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THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
HOW LITTLE MOST MUSIC SELLS.
Actual Realization of the Composer Often the
Antithesis of His Magnified Anticipation.
By Edward Laska
Until you have been a music publisher you can-
not realize how little most music sells. There are
so many outward indications of the speculatively
large sales of a song that even many of the "in-
side" people, and especially the writers, are often
surprised at the small sales of numbers that are
supposedly hits or at least possible sellers.
This subject for discussion naturally divides it-
self into two parts—the vaudeville song and the
production number. The methods of populariza-
tion and the extent of sales differ widely in both
classes of publications. A vaudeville song re-
quires a special appropriation for the various
forms of publicity that must be given music of
this kind. You have to advertise in the profes-
sional, the trade, and often in the daily news-
papers and magazines. You must distribute or-
chestrations to the hotels and restaurants. Un-
fortunately, you must often pay performers,
especially "top liners," to sing songs of this kind.
You must distribute slides and "throwaways," and
other forms of original advertising ideas must
be gone into for the campaign of a new popular
song.
Now it is evident that activity of this kind is
going to bring the song before the public eye and
ear. Two or three weeks of such work will be
sufficient to lead the writers and the professional
"pluggers" to believe that the song is on the road
to success, and an eventual "hit." But the trade
and the publisher are not so easily influenced by
the din and false tenor of these superficial signs
of success. The publisher knows that with money
you can push anything before the public nose; but
it is up to the material of the goods—and in this
case the quality of the song—whether it will cling
and last when once brought forward. It is for
this reason that so many vaudeville songs are
pushed for a little while; seem to be making
good, and suddenly flop into oblivion. A new
song comes along with a stronger appeal and a
more lasting quality, and forces the inferior one
into quietus.
Only Two or Three
Hits
in a Show.
In this latter argument it has been taken for
granted that the song in question is the hit of a
musical comedy, but now comes the question of
how many songs can become hits in the same
opera. How many numbers can the audience
mentally carry away with them after witnessing
a musical piece? Two seems to be the usual num-
ber, sometimes a sort of third trailer, and very
often only one song seems to stand out sufficiently
out of the twenty odd numbers of most operas.
"Florodora" had "Tell Me Pretty Maiden," "The
Shade of the Palms," and "The Military Man";
"The Merry Widow" had the waltz and "Vilia,"
"Little Johnny Jones" had "Yankee Doodle Boy."
"Give My Regards to Broadway," and "Good-Bye,
Flo"; "The Prince of To-Night" had one, "I
Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now"; "Three
Twins" had "Cuddle Closer," and "Yatna Man."
And so on down the list we could go and prove
that out of any musical comedy there is only a
what most appeals to them. They do not go to
pieces like "The Follies of 1910" or "Up and
Down Broadway" with that same music buying
spirit; and for that reason music from produc-
tions of this type is very unsalable, especially
when produced for the summer season.
To sum up with a rather broad statement—mu-
sic of the vaudeville and production style either
sells or does not sell; and in order to experience
the latter pleasure it must be of the quality and
appeal that makes a hit with the general public
after being properly and successfully introduced
through the medium of the stage and promoted by
the advertising and trade facilities of an active
publisher.
Unless this happy combination is
achieved, the sales and therefore the royalties will
be small, and the writer will find imaginary rea-
sons to kick.
There are hardly more than four songs out of
every thousand published in the United States
that make genuine hits; so you can imagine the
trouble that is divided among the dozen publishers
in accounting for reasons for the poor sales of the
other nine hundred and ninety-six. There is only
one remedy for the abatement of the chronic
royalty kicker, and that is as was suggested at the
beginning of this article. Give all the music writ-
ers a term of music publishing and they will soon
learn "how little most music sells."
NEW SONGS BY CARRIE JACOBS BOND.
Four New Numbers by the Weil-Known Com-
poser Which Not Only Augment Her Repu-
tation, but Are Destined to Score a Large
Measure of Popularity—Mrs. Bond Now Giv-
ing Recitals in Europe.
(Special to The Review.)
Chicago, 111., Sept. 19, 1910.
The announcement of new songs by Carrie
Jacobs Bond is always of particular interest to
lovers of good music and lyrics of tender, heart
searching power. The Bond Shop (Carrie Jacobs
Hond & Son), Chicago, announces four new songs
which not only more than maintain the high
musical and literary standard characterizing every-
thing issuing from this house, but really mark a
new era in its history in point of artistic printing
and title paging. Each title page is a perfect
"symphony," a verse of the song being presented
embellished with a reproduction in colors of a
water color sketch of wild roses from the brush of
Mrs. Bond herself. The four numbers include
"A Perfect Day" and "My Soul," both the words
and music of which are by Mrs. Bond; a new
As to False Popularity of Music.
musical setting of Robin Adair, and also of "The
It is just this false popularity of music, which
Shepherdess" (poem by Archibald Sullivan). The
EDWARD LASKA.
after all is but the actual manufacture of the pub-
house has issued -a new catalog, which includes
lisher, that so deceives and misleads the writers, possibility of getting at most one to three real thematics of the four new numbers as well as the
and causes so much dissatisfaction and disappoint- song hits, and the rest of the numbers do well if
best known of the Bond songs.
ment between them and the royalty statement. If
they sell enough to cover the cost of publication.
Mrs. Bond, by the way, has reached Berlin in the
a song has the makings of a hit, it must catch on Now, if this entire production is the composition course of her journey around the world. She will
and sweep when the publisher has accomplished of one composer, he will naturally receive large give recitals in Berlin, Munich and other German
his end of introducing it. If the song does not and pleasing royalties in proportion to the num- cities and will also be heard in numerous recitals
"go" when once this has been properly done, the ber of selling successes he has written and the in London, including an appearance at Covent
composer is to blame for not having delivered the popularity of the opera in general; but if he is un- Garden. She will return to America on December
goods; but he usually is the first to decry the pub- fortunate enough to have written all the songs 16. Mrs. Bond will concertize extensively in this
lisher, the salesman and the professional depart- but the one, two, or three that are the selling country this season, beginning in February, and
ment. A song either sells or it does not sell. The hits, he will naturally be disappointed in his re- F. J. Smith, manager of the Bond Shop, has al-
intermediate stage hardly repays the effort and muneration, in spite of the fact that the comedy
ready made a number of bookings. The following
money expended in the attempt to establish it.
itself may be a sensational success.
are the bookings for February: Feb. 11, Fremont,
Now comes the production number. In addition
If a particular production song is an interpola- Neb.; Feb. 12, York, Neb.; Feb. 18-19, Omaha,
to some of the vaudeville song conditions it has tion, and is not one of the hits of the show, it is Neb.; Feb. 21, Lima, O.; Feb. 23, Ft. Wayne, Ind.;
peculiarities of its own. First of all, if it is a most difficult to convince the writer that its sales Feb. 25, Kenton, O.
restricted number, and it is usually the desire of
are very moderate, or, usually in such cases, next
the theatrical managers that it should be, its vogue to nothing.
MANUSCRIPTS GAIN VALUE.
naturally is geographically limited. If an opera
Four Out of a Thousand Succeed.
Half a century ago the manuscripts of the
is playing in New York, its music is known very
There are so many musical comedy productions
little in Chicago, and until the piece plays in each
following in such close succession that the public classical masters were not so highly prized as they
individual city the music is not sufficiently popular who purchase that class of music are buying very are now. If Mozart's "Don Giovanni" were in the
to create sales amounting to much in that particu- little but the few main numbers from only the market now, fabulous sums would be demanded for
it. In 1855 it was offered for sale in England, and
lar territory. For this reason the composer very comparatively few successful shows.
often thinks that because his song is a hit in the
Then there are other features that enhance, or the late Mme. Viardot-Garcia bought it for the
city in which' he is living, for reason of the pro- detract from, the sale of production songs. One bagatelle of $2,800, after various institutions,
duction having played there, it must be the sen- of them is the personality or reputation of the among them the British Museum and the Royal
Libraries of Vienna and Berlin, had refused it.
sation of the entire country, if not even the en- performer rendering it. Another is the class of
tire world. He then expects a royalty in propor- production. The public go to a piece like "The At a later date the Berlin Library tried to buy it
tion to the size of the earth, and is surprised when Dollar Princess" and "The Chocolate Soldier" for of the famous singer, but she preferred to present
he receives one in ratio to the circumference of a the purpose of hearing music, and if they are it to the Paris Conservatoire, simply retaining the
city; and only too often a town or village.
musical, instrumentally or vocally, they will buy right to keep it as long as she lived.