Music Trade Review

Issue: 1925 Vol. 81 N. 5

Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
46
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
AUGUST 1, 1925
IN THE WORLD OF MUSIC PUBLISHING
Conducted By V. D. Walsh
Dance Folios Do Not Decrease the
Sales of the Popular Dance Numbers
SONGS THAT SELL
Many Instances on Record Where the Publication of a Dance Number in a Folio Book Has
Increased Its Popularity and Consequently Its Sales in Sheet Music Form
Yearning
T N correspondence received by The Review
following the recent convention of the Na-
tional Association of Sheet Music Dealers some
pointed and some constructive references were
made as to the future of popular dance folios.
These comments were both pro and con.
Some opinions were expressed as to the ad-
visability of including in current folios current
dance successes. Those who were for the elim-
ination of folios invariably were retailers who
felt the competition of syndicate stores in their
cities. The syndicates, it seems, more often
than not retail dance folios at much under the
marked, price. The dealers feel that meeting
such prices absorbs any profit the sale of folios
may have. Dealers who are able to maintain
the marked price in making sales seemingly are
not adverse to further offerings of this nature.
While it is true some expressed the opinion
than dance folios curtailed the sales of popular
selections, there was in no instance proof that
this was so. While individual instances were
recorded there were not any general experi-
ences.
The popular publishers as well as the dealers
are vitally interested in just what the dance
folio accomplishes. After all they have more
at stake than the individual dealer and, if it is
true that folios do reduce the sales of popular
prints of the same titles to any appreciable
extent, they will be the first to concede the
point and withdraw the issuance of such publi-
cations.
The popular publishers, however, have just
as much evidence that the dance folio is not
injurious as has been gathered elsewhere that it
is. Indeed there have been several instances
on record where numbers that have been in-
cluded in popular folios had six or eight months
afterwards jumped into national popularity. In
such instances the dance folio can be credited
with carrying on a certain amount of propa-
ganda in favor of the particular popular prints
in question.
There is a tendency among popular publish-
ers to get out fewer dance folios than was the
case a year ago. They are in most instances
giving the dance folio problem first-hand at-
tention and it is almost certain that the decision
will at least be for fewer folios and that those
issued will be brought out at such time as will
do the retail music dealer the most good.
There are so many conditions affecting the
sale of popular music, particularly novelties and
fox trots, that to blame any considerable por-
tion of the reduction of popular sales to the
dance folio would undoubtedly be most unfair.
Among these is the intensive competition among
fox trots. No sooner does one achieve national
recognition than the favor of the public passes
to the next most timely offering. Radio un-
doubtedly has had an effect on the sale of fox
trots. Its influence on ballads and vocal ren-
ditions is probably more favorable. Then we
have the popularity of the automobile, which evi-
dently takes millions out of the homes of the
country each day. We have many other outside
influences that take up the leisure hours of
Americans, numerous other items that in the
aggregate have a no small bearing on home
life. This, however, can be left to our readers
who only need to consider present-day home life.
Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
When You and I Were Seventeen
Ukulele Lady
Yes,
Sir! That's My Baby
Silver Head
Sonya (Yup Alay Yup)
Cecilia
On a Night Like This
The Whole World Is Dreaming of Love
Summer Nights
My Sweetie Turned Me Down
Suite Sixteen
So That's the Kind of a Girl You Are
Waitin' for the Moon
Liberty Theatre to
Broadcast Its Concerts
Contestants in Weekly Event of Portland
House to Have Opportunity of Being Heard
Over the Radio
PORTLAND, ORE., July 22.—The Liberty Theatre
has for a number of seasons co-Operated with
the Portland sheet music dealers in presenting
to the public the new issues as they are released.
This has greatly stimulated the sale of these
numbers and it has also been the means of re-
viving songs of older caliber. To show the
trend of affairs in the music world, particularly
radio, these concerts will in the future be known
as "Radio Rehearsals." Five songs will be sung
as formerly by the contestants each week but
from now on the winners will also have the
privilege of singing by way of radio. The songs
recently featured were "Pal That I Loved,"
"Take Me Back To Your Heart," "Sweet
Georgie Brown," "Silver Threads Among the
Gold" and "Oh, Ah!"
Consult the Universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire positions.
Say, Arabella
Alone at Last

Sing Loo
One Smile
BOOKS THAT SELL
STRUM IT WITH CRUM1T—Songs for
Ukulele
TIDDLE DE UKES—Comic Songs for
the Ukulele
X Universal Dance Folio No. 9 (New)
Peterson's Ukulele Method
World's Favorite Songs
Hits from TOPSY and EVA
Rememb'ring
I Never Had a Mammy
IRVING BERLIN, Inc.
1607 Broadway, New York
Trot
[Melody With
Great Dance Rhythm.
w
AMidhty Blue
Fox Trot Son£ L
RAYMOND EGAN
RICHARD WHIT1
OWEN tflURPHY
AL SHERMAN
mi BEN BEANIE
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
AUGUST 1, 1925
WOULDNT
LOVE YOU*]
FOX TROT
Benny Davis <
k Joe Bmke's New
Hit/
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
47
'You, Can't Go Wron&
With Any FEIST' Song'
TIRED
YOU GOTTA' OF EVERYTHING'
KNOW HOW BUT YOU* WANT YOU
[ALL FOR MEf
FOXTROT
A New Comedy Idea
.Gus Rah/J Walter
Donaldson
A Great FOKTRDT Ballad
JMfch a Fasdigting KiythnL
ISHAM#ONES
FOX TROT
New/ Different! Hovel/A
Jm GUS KAHN
DONALDSON
k WMTER.
A Popular Ballad
(FOXTROT)
CHESTER COHN
MARK FISHER.
' .NED MILLEf '
800 Newspapers to Be Used in Link-up
With "Footloose," a New Sam Fox Number
Song Takes Title From New Story, a Sequel to "The Flapper Wife"—Song to Be Featured hi
Connection With Serial in Campaign More Varied and Larger Than the Former One
"TfOOTLOOSE," a fox-trot song, has been
*• selected as the musical hook-up to the story
of the same name announced as the successor
to "The Flapper Wife." This story is also by
Beatrice Burton and the NEA Service, Inc., and
association of eight hundred newspapers in the
United States have arranged a program for the
exploitation of both the song and story which
appears to be the last word in co-operative pub-
licity campaigns in which newspapers through-
out the country and a popular publishing organi-
zation combine their particular interests for
mutual advantage.
The experience and knowledge obtained from
"The Flapper Wife" campaign has been used
to further the "Footloose" drive. Thus the ar-
rangements are wider in scope, are more thor-
ough and from the preliminary details to the
bombardment of publicity, which accompanies
the height of the program, intense interest is
assured.
Of the many hundreds of newspapers lining
up on the "Footloose" story and song, most
of them were actively interested in the co-oper-
ative drive on "The Flapper Wife." The
former, while most successful, can, however, be
considered as an educational experience which
will serve to further the interests of both the
"Footloose" song and story.
As far as the campaign on "Footloose" proper
is concerned there is no relationship with the
one that preceded it on "The Flapper Wife."
While it is true that some of the newspaper
interests on the former story will be continued
on Beatrice Burton's sequel, the co-operative
publicity and exploitation drive will be entirely
apart and distinct. Indeed, while many of the
same channels of publicity will naturally be
used in exploiting "Footloose," the directors
of both the story and song campaign have added
many new channels and angles of publicity.
This applies to both the preparatory publicity
interesting readers in the story, the accompany-
ing publicity with the story itself, and the many
new connections hooking up the song with the
story and exploiting both.
The Sam Fox Publishing Co., New York and
Cleveland, Ohio, publisher of "The Flapper
KIDS ti
PARADE
Wife," is also the publisher of "Footloose."
Carl Rupp, who did the music for the former
song, is also the composer of "Footloose" and
the words have been contributed by Hal Coch-
ran.
Ned Wayburn, who for many years was re-
sponsible for the alluring and spectacular dances
in the Ziegfeld Follies and who has often been
referred to as the dance king, has devised the
"Footloose" strut. This undoubtedly will later
be added as one of the dance features of a
current musical production.
The first record of "Footloose" has been re-
leased by the Victor Talking Machine Co. It
will be on sale starting with August 14. Paul
Whiteman and His Orchestra were selected by
the NEA Service, Inc., and the Victor Co. to
make this initial musical number. A vocal ver-
sion of the song by Billy Murray appears on
the same record. So "Footloose," in both song
and instrumental form, is available at almost the
start of the campaign. The Sam Fox Publishing
Co. will release the piano copies of the number
on August 5 and orchestrations are also made
available.
The song will be sung by more vaudevillians
than was "The Flapper Wife" because both of
the singers who took part in the previous pub-
licity and many more will co-operate in the
current campagin on "Footloose."
The newspaper publicity assures co-operation.
More dance orchestras, more photoplay houses
and more radio entertainers and orchestras will
be booked for the "Footloose" campaign. In
a short time "Footloose," in both song and
instrumental form, should be available on every
word roll and every record.
For the sheet music dealer, the roll dealer
and the retail music store there will be extra
title pages, window strips, hangers, cut-outs,
and a wide variety of other attention arresters
and sales creators. These will undoubtedly be
put to good use by retailers everywhere because
the publicity in all other directions will arouse
interest and create a desire for the song and
the posters and other material will only serve
to close the sale. Later there will be a "Foot-
loose" week and throughout the whole of the
campaign there will be national activities that
will serve to keep the purchasing public in a
buying mood.
What is of more importance to the dealer,
however, are the hook-ups that he will receive
through the newspaper in his city, from the local
orchestra renditions, from the radio and through
the appearances of vaudeville stars in his local-
ity. The dealers are urged, of course, to do
their share in co-operating not only with the
publishers of "Footloose" but with the local
newspaper exploiters. In every instance where
orchestrations are needed, or other material is
desirable, prompt shipment of the publicity mat-
ter will be made. Altogether the "Footloose"
story and campaign will be somewhat longer
than that given to its predecessor. The interest
throughout should be much more intense
through the numerous additional moves that are
to be made.
On the song the newspapers will print a
thematic of the chorus, will run pictures of
Carl Rupp, the composer, Ned Wayburn, the
deviser of the "Footloose" strut, and of Paul
Whiteman and Billy Murray, who made the
first Victor record. The Wayburn "Footloose"
strut will also be given to the newspaper read-
ers with diagrams and descriptions of how to
dance to the music. The lyric of the chorus
will be given wide publicity in several issues
in which the thematic does not appear. The
various vaudeville performers as they appear
locally and sing "Footloose" will be given write-
ups by the local dailies. All of the radio per-
formers will be given publicity which will help
add to the interest and special presentations of
the "Footloose" theme will be made by many
photoplay houses.
Before the height of this campaign is reached
with the eight hundred newspapers and the
many other avenues of "Footloose" propaganda,
this compound word will undoubtedly be the
most freely used in American history. The
name given the story lends itself so readily to
publicity purposes that the lure to use it cannot
be thrown aside. It will appeal to preachers,
those in charge of our courts, police authorities,
probation officers, traffic police, and all those of
the older generation who predict the flapper and
the cake-eater about to go to perdition. The
younger generation on the other hand will take
to it because it is the most apt description of
this new freedom which they have so hastily ac-
cepted. When it comes to dancing to the "Foot-
loose" strut, they will glory in it because it
(Continued on page 48)
All the Difference Between Just Ordinary Music Books and the Most
Skillful Made in Music Book history—
THE MOST POPULAR
Write for descriptive catalog—Order from jobber or direct from publisher
Hinds, Hayden & Eldredge, Inc., Publishers, New York City

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