BMI FIRST BIRTHDAY
On April 1st Broadcast Music,
Inc. began its second year after
hanging up a twelve-month rec
ord without parallel in the his
tory of the music business. In
the first week of April, 1940, no
one but a few insiders knew
whether BMI was a New Deal
bureau or a breakfast food. In
the first week of April, 1941, five
of the six biggest money-makers
in the coin phonographs were
published or licensed by BMI and
BMI also had seven of the best
selling records and thirteen out
of the fifteen sheet music best
sellers.
BMI was a tradition-buster
from the start. It was created
for the purpose of bucking
ASCAP (American Society of
Composers, Authors and Pub
lishers) which no one had ever
challenged successfully before.
BMI smashed a couple other
traditions— (1) the idea that
BMI’S BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT
Making gusty good wishes for Broadcast Music, Inc. around the first anniversary candle
are, left to right, Robert Sour and Henry Manners, who wrote W e Could Make Such Beauti
ful Music, the first song published by BMI; Merritt E. Tompkins, Vice President and General
Manager; Sydney M. Kaye, Executive Vice President and General Counsel; and Milton J.
Rettenberg, Chief of BMI's Editorial Department.
only a few old-timers knew how
to write a song, (2) the idea
that an unknown ought not to
get paid for the use of his music
even if the public did like it.
Then one more tradition had
a funeral— the unknowns pro
duced hits!— and hit after hit!
BMI’s brilliant first year brought
to light no less than 18 new
writers of hit-making calibre— a
record never equalled by any
music publisher in any country.
Chicago's ev en tf ul hotel
enchanting guest rooms of a new era
. . . an incom parable parade of swing
kin gs . . . fla m in g sw ord d in n ers in
college inn's panther room and malaya
room . . . all n in e restaurants offer
delicious food at surprisingly reasonable
prices . . . thronged with celebrities,
fro m
*21? *3 *31* *4
chicago
V drive right into the h o te l,a s you are 9
64
AUTOMATIC AGE
© International Arcade Museum
I Hear a Rhapsody, There I Go,
You Walk By, I Give You My
Word, So You’re the One, High
on a Windy Hill, Practice Makes
Perfect, The Same Old Story, It
All Comes Back to Me Now, May
I Never Love Again, and The
Wise Old Otvl were among the
national best sellers written by
BMI “ finds.”
Hollywood— Movie actors ac
tually put their spare pennies
into arcade machines used as
props in a scene from Tom,
Dick and Harry.”
May, 1941
http://www.arcade-museum.com/