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42
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
In the World of Music Publishing'
preceding numbers is not a cut into their regular
business, and they had not permanently reduced
In the Music Publishing World—An Air of the rate on all publications, especially their
Activity Prevails at the Leading Houses— operatic productions; for the orders must be sent
Jobbers and Their Ways Discussed— on the page taken from The Review in which it
appeared, and that but one order is accepted from
Dealers Sending in Good Orders.
each dealer. In other words the offer was for a
While publishers of the higher grades of music selected line of music at a special rate, and
are viewing with equanimity and a certain de- which ordinarily can be obtained only at the regu-
gree of satisfaction the gradual and steady re- lar figure. These "convention rates" are indeed
vival of interest in their lines, the producer of a splendid chance of which the dealer should take
popular airs is in a ferment of hustle, as is their prompt advantage.
work. The latter contingent have several mat-
ters to look after in marketing their output, each
ORGANIZE DEFENCE LEAGUE.
distinct and separate, yet all contributing to a
homogeneous whole, the net result spelling suc- Publishers and Composers and Others Interested
in Putting an End to the Musical Piracy in
cess if the scheme works out. Those methods re-
England Get Together and Will Fight for
quire a deal of attention, and often the most
Their Rights.
unpromising material is converted into a profit-
able proposition when one "knows the ropes,"
As a result of the public indignation meeting,
and how they should be manipulated.
held in London last month, under the auspices
Just now the situation is most promising, and of the Music Reform League, a "Musical Defence
general trade wears a brisk aspect in all the League" has been organized to continue the agi-
leading publishing houses. Sales continue in tation for the passage of the new copyright bill
good volume, and the basis of the larger deals during the parliamentary recess, and which
are mutually pleasing, if the size and frequency failed of passage during the recent session. The
of repeat orders are any criterion. The ever- League has been formed by publishers, compos-
present department store spectra has been receiv- ers and all directly and indirectly concerned in
ing scant attention, for with the reappearance in "the issue and sale of songs and sheet music.
the market of the regular trade buyers, this dis-
It is said regarding the merits of the bill that
turbing element is relegated to the background
"so
far as the music publishing trade is con-
for the nonce. Jobbers and their ways are a pro-
lific source of discussion, and in which both the cerned, their case is strong. All but a mere
publisher and dealer take a hand. For example, handful of the House of Commons recognize the
The Review was enlightened thusly on Monday: right of a composer and his publisher to the
product of his brains, and whatever opinion they
"With the jobbing trade business now is great, may hold as to the price of sheet music, they con-
and publishers in all lines have brightened up sider the point to have nothing to do with the
wonderfully over prospects, near and further protection of a man's copyrights. The proper
along. The dealer must certainly be getting a course now is to bring pressure upon the gov-
piece of the revival in business; for as a matter ernment—not, as has been done this year, at a
of fact, the basic demand depends upon their late period of the session, when the government
sales. The hustling jobber can do a whole lot, has no time to pass its own bills; but fairly early
however, and even before a song is heard profes- in the summer, so as to give the measure a
sionally in their vicinity, can still start the ball chance of passing the House of Lords."
rolling by judicious work in arousing public- in-
The Musical Defence League has a strong act-
terest. A few such men are as precious as dia-
ing
committee, which includes Herbert Marshall,
monds to the publisher of reputation. To be sure
president
of the Provincial Music Trades Associ-
he must have a list of wide-awake, progressive
ation;
Mr.
Littleton, of Novello's; Arthur Boosey,
dealers on his staff, and with such assistance the
of
Boosey
& Co.; W. Boosey, and Mr. Leslie, of
combination can frequently remove mountains in
John
Broadwood
& Sons, Ltd.; Sirs Hubert Parry,
the sale of sheet music. Their efforts are not
A.
C.
Mackenzie,
V. Stanford, and B. Blgar,
confined wholly to pushing the so-called popular
'stuff'; their clientele also demands the better Messrs. Messager, Tosti, Caryll, Monckton,
grades as well, therefore the activity covers their Rubens, Stanley Chappell, Cowen, Cummings,
German, McCunn, Adams, Sidney Jones, Leslie
entire stock.
Stewart, and David Day. It is intended that this
"Naturally the lighter publications appeal to the League shall be a permanent institution, even
greater number, and are always the first to move, after the passing of any copyright bill, and that
consequently the heaviest pushing is done in the it shall concern itself with "all questions where
direction giving the quickest returns. A dozen general interests are threatened, and safeguards
songs could be named that look well, but their for the general welfare of music are required.
fate will not be known until the jobber hears
from his dealers, and then the publisher knows
POPULAR AIRS BY BIRDS.
precisely where he is at, though sometimes it
takes a long while to pronounce the verdict, and A New Wrinkle for Publishers—Not More Diffi-
even at that, grievous mistakes have been made.
cult to Handle Than Professionals.
Right now business looks fine, and it will doubt-
Teaching birds to sing, the new wrinkle
less be still better when the vacation season is
adopted by the English fanciers, is soon to be
entirely over."
tried in this country. They find they can demand
a larger price for members of the feathery tribe
which can warble popular tunes. A young girl
The Splendid Offer Made by M. Witmark & i& placed near the cage and plays the flute by the
Sons—A Chance to Get a Strong Line at a hour. A bird at first takes no notice of the
strange, tremulous whistling notes, and it re-
Special Rate.
quires much patience on the part of the teacher.
The unique style of the series of advertise- After some time the bird begins to repeat the
ments which have been appearing in The Review first bar. That is the cue for the teacher, and
during the month has doubtless attracted marked the air is taken up on the flute where the bird
attention in the trade. This week, on page 43, stops, and gradually, bar by bar, the bird is
the concluding announcement is made, and "The taught the full tune. A bullfinch is said to be the
Witmark convention adjourns amid great en- easiest to teach to sing, and when they are de-
thusiasm." In M. Witmark & Sons' "proclama- clared profHcient they have a market value of
tion" the firm state that the prices quoted in the from $50 to ? 100. This is another opportunity
SITUATION MOST PROMISING
DEALERS' GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY.
for publishers of a freak lurn of mind to intro-
duce their new music. The birds can scarcely
be more trouble to teach or handle than many of
the professionals, male and female, who often re-
quire great circumspection of treatment to per-
form like service. According to stories afloat
the birds are easier and more reliable, and what
is more to their purpose, they never "bust" a
contract.
ADE'S ODE TO THE MICROBE.
At Last Immortalized by the Clever Master of
Slang and Operatic Verse.
"Animal songs have always been popular," said
George Ade, when discussing the salient features
of his new play, "The College Widow." "There
is 'The Tale of the Kangaroo' in 'King Dodo,'
'The Torpedo and the Whale' in 'Olivette,' and an
animal song of some kind in pretty near every
musical production. I looked the field over care-
fully and I found that my predecessors had prac-
tically exhausted the animal kingdom in their
lyrics. There is a whole menagerie versified,
ranging from 'Wang's' elephant to Emma Carus'
chimpanzee.
"The only animal I could find that had not
been pre-empted was the microbe, and so I wrote
a little song about the microbe. I don't claim for
it any great literary merit, but I do claim that it
shows a lot of research in scientific books, which
I am not overfond of reading, to secure the list
of words that make up its story, and on which
I have been working for more than a year. Here
it is:
THE MICROBE'S SERENADE.
From you, sweet germ, I'll never part;
A love-lorn microbe met by chance
At a swagger bacteroidal dance
A proud baclllian belle and she
Was first of the animalculae.
Of organisms saccharine
She was the protoplasmis queen,
The microscopical pride and pet
Of the biological smartest set,
And so this infinitesimal swain
Evolved a pleading, low refrain.
Oh, lovely protozoic germ !
What futile scientific term
Can well describe thy many charms?
Come to these embryonic arms!
Then hie away to my cellular home
And be my little diatome.
His epithelium burned with love.
He swore by molecules above
She'd be his own gregarious mate
Or else he would disintegrate.
This amorous mite of a parasite
Pursued the germ both day and night;
He'd warble to her ev-er-y day
A rhizopodical roundelay,
And 'neath her window often played
This Darwin-Huxley serenade :—
Oh, most primordial type of spore,
I never met your like before,
And though a microbe has no heart,
From you, sweet germ, I'll never part;
We'll sit beneath some fungus growth,
Till dissolution claims us both.
"If we can get a comedian who has got pa-
tience enough to learn the words in that song
without getting his tongue tied in half a dozen
hitches I don't see why it shouldn't be popu-
lar, but I can understand the wear and tear it
will put on a comedian's mind, not to mention
his voice."
LITIGATION OVER SONG.
Tuesday evening, when the musical comedy,
"The Isle of Spice," was produced at the Majestic
Theatre, New York, Sam S. Shubert and W. J.
Block, owners of the "Royal Chef," which opens
at the Lyric on September 1, went to the perform-
ance and served a writ on Bert -C. Whitney, the
manager of tne former production. The writ was
an order to show cause before the United States
Circuit Court, in October, why the production of
"Broomstick Witches" should not be enjoined.
Mr. Block believes that the song "Broomstick
Witches," which is one of the features of Mr.
Whitney's piece, is copied as to dances and stage
business from his copyrighted "Old Mother
Goose" song in "The Royal Chef,"