliates, Mills Music, Inc., and Sha- piro, Bernstein & Co, respectively. 18 Months After His Walkout Klauber Re-Visits an ASCAP Board Meeting 15 Best Sheet Music Sellers (Week Ending-Oct. 25) Don't Set World on Fire Cherlo Tonight We Love Maestro You and I Wlllson Jim Kaycee Shepherd's Serenade Sheppard You Are My Sunshine Southern Yours '. Marks Elmer's Tune .Bobbins Do You Care?.... Campbell Cuess-I'll Have Dream Rest...Block 'Til Reveille. Melodylane Time Was Southern Why Don't We Do BVC City Called Heaven Warren Concerto for Two..^. Shapiro E. H. MORRIS'NEW CORP. Will Hetain Mayfalr's Separate Iden- tity—Boys Ont Mercer Edwin H. Morris has formally closed the deal for the purchase of Johnny Mercer's stock in Mercer Sc Morris. Morris is considering .the merger of White-Smith, a catalog he acquired last year, with M&M and making the E. H. Morris Music Co. the corporate name. The Mayfair Music Co., which he also owns, would be continued as a separate entity. . The catalog in the hew corporation would represent both standard and popular numbers, but the activity will be mostly stand- ard. Appearance 'Of Edward Klauber, CBS executive v.p., at a meeting of the ASCAP board of directors last Thursday (23) .constituted his first personal contact with members of this group since he walked out of a gathering in this same room in March, 1940. As much bitterness has meanwhile gone over the dam. When it was announced at last week's meeting that Klauber was about to make an entry one of the ASCAP directors- suggested that ^everybody exercise the utmost of decorum and refrain from voicing any wisecracks. Klauber, who came to assure the board that CBS, if given a few more days, would be able to submit sig- natured ASCAP contracts, was ac-. companied by Mark Woods, NBC v.p., who had been conducting the negotiations with the Society for that network. Woods likewise ar- gued that ASCAP refrain from do- ing anything drastic because* of the delay it was experiencing and like Klauber he declined to state just what day of this week consummated agreements could be expected. Seal of Sincerity Klauber and Woods visited the board after John G. Paine a;id E. C. Mills, ASCAP executives, had in- formed them that their board was In an intensely skeptical frame of mind and that there was a strong dispo- sition among theme to set a deadline for signatured contract with 'the al- ternative of calling all deals off. Paine and Mills added that the board was discounting their continued as- surances that network signatures (Continued on page 44) HILDEGARDE Glamour Versatility Personality Charm . • • ff 4 • » c • » » » « Comedy • • . » Style « » » c < Showmanship BOXOFFICE EDWARD B. MARKS MUSIC CORPORATION BCA BUILDING ■ RfiOlO CITY . NtW YOBK leAUK HfNNICS Concol Pro'cmonol Manager