Variety (Dec 1948)

Weilnesday, December 1, 1948 EYE END-OF-BAN PACT SNAGS OROIESTBA-MITSIC Shock ASCAP-ites Into Action -It's an open secret within the music business that if N. Y. Federal Judge Vincent L. Leibell's adverse anti-ASCAP decision |s allowed to stand It may well be the undoing of the American Boclety of Composers, Authors and Publishers. The motion pic- ture interests within ASCAP, and also the dominant theatre radio and other Interests outside ASCAP, not only don't want to see that happen, but many will urge the Government against it. Disintegration 6f ASCAP would create smaller groups of copy- right owners, from whom would have to be obtained the licenses for films, radio, auditoriums and every place else where copy- righted music is used for profit. The bookkeeping costs and problems are obviously staggering. Meantime, now that Judge Leibell ruled so strongly^ ASCAP- . Ites have been shocked into action. It's no longer important that a Federal district court jurist went beyond his province when he ruled in favor of the_N. Y. independent theatre owners who , brought the action. There is strong evidence that Judge Leibell's overly strong findings will be reversed or considerably modified. There are too many U. S. Supreme Court-tested pro-ASCAP cases on the record. But the setback and the shock have prompted a new stance on ASCAP. Heretofore the rank-and-fllers referred to "they" as the doers within the Society's board rooms; The intra-organizational dipsy-doodles are legendary. Only sharp intra-trade knowledge can interpret such Lindy'S' small-talk as "the country club set" within ASCAP, the "side" deals with this or that publisher, and the like. The curious secrecy about some of the legal negotiations through the years have made every faction's lawyers wonder what somebody else might be getting—or getting away with. ' Thus, Judge Leibell has done one affirmative thing for the ASCAP-ers. The talk about what "they" did up at ASCAP has prompted the shirkers into workers. It's no secret that some of the top songwriting brains; for Instance, are conspicuous by their absence in the management aspects of the Society. Some say they have other Interests which preoccupy them too much; some : profess Impatience or disgust with the inner machinations. Therein lies the most heinous error. An AA songwriter collects almost $20,000 per annum. -A top publisher 10 times, that. For the AA WJ^iter, a 26g annual yield is< like a $1,000,000 annuity at 2%. It's no secret that without ASCAP's regular quarterly pay- offs, many publiishers couldn't survive. It's no longer a case of what "they" do up at ASCAP. If these always-complaining—but little-doing^ongsmiths and publishers' don't start looking more closely Into what "they" are doing, then they—not the "theys"— have themselves to blame. Of course, the Society, as with so many other segments of show business, has become weighted down with legalistics. By the'; nature of copyrights, lawyers are not only present but essential. ASCAP owes its very being to the shrewdness of a lawyer, the late Nathan Burkan. Lawyers are known to be ardent about their clients. Not only does factionalism among the publishers crop up, but recent events have suddenly catapulted the writers Into renewed prominence, especially as regards the licensing of their rights. This is where the songsmith's barristers are now starting to storm the barricades. ASCAP can't stand this pressure from within and without. And certainly, if there Is something awry, or the courts look askance at the manner in which a pooling of copyrights is administered, the Society should clear the decks so that it can continue to, operate under the protection of the Government. There has been one consent decree. Another may become necessary, Whatever the courts may think about licensing theatres, or anything else, the Copyright Act is fundamentally designed to protect creative talent. Not even the belligerent film exhibitors think they can get away without paying for music rights. If the manner of pay- ment must be clarified, the law of the land should assist all Interests. MI1E8TII0S FR[[D OFOLBCOraCTS Some disk men are wondering what sort of situations will prevail in regard to their contracts with name bandleaders when the Amer- ican Federation of Musicians' disk ban is finally called off. Since the start of the ban, according to AFM edict, all maestros have been foot- loose and free, to sign with whom they please when the no-recording rule is lifted. And their agents, aware of this, assertedly have in some .instances been trying to make better deals elsewhere. i Whether the AFM's freeing of ' maestros from term contracts would stand up in a court of law is untested, of course, but it's a fact that at tlie time the manufac- turers signed a deal with AFM prez James C. Petrillo in 1944, which ended a previous ban, they okayed a clause which stated that if the AFM ever called another strike, or ban of any kind, all lead- ers would automatically be released from contracts. Name vocalists, at least tho.se. who aren't members of the AFM, are not affected. Another angle of a possible mix- up lies in the length-of-run terms of individual pacts. In the event a bandleader and a recording com' pany agree that the old contract is to remain in force, is it length- ened by the interval of the no-1 Authors and Publishers has begun recording period, or does it expire ' at the dated time as though nothing had interrupted the obligations of one or both sides? . This latter angle has further ramifications that are interesting. Most companies have maestros they Mixed Reaction to Gaik's Delay In Indicating Stand on Disk Plan EMINENT VIENNESE COMPOSER Robert Stolz rtpriie*'thw-ranaUtane*'«f ih« Autlriwi Secltly of Aiithen, Compoitri and Music PubllsKert : (AKM) In a sentimental. piac* "A Meeting After Death" an tditerial feature In the upeeminig 43d Anniversary Number of ASCAP Extends Tele s $1 Pacts Pending Deal American Society of Composers, to move toward the licensing 61 television for the use of its Copy- righted music) Society's board of .directors, in ineiefinM SjM^ afterriopn (Tuesday)authorized tlie, dispatch Of letteics to tele people ,., , J „ , V, I extending its $1 a year licensing would like to drop. But pre-ban i arrangement for two months be- contraets called for the disker to . yond the Dec. 31 expiration date guarantee ^a minimum number of | of all such gratis grants, but, the communiques explained that if sides. And, say, ..only half were (Continued on page 40) Music Men Fear Rockier Going If Ban Continues a licensing - rate arrangement is Recording men„are getting fidg- ety over the delay by Attorney General Tom Clark in indicating a reaction toward the'disk ban set- tlement plan filed three weeks ago today aVed.) They expected Clarlc to take his time in informing them of his thoughts on the blueprint, but the majority fully anticipated an earlier answer. Some diskmen do not feel that Clark is deliberately delaying mak- ing known his decision, in hopes of evading the issue , until the Taft- Hartley law is repealed" or revised. Others feel he is ducking it as a means of building up pressure from the recording industry .and the AFM to nail down President Tru- man's cited intention of, seeking repeal or revision of the law. Some feel that the American Federation of Musicians James P. Petrillo will not exert too much pressure on- Clark's office for a de- cision, since if the current situa- tion' is maintained and the T-H law's APM-crippling terms are re- pealed or changed, he will be back where he started before the ban with nothing to interfere with di- rect AFM control of the royalty fund built up by record sales. This is denied by a provision in the agreement made with the re- cording companies which Clark's office is now mulling. It states: that if the blueprint i& okayed and a trustee appointed to handle the fund, and thereafter there Is a re^ vision of the T-H law, the AFM'g deal with recorders would be re- vised accordingly. In other words, if the deal is stamped okay and a trustee is appointed and at some future date T-H is knocked out or its union welfare fund clauses re^ vised, Petrillo would resume com- plete control of the fund. Meanwhile the majority of the HeidtMCA In New Pact Snarl Leeds Piles Standard, Edncational Holdings Jan.. 1. ASCAP ■ stresses to the tele in- dustry that; complete: returns on the gathering of grants of rfepre- sentation rights for video to the I Society by publisher'inembers had hot yet been completed. It's ex- pected that the 80% of assents required by ASCAP by-laws will be surpassed during . Deceriiber, and the Society will immediately . , , , , , ; I work out a deal. In the event, Music business, not in good shape I ho^.e,,er, that an arrangement is currently (not even Xmas material „o, ,„ade within the two-month has begun moving in appreciable i extension, the scales will not be quantities), will find even rockier | ^gtroactive. They will be effective going if the disk ban lasts much | whenever agreements are com- longer. Because they anticipated a > pjeted ['rTirfor"the paT'six'to °S 1 ASCAP has surpassed the re-' weeks music publfshers have hlld 80% of okays from writers, tack th^ cream of tl^^^m^^^^^^^^ ""^'^^ i'lfl"^^ \he they bought during the months [upmost composers who, hereto- since the ban started, rather than , been dubious abou^^ have them done with foreign back-1^^CAP the rights it sought grounds, harmonicas, ukuleles, etc. As a result, the b.^ckIogs hold by manufacturers, whicli are near made within those two months, the | recording companies are continu. scales set up will be retroactive to , ing to record. Some had observed the no-recording rule during the (Continued oh page 40) > Higher With Delkas Buy; 'i'-1'lif:t's1me"::'f'^he record Horace Heidt and Music Corp of America are involved in another ing companies are continuing to wax, even with* musical back- grounds. But the material they are making is either current stuff from shows and films, or spot hits that show up on small labels. They I artiluitcs are not-cutting plug songs sub Lou Levy added substantially to the already l?rge educational , and .standard catalog held by Leeds tiff" over the management contract j j^.j^^,;^. completed a deal the leader signed in returning to , • ^^^^^^ the agency less than a year ago. , ^^^"^ *^ . , Heidt has advised MCA that the piibli*ing organization. Transler, agreement is void as far as he's which has been in the works for miUed by major pubhsheis. Ihe Srned due to his claim t^^ ^^e6ks, involved some $40,000 pubs would rather wait for full- the agency his noriived up to aUhough Levy refuses to comment sea e rec« certain guarantees made him at on the com. r™i Tom Clark d^^ the time it was written. Leeds will pour the copyrights ! Gencial Tom Clark deldys in deem Case Is supposed to have been ■ obtained through the Delkas put- referred to the American Federa rock-botton levels, are not being i of the Society's contract with ra. dio. hanging fire for months. Stymie is - whether networks or. net-affiliated, stations are to pay retroactive coin differences be^ tweeri sustaining and = comrrtercial rates on shows sent out sustaining by the nets and .sold locally by Morris Agcy.,GAC Talk Booking Deal William Morris agency heads have been discussing arrangement ' with Th6rria.«i G. Rockwell; head Of General Artists Corp:, via which GAC would take over booking of the Morris band properties. Rock- well, Milton Krasny, GAC V.p., wlio flew in from Hollyvvood; last week,; and Momst.ex'eci^'are -to have discussed the' deal .witli. Rex Rfc- : fiardi,' of :the Aihericau FedefatioM ' of Musicians, but were advised to" secure the signatures of individual In the event a tele deal is set i Morris properties on GAC con- within the next three months, it j tracts, that, no. lump transfer could probably would precede renewal j be made without such procedure. Meanwhile Morris execs, and Rockwell; incidentally, continue to ■ state that the Morris agency will continue in the band business on a curtailed basis. Whether that .state-, ment means that Morris wiU re- reive 15% of the commissions gar- nered by GAC from the booking of ex-Morn."; liands is anybody's gues.s. chase; into a pot that already bolds the works Of sucb coniposers as ueni« vu«. »u... -o .... Darius Milhaud Alexandre Tans- Its tangles with Heidt are man, Paul Creston. Henry Coweil. ■ • Philip James, Robert McBride, .■ , , J those of Joseph Wagner, and ing whether or not the settlement plan effected by the disk manu- facturers and the American Federa- tion of Musicians is legal, it will delay the marketing of new pop tunes that muehjonger. And the longer they are held up the longer the music business figures to ^^rkfandlEostte^^^^^ maintai n its downward tre nd tion of Musicians for adjudication but MCA denies that such is the case nothing new; some years ago the maestro took violent exception to MCA's inability at that time to get him what he wanted and, unable to —-„ - a^v.^^^ (hAc sectirp'a rplpaqp from his contract, Am-Rus catalog. Among inose K uVht band and'^^^^^^^^^^^ "'I'^n'.h'Walter L«"ny Herman Set retired to the operation of his! Bela Bartok, E^jist Toeh JWaUer other interests, a California nitery,, Piston, Frederick Jacobi and Clif- hotels etc I fo"'*! Vaughn. When Heidt did return to the 1 About tvvo year* ago with an business about a year ago, he i tovvaid building a solid s^^^^ started out on his current Philco I and educational library, Lm^^ commercial, an assignment secured purchased the SP^af e-f o^man for him by Joe Glaser. Associated catalog and the pul^ ish.ng Booking Corp. head, who has been , rights to all of Joseph Schillingers drawing commissions on the work. I compositiona. At Tavern-on-Green Lenny Herman's six-piece orches- tra takes over the top slot at the Tavern-On-the-Green, New York, Dec. 8, replacing Irwin Kent, Com- bo will have sustaining wires. . Herman's orchestra just closed a long stay at the Congress hotel, Chicago. 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