Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
AUGUST 2, 1919
43
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
CONDUCTED BY V. D. WALSH
"THIRTY=CENT NUMBER" PROBLEMS
MUSIC DEALERS
Syndicate Buyers Endeavoring to Discourage
Publishers From Bringing Out Numbers in
This Class, but Publishers Have No Alterna-
tive, Due to Constantly Rising Costs
It is understood that one of the buyers of
music of one of the largest syndicate stores
is quite ruffled over the success popular publish-
ers are having with their high-class issues, or
what are termed "thirty-cent numbers."
The ten-cent stores with a limited maximum
price have never looked with favor on the prog-
ress of any move sheet music publishers might
make in building up a high-class catalog. They
have placed many obstacles in the way of such
efforts on the part of the publishers and at
times have been dictatorial in their attitude re-
garding such issues.
During the past season many of the popu-
lar houses were quite successful with numbers of
the thirty-cent class. As a matter of fact, sev-
eral of the most successful of last season's songs
were issued by popular houses and were placed in
such catalogs. Others are now making efforts
to issue songs at that price during the coming
fall. The fact that the publishers have found
that a song once popular is as readily retailed at
thirty cents as at ten cents and that the addi-
tional profit accruing to the publisher by issuing
the higher-priced works is no small item, but as
a matter of fact guarantees a substantial profit,
will without doubt be the means of keeping the
publisher from paying heed to the desires of
syndicate buyers.
During the past several years some of the
syndicate stores used various methods to force
publishers who had issued songs which retailed
at a higher than a ten-cent price to discontinue
such works. Notably was this true when the
popular publishers almost unanimously issued
one or more works to be retailed at fifteen cents.
The publishers have never looked with favor
upon the dictating methods pursued by some of
the large buyers, but conditions were such that
The -House
of Good
Balladt"
Send for sample copies and price lists of (he following s i n ^ s ,
by BOB CHAMBER L I N :
CHINA LILV, I ' l S S V W I L L O W TIMK, WIIKX J O H N N Y COMKS MARCHING
HOME, T H E L A M ) OI" MAKE ItKLIKVK a n d A LOVE
SONG J I S T AT E V E N I N G .
O r c h e s t r a t i o n s of t h e first three by 1IAHHY T. A L F O U I ) .
These n u m b e r s have real merit and eharin. Wonderfully a t t r a c t i v e covers.
Sell wherever displayed. Are being 1 used by h u n d r e d s of Vaudeville a n d Chau-
ttiuqun acts t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y .
BOB CHAMBERLIN MUSIC PUB. CO.
Room >'o. 327, 312 South Dearborn S(r«ol
-:-
-:-
-:-
Chit-afro, 111.
they were often forced to abide by such buyers'
decisions. To show that the syndicate stores
with ten cents as their maximum price are fol-
lowing closely the development of the various
thirty-cent catalogs and are doing all they can
to discourage the success of such, several in-
stances can be quoted where at the present time
the sheet music departments of such stores are re-
tailing thirty-cent hits in their music depart-
ments at ten cents. Probably in buying a large
quantity of such numbers from the larger jobbers
they pay around eighteen cents a copy, so retail-
ing the numbers at ten cents per copy gives them
a loss upon each copy sold of about eight cents.
The fact that they will persist in distributing
at a loss shows that they do not intend to see
the publishers place songs in their thirty-cent
catalogs without doing everything possible to
make the move unsuccessful.
The majority of popular publishers have ac-
knowledged during the past two years that with
the increased cost of everything that goes into
the publishing of music there is no profit
in ten-cent issues. The probabilities are that
if it were not for the royalties accruing from
mechanical reproduction many of them would be
out of business. They have tried in many ways
to decrease the cost of publishing popular music
and they have inaugurated many economical
methods of publishing, but the constantly ris-
ing costs have absorbed any saving made.
The publishers who have partaken of the in-
creased profits from their thirty-cent successes
will hardly give up this added income without a
struggle. In fact, it would appear that they
have been forced into the high-priced field and
could not, as good business men, do otherwise.
The other publishers who have seen the ease
with which the successful number can be re-
tailed at the thirty-cent figure will, without
doubt, make efforts to issue at least one or two
numbers at that price, for, in addition to the
increased profit on the sheet music itself, the
word roll royalties are a hundred per cent,
higher on such standard numbers than they are
on the popular works.
Knowing the conditions the publisher of popu-
lar music has to face and seeing his struggles
during the past twenty-four months to continue
publishing ten-cent music, and realizing the dis-
couragements that he has met, it would appear
that the buyers for syndicate stores, who are
most conversant with the situation as it affects
the publishers, would realize that the thirty-cent
catalog issued by popular music houses is a
development which was forced upon the publish-
ing field, and one which neither the syndicate
stores nor the publishers themselves, if they wish
to stay in business, can discontinue.
MILLION COPY SONG HIT
'AUCTION OF SOULS"
Latest and Best Fox Trot Song
"Armenian Maid"
Specially Dedicated to Aurora Mardiganian,
the little "Armenian ]\laid," who is being
featured in the greatest of all Film Pro-
duction Photo Plays.
Beautiful Oriental Haunting Melody
SOME OF OUR SUCCESSES
Specially Appealing and Pleasing Words
"SWEET HAWAIIAN MOONLIGHT "
Tell Her of My Love
"WHITE
A New Idea in Song Publishing
HEATHER"
Paramount Picture Song
"YOU CAN HAVE IT, I DON'T WANT IT"
"WHEN YOU HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS"
"WHEN I MET Y O U "
"WEEPING WILLOW LANE"
" O A S I S " (Oriental Song)
"HAWAIIAN ROSE,"
" I WOULDN'T DO IT FOR ANYBODY
BUT YOU "
"IN MY GARDEN OF LONG A G O "
'I WONDER WHAT'S ZE MATTER WITH MY
OOLA-LA"
"DIXIE MOON"
"E-YIP-YOW YANKEE BOYS"
Welcome Home Again
" 0 LADY, STOP ROLLING YOUR EYES"
"KEEP YOUR FACE TO THE SUNSHINE"
"AT THE SHIMME-SHA-WABBLERS' BALL"
" DALLAS BLUES" (Song and Piano)
"MOONLIGHT BLUES WALTZ"
"SWEET HAWAIIAN MOONLIGHT VALSE"
"VICTORIOUS AMERICA MARCH"
A new and novel idea will be found on
the second and third pages of this song,
which has never heretofore appeared in
any song ever published, which will score a
sensation; placing this number in a class
by itself. Nothing else like it—absolutely
up to date. Entirely out of the ordinary,
and must be seen to be understood.
mm
A
Dealers
9^
**,
!
•
If you want something that is entirely dif-
ferent, something that will cause more com-
ment and attract more attention than any-
thing you have ever had in the song line,
then you want copies of this new_ number,
"Armenian Maid."
'
•«1
...I
a.
Hi
1
ORDER NOW
A. J. Stasny Music Co.
56 West 45th Street
NEW YORK
"Armenian Maid"
will be issued as a high priced number only.
Good profit for Dealers. Write for fur-
ther information, sample copy, etc.
Address the Publishers
E. T. PAULL MUSIC CO.
243 W. 42nd Street, New York