Variety (December 1954)

Wednesday, December Mixed Reaction to RCA Plan Continued from page 1 the industry. He felt that disk prices were too high three years ago and sees Victor’s move as sta- bilizing the industry on a healthy price base. “It will mean a squeeze on the mail order and discount houses,” Kay said, “but it will lo- calize a lot of business. And that is good.” Squeeze Play Kay explained that in recent years Liberty Music Shops were also compelled to give discounts because of the competitive situa- tion, but from the viewpoint of day-to-day business, he was all for setting up a practical list price structure. Kay’s sentiments were echoed by several neighborhood re- tailers who stated that now, for the first time, it would pay to stock up on classical longplay merchandise v^hich they could sell to local traffic. Goody, who does a $3,000,000 an- nual business, half of which is in mail order, stated that Victor ac- counted for about 18-20% of his total business. The decreased value of his merchandise therefore is the first negative impact of the Victor announcement. “We knew about a price reduction four months ago, ’ Goody said, "and so we bought carefully. But we still think it’s a rough deal.” Goody pinpointed Victor’s elimi- nation of the 5% return privilege on longplay disks as the weak link in the plan. He stated that the other major companies assured him IF W, Latest I DECCA 9 Release ^STARS NEVER CRY 1 NOT TOO YOUNG TO HAVE MEMORIES CHARLIE APPLEWHITE P«r. Mgt. Direction WYNN LASSNER WM. MORRIS AGENCY they would retain the 5% return privilege. He has received assur- ances, moreover, irom two major companies that their prices would remain the same for the next 90 days and got the same guarantees from three important indies in the longhair field. Sam Goody's $3.50 In any case, Goody said that he would sell all his 12-inch disks at $3.50, a mere 50c reduction from Victor’s new $3.98 price. He was not convinced that Victor’s price slash would multiply business.’ Stating he always sold for $3.50 and sometimes for even less, Goody never found the customers break- ing down his doors even at those prices. He conceded, however, that local dealers might benefit by the price development. Goody believed that many of the major labels would hold the line at $4.98 and buck Victor’s lower price by fancier packaging. (Victor, incidentally, will continue to re- lease de luxe packages at higher prices and has set its showtune sets at the $4 98 figure along with HMV releases). Costs Goody didn’t see how the major companies could profitably cut prices. He pointed out that it cost from 60c to 65c to press each disk with packaging, royalty and selling costs the same, the possibility of cutting prices and coming out ahead were slim. Victor execs, however, believe that per-unit man- ufacturing costs can be drastically cut by a doubling or trebling of the gross output. According to George R. Marek, Victor’s artists & repertoire man- ager, the company’s immediate ob- jective is the doubling of its busi- ness, along with the industry as a whole. Victor is putting $2,000,000 on the line to carry through the project and he was confident that ; it ranks among the company’s greatest merchandising coups. The sales impact of price reduc- tions was manifested back in 1948. I before longplay disks were intro- duced, when Columbia cut prices on $2 classical disks in half. Sales I immediately shot up. mm- : i GEORGE SHEARING QUINTET Play Undecided Adieu MGM 11874 78 RPM K 11874 45 RPM MGM RECORDS 0 THE G k E A T E S T NAME 'N entertainment > c v t N ■ h A v E N E W YORK 3 6 Scoreboard TOP TALENT AND TUNES — \ ' Compiled from btuusucal tie ports of Distribution Encompassing the Three Major Outlets Coin Machines Retail Disks Retail Sheet Music as Published in the Current Issue NOTE: The current comparative sales strength of the Artists and Tunes listed hereunder t* arrived at under a statistical system comprising each of the three major sales outlets enu- merated above. These findings are correlated with data from wider sources, which are exclusive with Variety. The positions resulting from these findings denote the OVERALL IMPACT de- veloped from the ratio of points scored, two ways in the case of talent (coin machines, retail disks) and three ways in the case of tunes (coin machines, retail disks and retail sheet music). TALENT POSITIONS This Last Week Week ARTIST AND LABEL TUNE JOAN WEBER (Columbia) Let Me Go, Lover CHORDETTES (Cadence) Mister Sandman AMES BROTHERS (Victor) Naughty Lady of Shady Lane This Ole House ROSEMARY CLOONEY (Columbia) - Mambo Italiano Hey There 11 Need You Now EDDIE FISHER (Victor) 4 {Count Your Blessings [Fanny De CASTRO SISTERS (Abbott) Teach Me Tonight [Papa Loves Mambo PERRY COMO (Victor) 'Home for the Holidays [Things I Didn’t Do Shake, Rattle and Roll BILL HALEY’S COMETS (Decca) {Dim, Dim the Lights Rock Around the Clock FONTANE SISTERS (Dot) • Hearts of Stone rAITD . r n C /r . v [Mister Sandman FOLK ACES (Decca) ] It - s a Woman's World TUNES (♦ASCAP. +BMI) POSITIONS This Last Week Week TUNE PUBLISHER ♦MISTER SANDMAN Morris fLET ME GO, LOVER ; Hill & Range ♦NAUGHTY LADY OF SHADY LANE x . Paxton ♦TEACH ME TONIGHT Hub-Leeds fTHIS OLE HOUSE Hamblen ♦COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS Berlin *1 NEED YOU NOW Miller ♦PAPA LOVES MAMBO Shapiro-Bernstein fHEARTS OF STONE ;... Regent ♦MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE Rylan BANDLEADERS’ AGENCY IN RELAY BOOKINGS Chicago, Dec. 28. Unique booking practice of new- ly-formed Orchestras Inc., wherein five bandleaders are shareholders in a Chi bureau operated by Bill Black, has three of the orchs hand- ing down the stick in relay fashion at two locations. Bands follow in succession at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, while their order is re- * Best British Sheet Sellers (Week ending Dec. 18) London, Dec. 20. Hold My Hand Wood Santo Natale Spier Can’t Tell Waltz Reine.. If I Give My Heart.. .Robbins This Ole House Duchess Mister Sandman Morris Veni, Vidi, Vici Dash Count Your Blessings. Berlin Happy Wanderer ...Bosworth My Friend Chappell My Son Kassner Must Be A Reason ..Connelly % Second 12 No One But You Robbins Smile ... Bourne Sky Blue Shirt Wright I Love Paris Chappell I Still Believe .Macmelodies Finger of Suspicion. . Pickwick Mama Doll Song ..... Leeds Things Mean a Lot...Robbins Heartbeat .Kassner Wait For Me ........ Lafleur Story of Tina . Macmelodies High-Mighty .Harms-Connelly versed in a concurrent string at the O’Henry Ballroom in Chicago. Upshot is that they’ve milked a pair of sites for solid bookings for several months to come. Don Reid opened the Peabody for four weeks Dee. 13, with Ray Pearl following directly for a fort- nighter and Russ Carlyle for an- other pair through March 20. Pearl 1 started a six-framer at the O’Henry I last week before answering the Peabody commitment. He’s fol- lowed at the dancery by Don Reid for five weeks Feb. 13 and by Russ Carlyle on April 16 for six frames. Carlyle is also playing the Schroe- der Hotel in Milwaukee Jan. 11 for two and is set to open a new Key- stone Room in Fort Worth’s Texas Hotel, beginning next Sept. 9. A fourth member of the Orches- tras Inc. stable, Larry Galth, takes over the Peabody for two weeks March 21. It’s Music by JESSE GREER Program Today Yesterday's ONCE IN A LIFETIME FROM EARL CARROL'S ''VANITIES" ROBBINS Fort Wayne Dance Spot Opened By Band Singer Fort Wayne, Dec. 28. Cliff AyreS, singer formerly with Sammy Kaye, Les Brown, Tony Pastor and other name bands, re- cently opened up Melody Acres, formerly known as Covington Downs Barn, near Fort Wayne, for round and square dancing. The spot will feature name bands on occasion. Six months ago Ayres returned to Fort Wayne and moved the of- fices of the Emerald Record Co. here from New York. The EVnerald records are made by 14 country and western music stars, headed by Lullabelle and Scotting. i "MV OjJ- ? l TRUE l ° VE -'I (lato ■\V\r.flV WILL OSBORNE AND HIS ORC’H. Now 41 it Wook Naw Goldan Hotel, Reno Mgt.: MILTON DEUTSCH