Music Trade Review

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42
THE
REVIEW OF TRADE CONDITIONS.
Songs for Vaudeville Artists Now in Demand
—Looking Forward to a Busy Fall—Coming
Productions Will Be of a Higher Grade—
Current Situation Reviewed.
With publishers making a specialty of songs
tor the vaudeville houses business has been ex-
cellent for the past few weeks and for the re-
mainder of the month will doubtless remain
unabated. Elsewhere trade is of the usual sum-
mer variety—quiet, and in the main not spe-
cially interesting. Hopes are being entertained
that the fall season will be unusually good for
music in the lighter vein, and a large crop of
melodies of this description are either ready for
publication or else in contemplation.
The general impression is that publishers in
this cia£s, with few exceptions, are not any too
robust when their financial standing is consid-
ered for mercantile rating. However this may
be, and more or less truth is involved in the
assertion, houses in this category are as chipper
and apparently as fre? of business care as if rid-
ing on the top wave of prosperity. This condi-
tion is regarded by the knowing ones—and
everybody seems to be in the secret, if such it
is—as general, and the noise originating in these
to conceal the true state of affairs is likened
unto "a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal."
Productions for the fall will be of a higher
grade, the work of recognized composers whose
ficce^s in light opera is sufficient assurance
that the promised works will be up to the former
btandard, and therefore successes in this hazard-
cus field of musical endeavor are being dis-
counted by sanguine publishers. In the line of
rerious and educational publications much is
promised, and from an inspection of manu-
ccripts already in the hands of publishers this
promise will bear fruit.
A publisher with unusual opportunities for
judging the current situation and the trend of
p.ffairs, said to The Review this week: "Houses
looking after the needs of the professional singer
have been and are yet busy. Stacks of new songs
will be heard the country over, and we are not
reserving the best for the large cities. The
smaller communities are just as critical judges
and very often they set the ball rolling to suc-
cess. Conditions might be improved, but what
is the use of trying to bring up a lot of finan-
cially irresponsible concerns to an understand-
Complete Tocal score and Separate Numbers of
44
THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA"
Book and Lyrlca by CHAS. EMERSON COOK.
Music by LUCIUS HOSMER.
Featuring the well-known prlma donna,
Mme. LILLIAN BLAUVELT.
Supplementary Songs In tbe following production! :
EDNA MAY'S New Musical Play,
"THE CATCH OF THE SEASON."
"RAINING"
.By Jerome D. Kern
WHUBERT BROS.' English Musical Comedy Success,
"THE EAHL AND TUB GIRL."
••HOW'D YOU LIKE TO Sl'OON WITH ME."
Max. C. Eugene's hit, "IN ROSELAND" Intermesxo
Published bv
T.
B. HARMS CO.
26 West 44th St.
NEW YORK
SPECIAL TO THE TRADE
Any SPECIAL SUMMER OFFERS
that you may have received are only
good to Sept. 1st next, after which
time, regular rates will prevail.
BETTER ORDER NOW !
GUS EDWARDS CO.
1512 Broadway,
N. Y. City
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
ing of why music cannot be sold below a certain
price without disaster. We will attend to our
knitting and let the rest do as they please. They
will do it anyhow."
SWINDLING OF IGNORANT PERSONS.
Some "Hot Shot" from the Sun for Some of
Those Gentlemen who Cater to the Public
Through the Daily Papers and Magazines.
Recently The Review took occasion to refer
to the petty swindling of ignorant people by so-
called publishers who are unknown in the trade,
except for their contemptible practices and im-
position by misleading advertising and circulars
to the public. Among legitimate publishers they
are known as "lemon squeezers." The New
York Sun takes a fall out of the same gentry,
from which the following is quoted:
"The 'lemon squeezers' say in their letter that
their attention has been called by a common
friend to the ability of the person addressed,-
and that without doubt a career of distinction
a? a song writer is open for him if he will only
lay aside his overweening modesty and make
the plunge. Also that the door of the Temple
of Fame is open to all who will but enter, and
that if a person has not confidence enough in
himself to write a song, 'we can submit to you a
quantity of choice manuscript from which you
can choose a song and have it published under
your own name. The circulars wind up with a
price list about as follows: 'We will furnish
manuscript and publish the song and furnish
you with 250 copies for $50. These sold at 25
cents each among your friends and townsmen
will bring you $62.50, a good profit on your in-
vestment. We will sell you all the additional
copies you want for 10 cents a sheet. If you
furnish the words and music we will correct it
and publish the same and furnish you 250 copies
for $35. This will give you a profit of nearly
100 per cent.'
"The profit to the "lemon squeezer' is large
under any circumstances. The actual expense
of getting out the 250 copies is never more than
$12, and seldom more than $10. Very few of
the songs will sing. Some of them lack metrical
construction, rhyme, rhythm, continuity of story
and sense. That this business is within the let-
ter of the law seems probable. Nevertheless it
causes not a little hardship to the victims of
the 'lemon squeezers.' Not long ago the writer
saw a letter from a man in Ohio stating that
he was blind and helpless, and had fallen a
victim to one of three lemon squeezing estab-
lishments and had spent $35 to get a song
published. Out of the 250 copies sent him he
had sold just twenty-two, and these no doubt
had been bought from him because the buyers
sympathized with his infirmity. He had been
persuaded to have the song published by the
glowing accounts of the money made by a dozen
or more celebrated song writers 'who had their
works published by the firm soliciting his order.'
He had also been promised a royalty of four cents
a sheet for all the songs sold by the firm, and
had been led to expect from their correspond-
ence with him that he would get each year quite
a sum in royalties. It did not dawn upon him
how badly he had been swindled until he found
out that his song would not sing and that he
could not sell it among his own personal ac-
quaintances. When the people who patronize these
lemon squeezing establishments learn that they
have been squeezed they conceal their chagrin
as a rule and say nothing. Those who com-
plain and write to their 'lemon squeezer' rarely
get an answer to their complaint, or in case of
an answer are told that Mr. So and So has re-
tired from business and gone to Europe to es-
tablish a business in London, or some other
story.
"One little town in Iowa has fui UL-IHMI no less
than a dozen victims and each and every one
has no doubt been made to believe that the rea-
son his nighbor's composition did not succeed
was that it wasn't as good as his own and that
his song surely would succeed. These people
will not learn by the experience of their neigh*
bors and they keep on sending in their money.
So lemon squeezing flourishes."
Local dealers should warn their community
against these harpies by displaying printed
warning notices in their stores; and, if necessary,
using the names of these concerns, which may
be found in several magazines they use.
HABJffiS CO.'S NEW NUMBERS.
"Meet Me aj Twilight," by Jerome B. Kern,
writer of "How Would You Like to Spoon With
Me?" the hit of the "Earl and the Girl," is re-
ferred to by T. B. Harms Co., its publishers,
as the big success of "The Little Cherub," th3
musical comedy now running at the Criterion
Theatre, New York, with Hattie Williams in the
title role.
"The Tourists," the music of which was writ-
ten by Gus Kerker, also published by the Harms
Co., opens the season September 1 at the Majes-
tic Theatre, New York. The comedy had its
premiere in Philadelphia in the "spring, running
two weeks, then going to Boston for eight
weeks. The song numbers are: "It's Nice to
Have a Sweetheart." "Dear Old Broadway,"
"Wouldn't You Like to Know?" "Keep On Doing
Something," "When I.ove Dies," "A Game of
Hearts," "Oh, Mr. Sun," 'That's the Time,"
"I.ove Is a Wonderful Thing," "Which One Shall
We Marry?"
Max Dreyfus, general manager of the com-
pany, who has been ipending his vacation in the
Adirondack Mountains, returned to New York
this week.
Miss Alice Shaw, who has earned world-wiue
fame by her wonderful talent of whistling, is
finding "Lords and Ladies" and "Cottonlanu,"
two of her best numbers, great enthusiasm tOi-
lows wherever these numbers are given.
Misses Churched and Niblo are the popular duo
in "Love Me and the World Is Mine," "Smile on
Me" and "Bill Simmons."
"The Stars, the Stripes and You," the new
Witmark ballad, is creating a furore wherever
given. Dorothy Randall is making a specialty of
it, and every one joins in the chorus spontane-
ously.
NOTICE
TO THE
TRADE
ON AND AFTER
July fst, Jgo6, all the Francis, Day publications previously handled by The T. B. Harms
Publishing Co. must be ordered direct from us.
The F., D. & H. Catalogue includes all
the music from
" FLORODORA"
" T H E SILVER SLIPPER"
"THE SCHOOL. GIRL"
etc.. etc., etc., etc., etc.
Francis, Day & Hunter,
NOW
15 w e
e
N E HToRK
READY:
THE STAR DANCE FOLIO
ISO. 6
The ' VV. W." Mandolin Collection
INO. A
THE REMICK ORCHESTRA FOLIO—NO. 1
JEROME H. REMICK & CO.
4R W e s t
28th Street,
New
^T WRITE FOR PRICES
York