Variety (Mar 1949)

46 ORCHESHtAS-MUSIC Wcdneeday, March 2, 1949 45'S WINNING SALES, RCA-VICTOR STRESSES Philadelphia, March 1. RCA-Victor sales executives as- sert that the demonstration teams now moving in and out of Camden showing the-company's new 45.rpm disks are meeting with unexpected sales success. Victor men refuse to quote figures, but it's pointed out that ^Victor fully expected to meet much heavier resistance from I distributors and dealers to the . 45's due to the widespread dissat- isfactionu among the latter with Victor's bringing out the new disks. Distrifos and dealers felt that Victor had confused, the public with its 45's, following the intro- : diiction of Columbia Records' 33 rpra disks, to the point where buy- ing sloped off considerably. As a result, Victor's teams fully expect- ed to find the fire of stunted sales lingering in the eyes of dealers and distribs. They found it to be true in many instances but, it's as- serted, after the demonstrations dealers placed orders. Whether that's due to the fact that many record dealers are also dealers in BGA-Victor radio and combinations is anybody's guess. indecision Dropping , Cincinnati, March 1. Re that argument between Co- lumbia Records and RCA-Victor over their .respective SSM) rpm Mi- crogroove Long-Playing and the 45 rpm disks, one prominent dealer here states the indecision of the public over the two new types is dropping. He claims that almost of his current business is in Columbia Microgrooves, and the pei'centage is rising. Columbia's local distrib asserts those figures just about match his evaluation of cuiTent sales locally. RETAIL SHEET BEST SELLERS Survey of retail sheet mwsic sales, based on reports obtained from leading stores in 12 cities ond. showing comporatitje sales rating for this and lost toeek,^ National Batinr This Last wk. wk. Week Ending FEB. 26 Title and Publisher e o ■ h 6 a CO I T O T A L P O 1 N T S BMI PLANS MPIS. PACT POINT i Chicago, March 1. j Broadcast Music, Inc. licensing i division will open a Minneapolis ! office this month, increasing mid- , west expansion program started last tall. Stan Myers, regional head of BMI, will set up' new Minny oC- lice and select local head from '.area. . 'South Pacific' Album Set by Columbia Records Columbia Records will cut and market an album from the score of the forthcoming Dick Rodgers- Oscar Hammerstein, 2d, musical, "South Pacific." Wax will be made with the original cast, including Ezio Piniia and Mary Martin, both of wliom are under contract to Columbia. Miss Martin was signed only recently. Contract terms for the disking of the* tunes by the cast were com- pleted late last week. Wurlitzer Co. Sued Chicago, March 1. Coin Machine Acceptance. Corp.. I filed suit in Chi federal district' j court last week against Rudolph' 1 Wurlitzer Co. for $588,606. | I Suit claimed Coin Machine Ac-' I ceptance had been financing pur-1 I chases of jukeboxes made by Wurl- i . itzer, under an agreement in; i which Wurlitzer would make good : i when buyers failed to make pay-■ I ments. Suit furtlier claims $255,- 170 was due from retail purchases ' and $333,436 from purchases by I distribs. I Ahlert Still Ailing, Coast Trip Deferred Fred Ahlert, president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, was not sufficiently recovered from a se- vere flu attack to fly Coastward over the weekend to preside over the semi-annual meeting with Coast ASCAP-itcs. • Ahlert was supposed to get out for the first time in three weeks Monday (28), but bad weather in New York kept him indoors. PHILCO RAISES VOICE VS. RCA-VICWS 45'S Philco Corp. got into the word 1 battle of the rpm's last week when i its John M. Otter, veepee and gen- leral sales manager, stated that I Philco "has no plans to produce 45 ! rmp record players" capable of re- ■ producing RCA-Victor's new dcvol- , opment. Reference, to Victor's baby I was tacked onto a statement assert- ! ing that public reaction to Colum- i bia Record's Microgroove Lbng- I Playing rpm disks convinces Philco' that it is on the right track, r Statement deplored the lack of ' standardization in the recording ' and phonograph industry, caused ; by the introduction of 33VS and later the 45 rpm speeds as against the standard 78 spinning. Philco's argument is based on the theol-e I that both- 33 «j and 78 have been accepted as standard for years. Morris' $70,000 Campaign On 'Yankee' film Score I Hollywood, March 1. ; Radio plug campaign on tune^ from Paramount's "A Connecticut (Yankee" will be launched next Wed. (9) when Bing Crosby will ' introduce the entire score on his ; program. It's the first time he's ' introed the entire score of a pic on I one film, and the ballyhoo is part 1 of a $70,000 campaign b e i n g launch^ by the Edwin H. (Buddy) Morris music combine to. sell four new tunes from the film. Morris' Melrose and Mayfair pubberies will split the score.- Melrose will get "Once and For Always" and "Busy Doin' Nothing," and Mayfair will handle "When Is Sometime" and "Stub Your Toe On the Moon." Although a total of 47 disks were cut on the four tunes (ma.ior labels etched several faces in November, 1947) when the wax ban loomed, Morris and Paramount have sue- ceeded-in keeping them from the- market thus far. They are now being shipped to wholesalers. Sheets are being printed against the film's April 1 bow at Radio City Music Hall.