Music Trade Review

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THE: MUSIC TRADE:
EDWARD LYMAN BILL • Editor and Proprietor
J. B. SPILLANE, Managing Editor
R.W.SIMMONS, Editor Music Section
Published Every Saturday at 1 Madlsra Avenoe. New Ytrk
SUISCRIPTION, (Including postage), United Statee and
Mexico, *2.ou per year; Canada, 11.60; ail ether coun-
tries, $4.00.
Telephone*—Number* 4677 and 4678 Gramercy
Connecting nil Departments
NEW YORK, MAY 2 8 , 1 9 1 0
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 -
No credit accrues to the popular music publish-
ing industry by allegations of piracy, as be-
tween one publisher and another. Nor is it an
edifying spectacle when a United States mar-
shal swoops down on the offices of a music pub-
lisher, seizes all the copies of a certain song
which the latter has, and carts them away in a
truck. Such incidents, therefore, are regret-
table. An official carrying out the directions of
the writ acts officially and impersonally. It fol-
lows that the matter rests with the contending
publishers. If one of these honestly believes
that a publication of his has been infringed upon
he can hardly be blamed for seeking redress in
court. On the other hand, the proceeding just
outlined is a serious blow to a publisher who is
made the defendant. If he is guilty it is none
the less severe because deserved, and if innocent
it must be all the more heavy the while it is well-
nigh maddening. Guilt or innocence rests with
a court to determine in a given case, but mean-
REIVIEIW
while the fact remains that the song whose cop-
ies have been seized become "dead" to its pub-
lisher for months, at the end of which period it
may easily be too late for further exploitation
for the number concerned ever to become a finan-
cial success. Times change, the public's taste
becomes satiated with a certain song-idea that
may have had a vogue, or #ome new theme for
popular music may suddenly develop and cause
to be passes all the numbers that had been en-
joying popular favor. Music dealers be-
come involved, too, having perhaps laid in stocks
of a certain song only to read that it is an al-
leged infringement upon some other, and possi-
bly being warned not to sell it. As concerns the
business of publishing popular music, however,
no one will deny that this has been sufficiently
maligned in the past to make desirable an ab-
sence of events such as may seem to give fur-
ther cause for criticism.
Action Advisable Only When Forced.
The public has heard enough of charges that
all popular songs are alike to one another. Mil-
lions of persons look to popular music as their
one source of music enjoyment, it is true, and
will continue to do so. But the respect of the
public is not a thing to be lost without regret,
and, although such a calamity has not taken
place, it cannot be said that acts of piracy or al-
leged piracy, and the airing of such tend in any
way to prevent it. Clearly, the one thing needed
is for all publishers to observe extreme care that
no hint of plagiarism be given in their publica-
tions. Although logical, this is nearly impos-
sible. But when cause for doubt or suspicion
arises the best, as well as the courteous, thing
for a publisher to do when he thinks himself in-
jured is to approach the supposed offender and
endeavor to have the objectionable song with-
drawn from and kept out of the market forever.
Such action has been taken in several instances
to our knowledge in the last few months. There
have also been two writs of seizure executed in
the same time, not to mention a suit for damages
and another suit for restraint of publication on
the ground of infringement. If diplomatic ad-
vances prove futile, recourse to the courts be-
comes necessary, of course, but it is to be hoped
that in the future they will be at least made in
the hope of obviating necessity for drastic ac-
tion. Of the merits of the latest case of such
action we do not presume to speak, nor do we
know what details preceded the issuance of the
writ of seizure. We treat of music publishing
difficulties in general terms, and anything that
tends to discredit one music publisher can hardly
be said to make more favorable the light in
which music publishers as a body are regarded.
In other words, let us hope that in the future
writs of seizure will be eventuations arising from
the actual compulsion of business protection. If
they have been so in the past, may they so
continue to be so limited.
WITH THE CHICAGO PUBLISHERS.
New Association, Formed to Correct Certain
Evils of the Trade, Elects Officers—Song
Slide Singers Must Pay for "Professional
Copies"—Morse Prints Maintain Gold Letter-
ing on Office Windows—News of Individual
Song Successes—Other Trade Gleanings.
(Special to The Review.)
Chicago, 111., May 21, 1910.
The Music Publishers' Protective Association
of Chicago is now an assured fact, and as a nat-
ural sequence of several meetings held recently,
was organized with a view of eliminating sev-
eral of the existing evils regarding misuse of pro-
fessional copies, song slides, orchestrations, etc.
The election of officers, which took place re-
cently, resulted as follows: Jules Von Tilzer,
of the York Music Publishing Co., permanent
chairman; W. G. Christopher, of the House of
Christopher, secretary, and Will Rossiter, of the
house of that name, treasurer. Meetings will be
held regularly at the Saratoga Hotel, where all
matters of interest will be brought up.
The association has already passed resolutions
providing that, beginning with June 1, all song
slide users and "spotlight" singers, instead of re-
ceiving a professional copy of the music gratis,
will be compelled to purchase same for ten
cents; also that the sum of thirty-five cents will
be charged users for each slide brought back in
a damaged condition.
The discussions previous to the passing of the
foregoing resolutions developed the fact that the
professional copies given out in many instances
to slide users were both given away and sold
Furthermore, these found their way into the
SOME OF OUR REAL HITS
MESSRS. CHAPPELL & CO., Ltd.
are the publishers of
THE REIGNING MUSICAL SUCCESS
THE ARCADIANS
Music by Talbot and Monckton
(Produced by Mr. Charles Frohman)
FRANZ LEHAR'S NEW OPERA
THE MAN WITH THREE WIVES
(To be produced shortly by Messrs. Shubert)
"THE
CUBANOLA
G L I D E "
(, n » m :flLi)
"MY
SOUTHERN
R O S E "
" K E E P YOUR FOOT ON T H E SOFT P E D A L " song
"THE
Y I D D I S H A R A G " (..ifeV.SLi)
"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 "
s ono
HARRY VON TILZER MUSIC PUBLISHING COMPANY
"N^OSKOFFICE"
IVAN CARYLL AND LIONEL MONCKTON'S
SUCCESSFUL MUSICAL PLAY
OUR MISS GIBBS
THEODORE MORSE'S NEW HITS !
(To be produced shortly by Mr. Charles Frohman)
LONDON'S LATEST CRAZE
"MOLLY LEE"
"KITTY GRAY"
"HE'S A COLLEGE BOY"
THE BALKAN PRINCESS
" R E D C L O V E R " (Song and Intermezzo)
" B L U E F E A T H E R " (Song and Intermezzo)
A Musical Play by Paul A. Rubens
(To be produced by Mr. W. A. Brady)
CHAPPELL & CO., Ltd.
37 W. 17lh St.
-
-
NEW YORK
You could have had these once for 5 cents. Take
our new issues and you'll get better ones.
SB^E- PHONOGRAPH RECORDS ARE "•aMft
i^V
MADE FOR ALL OUR SONGS
* ^ &
Theodore Morse Music Co.
1367 Broadway, New York
c SHEET MUSIC
DEPARTMENT
i25 West 43d Street, New York City
Teachers and students
of the piano will find in
this book an instructor
that not only will replace
the old methods by pre-
senting the elements of
music in a manner to
meet the conditions but
will do so in such a pleas-
ant way as to interest
even the most indifferent
student.
The little compositions
used as exercises through-
out the book is a new de-
parture that will act as
an incentive to the stu-
dent by making him feel
that he is progressing.
Price, 75 cents.
HINDS, NOBLE & ELDREDGE. 31-35 West 15th Street, New York
WILL ATTRACT MORE CUSTOMERS TO YOUR STORE THAN
ANY OTHER MEDIUM YOU COULD EMPLOY
Write for catalogue and particulars as to how to
make a sheet music department a money-maker
McKINLEY MUSIC CO., 185 Harrison St., Chicago, III.