Music Trade Review

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TRADE
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J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
R. W. SIMMONS, Editor Music Section
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COMMENTS B Y - „
The announcement by Leo Feist, the music
publisher of this city, that he has put into opera-
tion a plan which will satisfy his composers that
tney are fully protected in the mattter of roy-
alty payments, has already begun to bear fruit.
One of the details of Mr. Feist's plan, as told last
week, was that a protective guild be formed by
song writers to furnish its members with a regis-
tered stamp device to be affixed to each published
copy of music composed by the members. This
detail, however, it will be remembered, was to
follow the operation of the Feist plan, which
is primarily for the publisher to arrange with
the individual composer for the fixing of the
stamps on the music, irrespective of whether the
guild be formed. It develops that a nucleus of
such a guild is already in sight. Five composers,
whose works, by the way, are published by as
many different firms, have held a meeting with
a view to forming a guild, and it now seems cer-
tain that the Feist idea will be carried out in
Confidence and Co-operation Essential.
every particular. Mr. Feist will in any case
One of the particular advantages of the stamp
arrange with the composers to have their stamps
placed on all their music, but the guild would plan which Mr. Feist is to inaugurate will be
afford a double protection, as pointed out in the that even the composers themselves will be confi-
publisher's announcement. The guild would re- dent that they are receiving the full amount of
cord the number of stamps furnished the com- the royalties due them. Heretofore, even wii
poser, the name of the composition for which he the most favorably disposed composers, there has
obtained the stamps, and the name of the pub- always been a feeling of uncertainty on this
lisher to whom the stamps were delivered. The point. They may not have actually doubted the
function of the guild if, as seems likely, it be honesty of taeir publishers, but they have asked
formed, will be to preserve the publisher's re- themselves, "How do I know?" They have not
ceipt for the stamps, and this, in connection with wanted to go to the point of asking to have the
the guild's own record, will provide the double books of their publishers examined, for to an
honest firm that would have been an insult, be-
record.
sides tending to create ill-feeling which would
Obvious Benefit to Song Writers.
That the publisher who has proposed this inno- bar a mediocre composer from further favors
vation has inaugurated a substantial benefit for from those publishers, or cause a successful one
song writers is obvious. It happens, too, that he to turn to some other firm. There is one well-
has entered upon an undertaking which will add known composer, for instance, who has purchased
to the work of his force, and will be more ex- several houses, with land, from the proceeds of
pensive to him than to the composers. As Mr. his songs. It is a saying often heard among his
Feist informed the writer the other day, he esti- friends and acquaintances, however, that he
mates that it will cost more for clerical hire, would have bought several more houses and more
that the stamps may be properly affixed and ac- acres of land with royalties from his songs if he
counted for, than it will for the furnishing of the had been paid all the money to which he was
stamps themselves by the composers. The com- entitled by his contracts. This saying is gen-
posers ought to, and undoubtedly will, deeply ap- erally accepted as true, as the songs of this
preciate the innovation. It is a fact that although composer have in several instances enjoyed sales
the great majority of publishers are honest, there of hundreds of thousands of copies each. There
are nevertheless supposed to be a few who make is no doubt, on the other hand, that the publish-
a practice of not paying their composers the full ers concerned in this instance are absolutely
amount due the latter in royalties. Here is an honest. The point is that the fact that they
instance of how unfair publishers work. Mr. paid honest royalties has never been actually
Feist tells us of a composer who came to him proved, and there are always persons ready to
with a view to having him publish the music assume that a publisher or anyone else is guilty
of a production that had been accepted by cer- unless, reversing the usual order of American
tain managers. He inquired as to the percentage ways, he is first proved innocent. It thus ap-
of royalty which Mr. Feist would pay, and on pears that a general adoption of the Feist plan
being told it would be 10 per cent., the composer would be of benefit to publisher as well as to
replied that he already been offered 15 per cent. composer. It is desirable that an entente cor-
In the end he went to the 15 per cent, firm, and diale should exist at all times between publisher
"swung" the publishing rights over to them. In and composer. This is obviously impossible
the course of time he notified Mr. Feist that he where feelings of distrust exist. We go on
wished he had accepted that publisher's offer. record as saying that dishonest publishers are
In other words, his royalty would have been the unknown to us personally. To prove that none
15 per cent, from the other firm if he had got it. exists, we hope to see all publishers offering to
It was nominally that figure, but the total sum use royalty stamps. This would be reversing
which he realized convinced him that he didn't the American custom of assuming innocence un-
get it. He realized that there was little advan- til guilt is proved, but it would bring its reward
tage in being told that his royalty amounted to in mutual confidence and in co-operation, two
15 per cent., when, in fact, he was paid only 7 or elements which in music publishing, as in other
undertakings, are essential to success.
8 per cent.
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