Music Trade Review

Issue: 1910 Vol. 50 N. 14

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
MUSIC TR\DE
VOL.
L. N o . 14.
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 1 Madison Ave., New York, April 2, 1910
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
$2.00 PER YEAR.
"Musical
Ascensions." This
This is
is a
a book
book for
for the
the Q > W # FURNISS BACK FROM LONG TRIP
Musical Ascensions."
teacher and pupil, and also for the layman—a
W. L. Coghill, Now Publication Manager of the
look of reference that it would seem hard to do Traveling Representative for C. H. Ditson &
Co. Well Pleased with Success Achieved.
John Church Co., Will Keep the Product of
without. "Left Hand Etudes," by August Wil-
This Country's Composers to the Fore.
liam Hoffman, has called forth commendatory
George W. Furniss, traveling representative of
letters from the best known pedagogues in the
W. L. Coghill, the new manager of the pub- country. Gilbert Spross and Harriet Ware are Chas. H. Ditson & Co., returned to this city last
lication department of the John Church Co., is among the other contributors to the Church Tuesday after a 10,000-mile business trip through
now deeply immersed in the details of extensive catalog. The success of the latter's works has the South, Southwest, and Northwest. He found
plans which he has laid for the further expan- been of the highest, especially during the last the music trade in a most flourishing condition
sion of the business of his department. Follow- year, and the compositions of Mr. Spross are everywhere, he tells The Review, and his trip was
ing the conservative, yet painstakingly thorough, too well known to call for detailed mention as the most successful by several thousand dollars
policy which has always distinguished the proving high achievement. If American com- of any of his annual journeys through the sec-
Church business, Mr. Coghill has evidently de- posers feel they need encouragement, those of tions mentioned. He was gone three months,
cided that a touch of added aggressiveness will them whose works are in the Church catalog representing exclusively the Ditson publications,
assure both a continuation of and an increase in may rest assured that Mr. Coghill also believes including the Musicians' Library, instrumental
satisfactory results accruing from the firm's that it is needed and that the best publishing and theoretical works, educational works for
students and teachers, and everything, in fact,
methods, while crystallizing more quickly into policy is to extend it.
from primers to sheet music. The places visited
form the issues involved. Such, at least, is the
included Southern California and the Pacific
impression gained for The Review during a talk
coast through Washington and Oregon, then to
WILL REPRESENT WITMARKS.
with Mr. Coghill since he undertook the man-
agement of the publication department. Mr. Irving M. Wilson to Look After Publishers' Vancouver Island, B. C, Winnipeg, Butte, Mont,
Fargo, N. D., Great Forks, N. D., Chicago, In-
Coghill is thoroughly familiar with the various
Interests in 'Frisco Branch.
dianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville,
phases of the music business, his knowledge hav-
ing been acquired in the course of fifteen years
M. Witmark & Sons' latest stroke of enterprise Memphis, New Orleans, Mobile, Atlanta, Wash-
of application for mastery of the different is the opening of a new branch of their large ington, D. C, and Baltimore.
branches.
"Business everywhere is improving greatly,"
and far-reaching business, at No. 127 Montgomery
"To outline briefly the policy of this depart- street, San Francisco. Here members of the he says. "Music dealers are taking on new lines
ment, I may say that we are to bring and keep musical profession and music trade who either readily, and it is an easy matter to sell them the
more prominently to the fore the works of our reside in or are visiting San Francisco will be re- higher grade publications. Music stores are pros-
American composers," he said. "By this, I mean ceived by Irving M. Wilson, who has been placed perous almost without exception, and the larger
ones are steadily growing still larger. Most of
that, although their works are now enjoying the in charge of their Far Western headquarters.
the leading piano houses in every city now have
highest prestige, we nevertheless propose that M. Witmark & Sons.
our efforts shall be more closely concentrated on business with his father. Subsequently he aban- sheet music departments, as their proprietors
them, and in this connection differentiation will doned this field, and hereafter will devote his wish to have representative establishments. The
be made as regards American and foreign com- entire time to promoting the interests of M. present condition and also the outlook are very
encouraging, and I have no complaints to make
posers. In other words, we will see to it that Witmark & Sons.
the great number of high grade singers and
teachers, musicians of standing in all parts of
the country, who are interested in American
works and inclined to show preference for these,
shall have such put before them. We are going
to force the issue strongly in having the works
of our composers, theoretical, pedagogical,
choral, vocal—in fact, their works in every line
—used in music courses, in churches, or what-
ever are their respective places, throughout the
country. The field in which we shall labor with
especial industry is the copyright field. The
day of reprints is past. The pursuit of our
policy, of course, will be directed along high-
class lines exclusively. Extension of the copy-
right field is the only way in which to broaden
business, for nothing in the way of expansion
is promised by reprints. We intend to increase
demand by 'pushing' that which appeals to the
better class of singers and the higher grade of
teachers."
Among the publications which the John
Church Co. will feature according to this policy,
we learn, are the choral works of Wiliam G.
Hammond. These have already achieved dis-
tinction and success, and are in the hands of
some of the most prominent musical organiza-
tions of the country. In the cantata, "The
Message From the Cross," the Church Company
believe they have a second "Crucifixion." With
the idea of disseminating general musical knowl-
edge, as well as of setting forth an epitome
Chas. K. Harris at His Desk in His Private Office in the Firm's New Quarters, Columbia
thereof, the company have issued a book called
Theater Building, Broadway and Forty-Seventh Street.
PREFERENCE FOR AMERICAN WORKS.
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
4G
EDWARD LYMAN BILL - Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SP1LLANE, Managing Editor
R. W. SIM vtONS, Editor Music Section
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madlsra Avenue, New Yerk
SUBSCRIPTION. (Including postage), United State* and
Mexico, $2.00 per year; Canada, $1-50; all «ther coun-
tries, $4.00.
Telephones—Numbers 4677 and 4fl78 Gramerey
Connecting a l l Departments
NEW YORK, APRIL 2 , 1910
All matter of every nature intended
for this department should be addressed
The Editor Music Section Music Trade
Review, 1 Madison Avenue, New York.
COMMENTS B Y - „
MUSIC
TRADE: REVIEW
difficult anyway, and proof would be well-nigh
impossible, as publishers themselves have found
when their published pieces have been copied in
part at various times in the past. We would
say that an aspiring composer should choose
some reputable publisher whose standing is such
as to make him feel that he could not afford to
jeopardize his business by corrupt practices,
even if he contemplated doing so. If the com-
position submitted is found to give indication of
final commercial value, the publisher would be
not only willing but anxious to encourage the
composer, in the hope that he would produce
other compositions of equal merit and submit
them to the same publisher. Finally, the ob-
taining of a copyright prior to sending in the
music is a hint that the composer suspects lack
of honesty on the part of the publisher, and be-
sides being something of an insult, this cannot
be said to precede the showing of any special
favors by the publisher.
one price to both the regular dealer and the ten-
cent store, the figure being eight cents per copy,
£ though the latter store had been buying the
more music. He asked the proprietor of the
regvlar store why he did not display his popular
miu-k' better and then employ a demonstrator.
Tre proprietor replied, "What, and lose our dig-
nity?" Naturally, the publisher felt a bit dis-
couraged at the inconsistency, which, of course,
lay in the fact that the music store proprietor
wanted to obtain the profits accruing from the
sale of popular music and yet did not take the
best means toward that end. Inconsistency was
shown further in the attitude of the proprietor
in selling popular music and yet half trying to
hide the fact. Fortunately, such instances are
rare, as the thousands of regular dealers
throughout the country will say to themselves
as they read this. The point is that co-operation
between dealer and publisher is the rallying
cry of to-day in the matter of meeting existing
needs. The publishers are willing, as never be-
fore, to extend co-operation as regards prices,
so that the dealers may meet competition. The
dealers, in turn, should co-operate by keeping
strictly up to date in methods, and, in fact, the
dusty shelves and dark windows have become
things of the past, gave in exceptional cases.
Question
Inconsistency has been a charge often made
by music publishers and dealers, one side
against the other. Certain triumphs in this re-
spect have assuredly been achieved by some
publishers, especially as regards complaints of
evils, but lack of any action, as we have had
occasion to remark in times past. It is now
the dealer's turn to face a similar charge, al-
though it is not based on similar grounds. One
of the leading New York publishers told the
writer recently that in the course of a business
trip to Albany he took occasion to compare the
selling methods of a large music store there
and those of the sheet music department of a
nearby ten-cent store. He found the music in
the latter establishment well displayed, as usual,
with a demonstrator hard at work. In the music
store he found that practically all of the pop-
ular music was under the counters, or was so
arranged in piles as not to call any special at-
tention to it. The publishers had always made
of Caution
When Small Accounts Yield
in Copyrights.
A correspondent writes us for advice as to
whether it is necessary to copyright a composi-
tion before sending it to a publisher. This is a
question which seems to agitate many a hope-
ful composer. We have no hesitation in saying
that when a composer contemplates sending a
manuscript to a publisher, he need not take the
trouble to obtain a copyright in advance; pro-
vided, however, that he ascertains that the repu-
tation of the publisher is established as the re-
sult of businesslike methods that have brought
more or less prosperity. A publisher who has
gained this reputation is not one to risk it for
the sake of an unknown quantity such as any
song, no matter how promising, must always
be. That is the business side of the case, and
is given because the ethical side is not always
convincing to the skeptical. But, even in the
case of an unscrupulous publisher, the composer
would gain little by having procured a copy-
right in advance. The publisher, if he were so fire "big seller.''
inclined, could easily purloin parts of the com- The names and descriptions of the numbers
position in such a way that detection would be are then given. It is such publishers as these
This collection will ap-
peal most to lovers of
gems from the operas
through the fact that it is
complete in every respect,
and contains all the fa-
vorite standard operas in-
cluding selections from
Contes D'Hofftnan, Lak-
me, Eugene Onegin, etc.
The melodies selected are
the
ones
with
which
everybody is familiar and
t h e arrangements a n d
modern fingering are spe-
cial features which will
appeal to the intelligent
lover of the piano. Price
75 cents.
We are the publishers of the
music of
"The Arcadians"
Now the season's hit in both
London and New York
Chappell & Co., Ltd.,
'Tis Sweeping the Country !
"WHERE THE
RIVER SHANNON
FLOWS"
HINDS, NOBLE & ELDREDGE, 31-35 West 15th Street, New York
By JAMES I. RUSSELL
SOME OF OUR REAL HITS
It is one of the BIGGEST of our BIG
"THE
CUBANOLA
GLIDE"
(,«£?„£&,)
"MY
SOUTHERN
ROSE"
song)
" K E E P YOUR FOOT ON T H E SOFT P E D A L "
Son a n d
" T i n
H c F .
V
n U
n l K o H n f M l
R
11 ft
°
t
T I i U
K M
b " V ( Instrumental^
HITS and grows BIGGER each d a y !
Anticipate the Demand.
"HIP-HIP-HYPNOTIZE
M E " >son 0
G I V E M Y R E G A R D S TO M A B E L " (So
N EW S Y S ORK L O"FICE TO
Order Now
M. WITMARK & SONS
NEW YORK
HARRY VON TILZER MUSIC PUBLISHING COMPANY
AD D
Big Totals.
One of the local publishing firms is sending
out letters to individual music dealers in every
part of the country in pursuit of its policy of
getting every bit of available business to be
had. This is, of course, nothing new in the
publishing field, but the energy with which this
particular firm are carrying out the idea is ex-
ceptional. The result is that the prices obtained
by this firm are the highest in the city, with
only one or two exceptions. By getting an order
for a thousand copies here, and for a few hun-
dred "shorts" there, the publisher referred to
obtains orders for a total number of copies
which, if sent in by a few individual stores,
would be cited as enormous. The introduction
to the letters reads as follows, and may be of
passing interest to other publishers, if only for
purposes of comparison:
"The following is in reference to our new is-
sues for this month. We have published only
lour numbers so far this year (March 10),
and each of them had to show that they had
selling qualities before we offered them to the
trade. It is our intention never to publish a
number until we have first given it a thorough
try-out with our professional staff. Working on
these lines, we know that you can always depend
on every number that we issue as being a sure-
LONDON
PARIS
CHICAGO
' 2 5 West 43d Street, New York City
NcKINLEY
JOBBERS
SHEET MUSIC
We Guarantee Riling Your Orders Complete
the Same Day Received.at Lowest Prices.
CHICAGO
MCKINLEY MUSIC CQ
NEW YORK

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