Variety (Dec 1942)

WcdaeBd«y» Dcccmbw 16, 1948 MUSIC ss Harry Fox OrdiHrs AuAt of AMP Books; Controversy dn Recording Royalties Gets More Acrimonions Harry Fox. agent and tnute« for publUberi on mechanical rights, has notified Associated Music Publishers, Inc., that he has retained a firm of auditors to go over the recording firm's books and records to deter- mine whether it has made full roy- alty accounting of records made sep- arately for the AMP'S radio library and for Muzak (wired radio service). Fox's move is tied up with the con- troversy that has cropped up be- tween himself and the AMP over the 1943 price ior library recordings which Fox submitted several weeks ago. Acting on the instructions of his clients. Fox has reverted to the old price of $1B per master, or $5 more than recorded library manu- facturers have been paying during 1942. Fox's move to examine the AMP books Is based on what he claims to have been the AMP'S failure to make an accounting of tunes re- corded ^for Muzak. According to Fox It has been the AMF's practice to stencil a composition two ways, one with vocals for radio and an- other strictly instrumental for Muzak, but to confine the account- ing for publishers to the radio discs. The debate between C. M Finney, AMP prez, and Fox over the $15 fee reached a point of personal acri- mony last week, when the AMP took its grievances to its library subscribers during a district 'meet- ing of the National Association of Broadcasters at the Biltmore hotel, N. Y. Fox was pictured by AMP spokesmen as the latest music ogre wlt^ whom the broadcasting indus- try must contend. Fox later ac- cused Finney of attempting to use the NAB to go back on an under- standing that Flimey had entered Into with Fox at the end of 1941. Finney, according to Fox, at the time had pointed out that, .since few library subscribers had resumed ASCAP licenses it would be equit- able on the part of ASCAP publish- ers to reduce the library recording royalty to $10 per master. Fox now claims that Finney had agreed to the adoption of the $10 price mere- ly as an Interim arrangement and to go back to the $15 fee when prac- tically all of the AMP'S station sub- scribers had obtained ASCAP li- censes. The AMP last week also went over the head of Fox to his pub- lisher principals In an effort to in- duce them to give the recording company a six-month extension of their present license (on the basis of $10 per annum), or to accept a bulk deal similar to the one which was signatured by the Warner Bros, music group some months ago. The AMP failed to get any extensions, but there were several publishers who agreed to the bulk arrangement. AMP's plea for the extension con- tained the suggestion that It would serve as a sort of respite until a settlement had been reached* with regard to the American Federation of Musicians' ban on recording. ■••uU Grnenbcrf'a score for the Columbia picture, "Commandos Strike at Dawn.' wlU be published as The Commando Suite.' Josefoyits* Jongnickel Composing Deal for 13 Terl Josefovlts, piano soloist at the Broadway Paramount theatre for the past six years, and just about fully recovered, following a long siege, has signed exclusively to turn out piano-orchestra compo- sitions for Ross Jungnlckel. He will do 13 a year, the first of which Is titled Theme Romantlque.' Jungnlckel, standard In the busi- ness, was recently taken over by Cherio and Rytwoc music pub in- terests. With Don Baker, N. Y. Par or- ganist, and HiUUrd Goldsmith, Jo- sefovlts has also written two pops for Jungnlckel. Pubfishers Claim E.C. Mills ft:ews Tele Problem E. C. Mills, general manager of the Songwriters Protective Association, has caused some annoyance among music publishers by hli advising writers to reserve their television rights when signaturing contracts for new material. By bringing up this issue, these publishers complain. Mills threatens to disrupt the placid understanding among ASCAP writer and publisher members that the question of television rights owner- ship is to remain dormant imtU the right itself shows signs of acquiring a commercial value. The publishers now suspect that Mills plans to have the SPA claim tele rights as a pre- liminary to the SPA becoming the licensing agent for such rights. ASCAP's directors have agreed that It would be prudent to let the television right remain homeless as far as administration is concerned until the publishers and the writers can, at the proper time determine, or have determined for them through the process of adjudication, whether television constitutes a small (or performing) right or a dramatic (or production) right. If it should be determined that tele is a small right, then its licensing will fall within the sphere of ASCAP Should the allocation be in favor of the dramatic category, then terms provided for in the all-other-rights clause of the old writer's contract will prevail. As for new works, the terms covering tele rights will be obviously a matter of negotiation between writer and publisher. It is still quite possible that Cong- ress itself will recognize the need and Justice for setting up a separate compartment within the copyright law for .television and adropt a speci- fic amendment, as happened In 1909 with regard to the right for mechani- cal reproduction. Slieet Mask SeDers (Week of Nov. 21) White Christmas Berlin Lights Go On Again CLP Praise Lord Famous There Are Such Things. .Yankee Five by Five Leeds Star Spangled Banner....Miller Dearly Beloved Chappell Fall In Love Harma Moonlight Becomes You.Famous Army Air Corps Fischer Never Be Another You..Morris Craziest Dream BVC Daybreak Feist Am Gettin Tired Army For Me and My Cal Mills Appeals Ct.» in Spifieant 1^^^ Rules Copyrighted W(m^ Needn't Be Published to Get 1-E Protection WB4^e Bay In A-Y-B Catalog; Ben Bornstem Moves Over to Advance Catalog of Ager, Yellen tc Born- stein was acquired by the Advance Music Corp., which Is owned Jointly by the Warner Bros, music group and Moe Gale. As part of the deal, Ben Bomstein becomes general man- ager of Advance. Deal may hit in excess of $100,000 if partner Ben Bornstein's five-year management contract la taken Into consideration. Milton Ager, on his part, recovers much valuable song material which. In turn, he has placed with other WB siibsld firms, also Feist, etc. Another commercial advantage to Ager is a series of new contracts on his oldies, calling for today's 3c and 60% mechanicals royalties against the yesteryear 2c and 33%. Fur- thermore, the WB organization can exploit revivals of such tunes as 'Sally Won't You Come Back,' 'Ain't She Sweet?,' 'Happy Days Are Here Again,' etc. Decca's Stock Diyidends WUl Equal Last Year's Decca Record Board of Directors last week declared a regular quarter- ly dividend of 15c per share and a year-end dlwy of 25c per share on the company's capital stock on rec- ord Dec. 12. Brings total payoff on capital stock for the year 1942 to $1.15 a share, which equals the amount paid on the same stock In 1941. Dividends are payable Dec. 23. Dividend declaration indicates that, despite the shellac curtailn^ents of the current year, which unde- niably has cut record production far below ^ what it might have been, Decca's total sales equal last year's. Morale Chiefs Want Servicemen Off the Cuff KENNYS IN SWITCH TO SILVER FOR 2 YRS. Nick and Charles Kenny have shifted over to Abner Silver's Lin- coln Music Corp. as exclusive song- smiths for the next two years. The Kenny Bros, are just winding up a Warner Bros. deal. Nick Kenny, radio editor of the N. Y. Mirror, also does a syndicated column for Hearst and is an estab- lished ASCAP song\vriter. Brother Charles Kenny, also an aide on -the Mirror, writes the tunes, but Silver will collaborate with both on the 1943-44 deal. While at Warners, an Indie sub- sidiary publishing unit had been set up to merchandize the Kenny songs. M.P.PA Officers Reelected The entire 1942 roster of officers were reelected for another term at a meeting of the directorate of the Music Publishers Protective Associa- tion last week. They are Lester Santly, president; Jack Mills, v.p.; Jack Bregman, secretary, and Dick Murray, ti'easurer. The board at the same meeting elected the Noble Music Co., Willie Horowitz's firm, to membership. In a circular letter to' Its members last week, the Music Publishers Pro- tective Association, reported that the morale divisions of the Army and Navy have become insistent that the music Industry refrain from furnish- ing free material to servicemen. The circular letter, which was signatured by Harry Fox, declared that the morale chiefs of the services had ex- pressed themselves as determined to do everything to prevent the men in the ranks from acquiring chiseling habits. The morale heads had also advised the APPA that appropriation of funds have been made so that the musical units in the Army and Navy can be supplied with all the mu.<>ic they need. Music publishers have l>een de- luging some of the camps with free arrangements of their new numbers, figuring that the breaks will be theirs whenever any of these camp bands go on the air. SONGPLUGGER SUES CHERIO FOR STOCKS Robert E. Mann filed suit in N. Y. supreme court Tuesday (15) for breach of contract and for $25,000 damages against Cherio Music Pub- lishers, Inc., Maurie Merle, afto known as Maurie Hartmann, and Jean Heppner, also known as Deanna Bartlett. Complaint alleges that he was hired by the defendants as contact- man to publicize, exploit and plug the defendants' songs for which he was to receive 15% of the profits and 13% of the corporation stock on or before January, 1942. Reversing the finding of a lower court, the N. Y. circuit court of ai^ peals last week ruled that a copy* righted work doesn't have to be pub> lished to come within the protec- tion of Section IE of the copyright act^ end that the law does confer upon the copyright owner of an un- published musical number the ex- clusive right to its reproduction. The case involved in this decision, which the music trades regard as highly significant, is Jack Shilkret versus Musicraft Records. The victor on the appeal was Shilkret. The tribunal vote was two to one. with the dissent making the case appeal- able to the U. S. Supreme Court. Musicraft had argued that a copy- right owner who had registered his work under Section II of the copy- right act would not sue for infringe- ment should his work be recorded without bis permission, because an- other section (IE) restricted the ex- clusive right of mechanical repro- duction to compositions 'published and c(q>yrighted' after the copyright law became effective (July 1, 1609). I The circuit court's opinion saw this emphasis on the terms, 'and pub- lished,' as a discrimination against unpublished works as strictly a 'lit- eral reading* and something which was certainly not intended by the framers of the act. The reason why the words, 'and published,' were'ap- parently inserted, said the court was (Continued on page 36) NAMEFINKELSTEINAS ASCAP STAFF COUNSa Herman Finkelateln was named to the newly created post of ASCAP staff counsel at a meeting of the So* ciety's board of directors last week. The firm of Schwartz & Frohllch, from whose staff Ilnkelstein cOmes, will continue as ASCAP's general counsel. ^Though still in his 30's, Finkelstein is considered an author- ity on copyright law. He has handled ASCAP matters through S. & F. for the 'past eight years. There have been Indications from ASCAP directors ever since the set- tlement of the ASCAP-radio fight in late 1941 that the assignment of house counsel was to be accorded Finkelstein. He figured actively in the negotiations of the consent de- cree with the U. S. Department in early 1941. Robbins Dickers For Circle (Scott) Catalog Robbins Music Co. Is negotiating for the purchase of the Circle Music Co. catalog, owned by Raymond Scott (Harry Wamow) and his brother, Mark Warnow. Majority of the tunes in the Circle folder are original mel- odies penned by Scott himself. Julian T. Abeles, Robbins' attorney. Is said to be going over the legal de- tails ot the Scott musical properties. NOONLIGHT HOOD lyn*' HaroU AJamson Mutic ky Ptter Dt Rom %^ mi GET AROUND MUCH ANYHORE ns: Lyric ky Boh Ruuall ROBBINS MUSIC CORPORATION 799 Seventh Avenu«, New York, N. Y. Music by DuIm Ulingttt Murray Baker, Pnf. Mgr. IISllllilliHIHili