Music Trade Review

Issue: 1923 Vol. 76 N. 1

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE
JANUARY 6, 1923
REVIEW
53
PUBLISHERS' ASSOCIATION MEETS
GILBERT MUSIC CORP. CHARTERED
WORK OF AMERICAN MUSIC GUILD
Important Session of National Body Held at
Hotel Astor, New York, Last Week
L. Wolfe Gilbert Incorporates His Publishing
Company Under Laws of Delaware
Carrying on Active Program for Bringing
Works of American Composers to Attention
of Public—Series of Concerts at Town Hall
The last quarterly meeting of the Music Pub-
lishers' Association of the United States was
held on Thursday evening of last week at the
Hotel Astor, New York City. Those who at-
tended included the representative publishing
houses of the industry and probably from that
angle was the most important session since the
annual meeting of the Association.
The companies represented included Theo-
dore Presser, of the Theodore Presser Co.,
Philadelphia, Pa.; C. A- Woodman, Oliver Dit-
son Co.; Michael Keane, Boosey & Co.; J. T.
Roach, Hinds, Hayden & Eldredge, Inc.; Ed-
gar F. Bitner, Leo Feist, Inc.; W. Deane Pres-
ton, B. F. Wood Co.; Walter Fischer, Carl
Fischer; E. T. Paull, E. T. Paull Music Co.;
Harold Flammer, Harold Flammer, Inc.; Henry
C. Schultz, Arthur P. Schmidt Co.; Frank E.
Kneeland, Boston Music Co.; J. M. Priaulx,
Charles H. Ditson Co.; Alfred L. Smith, Music
Industries Chamber of Commerce; Henry
Spitzer, M. Witmark & Sons, and Carl Fischer,
J. Fischer & Bro.
L. Wolfe Gilbert, the well-known composer
of popular songs and head of the L. Wolfe
Gilbert Music Corp., 1658 Broadway, New York
City, recently incorporated his company under
the laws of the State of Delaware. The officers
of the new company are: L. Wolfe Gilbert,
president; Tom J. Geraghy, vice-president, who
is also supervising director of the Famous-
Players Lasky Corp.; Alfred Wolfe, secretary
and treasurer, and the following directors: Jack
Diamond, president of the Yale Taxicab Corp.;
Dr.' S. T. Lentas, Kingston, N. Y.; Myer Segal,
Camden, N. J., and Edward Wolfe.
"MARTHA," A NEW F0X=TR0T
J. W. Jenkins' Sons Music Co. Featuring New
Number in a Big Way
J. W. Jenkins' Sons Music Co., Kansas City,
Mo., recently introduced a new fox-trot entitled
"Martha." The number is already having a
heavy sale and the Jenkins organization ex-
pects it to equal in popularity anything that
company has heretofore published. "Martha"
JACK MILLS SONGS IN ENGLAND
combines a simple melody, well arranged with
The English publishing firm of Lawrence a consistent lyric. It is sung by a great num-
Wright Music Co., London, has closed arrange- ber of vaudeville performers and has been
ments with Jack Mills, Inc., whereby it will played in fox-trot form by a large number of
publish that firm's songs in England for the orchestra leaders. The fact that it is excep-
tionally popular in song form will do much to
next three years.
increase its popularity and add to its sales.
FEATURES ENOCH & SONS SONG
KORTLANDER'S NEW FOX=TROT
The American Music Guild, in focusing atten-
tion on serious creative efforts made in America
in musical composition, is meeting a necessity
that has long been realized in all branches of
art, except, music.
The result gained through co-operation, con-
structive criticism and mental stimulation has
always proven beneficial in an art group when
the members have been sincere and the cause
impersonal; the need for such a movement was
recognized by a few of the younger American
composers a year ago, and out of their informal
meetings, with the primary object of knowing
each other's works, the American Music Guild
was formed.
The objects of the guild to-day are to bring
worthy American works to the attention of the
American public; to encourage the writing of
new serious works; to establish a place for the
American composer in the growing interna-
tionalism of musical art. Without any further
encouragement or financial support than the
courage of their own convictions, the members
of the American Music Guild have launched a
series of three subscription concerts to take
place at Town Hall the evenings of January 3,
February 7 and March 7. These public concerts
have been preceded by two private concerts at
the Fifty-eighth street Library, which have
already won friends to the cause and have
aroused interest and curiosity.
IRVING BERLIN, INC., BUYS "IVY"
Vladimir Rosing included in his recent
Max Kortlander is the writer of a new fox- Plan to Feature Number in a Big Way—Al-
Aeolian Hall recital a new Irish folk song by
Herbert Hughes entitled "My Father Has Some trot song entitled "Some Winter's Night," which
ready Popular in the West
Very Fine Sheep." This number is one of the has been accepted for publication by the
new novelties in the catalog of Enoch & Sons. Triangle Music Publishing Co., New York.
Some weeks back the scouts of the Irving
Berlin organization discovered that there was
quite popular in Chicago a song called "Ivy"
(Cling to Me). Negotiations for the purchase
of the number were immediately and success-
fully carried out and the result is that Irving
Berlin, Inc., has added this song to its catalog.
A simple melody-beautifullu JI^^^W Hundreds of acts and sincere
During the month of January the professional
arranged - combined v#th do
M^ beiny constantly added to ^reat
and band and orchestra departments of the
consistent lyric.
j j j j ^ throny now s\n$mcfY[KKTY\K' Berlin organization will feature this number in
addition to the acknowledged successes of the
catalog, "Homesick" and "Open Up Your
Arms" (My Alabawiy).
4 Reasons for "MARTHA" being a big hit —o
DUNCAN SISTERS AS SONGWRITERS
Now beinci played by
every orche5tra in the
country.
READY
ALL TALKING- MACHINES
O R D E R NOW
The best sinyinq fox-
trot now before me.
public.
PUBLI3HEO BY
The Duncan Sisters, who will shortly open in
a new musical show, have in recent months
branched out as songwriters. The B. A. Pub-
lishing Co., 1658 Broadway, has accepted their
song, "Somebody." They are also singing in
their present vaudeville appearances the same
publishing company's popular song success,
"Sunny Jim."
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
54
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
JANUARY 6, 1923
Therein itsli^ht.Ev-'ry ni&ht,LiHleJap-a-nese'croor
A NIPPONESE NOVELTY
E MOON
EAR IT NOW! X - ^ F /
PUBLISHERS PLAN PRICE INCREASE TO CHAIN STORES
Larger Publishing Organizations Planning to Place Syndicate Stores on an Equal Price Footing
With Legitimate Dealers—Publishers Who Have Made Concessions Are the Losers
Early in December the S. S. Kresge Co. de-
manded that publishers of popular songs place
their songs at the disposal of that company
at a price that would allow them to sell such
issues at twenty cents retail. This demand, it
was said, was made in order that the S. S.
Kresge stores could compete with the J. G.
McCrory syndicate, which for some months past
has retailed popular prints at that figure.
It is understood that some of the publishers
compromised by allowing the Kresge stores
additional discount in such cities where they
were in competition with stores operated by the
J. G. McCrory Co. On the other hand, some
houses refused to accede to the request and
continued to receive the full wholesale price on
popular prints.
Despite this effort on the part of popular
publishers to meet the requirements of antag-
onists who were after all indulging in a retail
price war, it seems that the concessions given
are not sufficient to appease the demands and
the S. S. Kresge Co. has expressed a desire to
have the reductions affect the purchases of their
stores in every city and not only in those which
feel the sales prices of competitors.
From indications there is evidence that the
publishers who have made the concessions now
feel that they have conceded not only as much
as the situation warrants, but have done so at
a very substantial loss to themselves in profits
on their publications, with little or no additional
volume of business resulting through the lower
prices to compensate.
From this it is generally understood that
several of the larger publishing organizations
will not only refuse to grant reductions to
affect other trade centers, but will shortly
announce an increase in wholesale prices.
Those who have these increases in mind do
not contemplate that they shall affect the
legitimate sheet music dealer who now invari-
ably pays eighteen cents per copy on popular
publications with the exception of initial order
purchases of new issues. The raise in price
will affect the syndicate stores and will, un-
doubtedly, increase the wholesale price of popu-
lar prints to the figure now paid by the legiti-
mate dealer.
According to some expressions heard in pub-
lishing circles there will be little or no effort
made to induce the S. S. Kresge stores or any
other syndicate to continue handling popular
music. These publishers, seemingly, feel that
their efforts to assist the syndicates in their,
price battles have, from every angle, been a dis-
tinct failure. Most of the publishers are no
doubt sorry that they gave any consideration
to the original plea of the S. S. Kresge Co.
With the closing of the publishers' books at
the end of the year it has been found that in
only a few instances have there been any large
profits made. Some others may have ended
the year without loss and there have been pub-
lishers who have suffered distinct losses. Bear-
ing this in mind it is contended that it would
not only be foolhardy to give any encourage-
ment to price reductions, but for the health of
several of the organizations there should be
increases.
The history of the December reductions to
certain syndicates is similar to the experiences
the popular publishes had with the F. W.
Woolworth stores when that organization oper-
ated some 600 sheet music departments and
assumed a dictatorial attitude in its dealings
with numerous sales organizations. In other
words, a concession made on demand from the
syndicates only invites further demands.
That those publishers who have decided to
fr-frfr
Home SWeet Home,
Veil
refuse further concessions and who probably
will increase prices to syndicates are serious
is hardly to be doubted. It is said that they
shall not only increase prices to the syndicates,
making them compare with those now paid by
legitimate dealers, but that in territory where
syndicates operate and representation is not
.sufficient to do justification to the prints they
will open up stores for the purpose of exploiting
their songs.
There is no agreement on this latter proposal,
but one or two publishing organizations al-
ready operate branch stores and departments
and there is at least one other large organiza-
tion that is giving consideration to the matter
along the lines outlined above.
One of the largest publishing houses in the
country has not and will not give any consider-
ation to requests for price reductions, nor to
any plans for operating retail stores. In fact,
it has gone on record against any price reduc-
tions at this time and against operating, as far
as they are concerned, sheet music departments
or stores at any time.
This is the situation as The Review goes to
press. All'of which will prove favorable to the
legitimate sheet music dealer. He will be in
a better position than ever to not only com-
pete with syndicate stores, but to uphold the
present prices, which are necessary for the
healthy and successful conduct of his business.
He gains added importance to the popular pub-
lishers and will, undoubtedly, profit.
FEATURED IN "THE BOOTLEGGERS"
The song "All Muddled Up," from the catalog
of Leo Feist, Inc., is the exclusive number in
the drama of "The Bootleggers," now playing
at the Thirty-ninth Street Theatre, New York
City. The show has been quite successful and
there are many indications that it will play for
the balance of the season. Therefore, the above
Feist number will come in for some unusual
publicity over a long period.
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