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32
The Music Trade Review
*You Cant Go Wrong,
With Any 'FEIST' Song'
Salute The New Hit
SA-LUTA
K FOX
Harold Flammer Re-elected President
of the Music Publishers' Association
Other Officers Are W. Deane Preston, Vice-President; Carl T. Fischer, Treasurer, and
Emil A. Gunther, Secretary—Report of the Meeting
* T H E thirty-third annual convention of the
-*• Music Publishers' Association of the United
States was held at the Hotel Astor, New York,
on Tuesday of this week. With the exception
of some changes in the personnel of the direc-
tors of the Association, the 1926 officers were
all re-elected unanimously. They are Harold
Flammer, president; W. Deane Preston, vice-
president; Carl T. Fischer, treasurer, and Emil
Gus Kahns Clever Lyric
and Walter Donaldson's
unique Italian 6 /s Fox Trot
dy made this a
peedy
and spontaneous
r
HIT/
mde-Awake
TROT SONG
SING ME A,
BABY SONG
Jby GUS KAHNauid
WALTER
DONALDSON
Waltz;
Melody
HONOLULU
MOON'
hy
FRED LAWRENCE
r SAM,
THE O L D
ACCORDION MAN
DIFF RENT
DONALDSON /
NOVELTY/
An Idle, Indolent,
Indigo Foz Trot Song
XkTf ,
WEATHER
Jo "Trent and
De Rose
GOT IT i
And it's got everything a fortrot H
Novelty should have/
S
> hy Benny Davis, "Harry Akst
i md L. Wolfe Gilbert"
"
LEO. FEIST, Inc
FEIST
BLDG
231-235 W.4O^ ST,
NEW YORK, Mitt
JUNE 18, 1927
W. Deane Preston
A. Gunther, secretary. The eleven .directors
of the Association for the ensuing year are
Walter Coghill, J. F. Cooke, George Fischer,
H. W. Gray, Michael Keane, Sam Fox, William
Kretschmer, J. T. Roach, Isador Witmark,
Charles A. White and William Arms Fisher.
The reports of both the president and the
treasurer of the Association indicated that this
pioneer body of standard and popular publishers
has, despite many obstacles, completed a most
successful year. As is visualized in the presi-
dent's report, given below, the progress of
the Association shows a decided trend toward
the elimination of various evils and particularly
those related to the overproduction of music
of all kinds.
Harold Flammer, president, spoke as follows
in his annual address:
"As is customary, your president is making
his report covering the activity of the Music
Publishers' Association of the United States
for the fiscal year 1926-27.
"Your organization has been somewhat handi-
capped during this period by vacancies on our
board of directors, which have made it difficult
to obtain a forum for our directors' meeting.
Nevertheless, I feel we have accomplished a
great deal in launching a monthly bulletin with
its object 'Greater Co-operation Between Dealer
and Publisher.'
"This bulletin, under the editorship of W. J.
Baltzell, has enabled our members to advertise
their publications at no expense to the indi-
vidual member. According to our present plan,
this bulletin will be many times more valuable
in its scope next year. We have endeavored,
by means of our editorial policies, to point .out
evils in the industry which should be correc-
tive, and progressive steps which should be
taken.
,
"During the year there has been no copy-
right legislation on which we could take any
immediate action.
"Overproduction and competition are the two
outstanding conditions which beset every pub-
lisher. Every composition put forth should be
considerably better than the average if it is
to gain any recognition and justify publication.
So many of us overlook the long-time benefits,
excepting numbers which are short-lived and
which do not benefit any catalog in the long
run.
"Radio, with its super-loud speakers and it*
numerous programs, has cheapened music as
music. It is too easy to obtain and too little
respected. Artists are shut off unceremonious-
ly, or social conversation prevails with music
as an irritating background. This cheapening
of music and the indiscriminate giving of pro-
fessional copies with a growing list of profes-
sionals must be curbed if music is to retain
its position as one of the fine arts.
"In my opinion it is very important that
this Association should carry on with greater
strength and co-operation. I, therefore, ask
each and every member to give it his loyal
support, as I am certain that in the years to
come the Music Publishers' Association of the
United States will play a very active part in
carrying us through business depression and
in eliminating evils which would be* of most
serious consequence if the various members
should have to face them individually;; instead
of collectively.
"In closing, let me thank the officers and
the board of directors for their faithful co-
operation and support in the past year."
The annual dinner of the Music Publishers'
Association of the United States, which has
heretofore been an event, was eliminated in
1927, due to several situations, including the
fact that many of the Association members
had attended the gatherings in Chicago last
week and because many of the members of the
Association were carrying out programs of
their individual businesses which required every
attention.
Lindbergh Songs Game
in by Hundreds
Every Mail Brought Publishers Many Effusions
From the Ever-Present Amateur Song Writ-
ers and None of Them Available
One of the leading popular publishers re-
cently estimated that he had turned down
eighty-seven songs dedicated to Charles A.
Lindbergh. There are always a great number
of amateur song writers, and it would appear
that the New York-to-Paris non-stop flight was
the source of inspiration for every writer who
had a hankering to be a composer.
In every mail the leading publishers received
a Lindbergh manuscript and in some mails
dozens of them. Most publishers who were
interested in topical songs of this character,
of course, had already their full supply of such
compositions and invariably returned the manu-
scripts without opening them.
The Lindbergh songs, however, are a little
outside the realm of the average topical com-
position. Normally the leading publishing
houses do not encourage topical songs. Ex-
ceptions were made in several instances in the
Lindbergh offerings, due to the fact that such
intense interest had been aroused in the flight
and in the personality of the aviator that a
departure from the usual business standards
was made. The Lindbergh songs may sell
weeks and possibly a month or two longer than
the average topical song, which is generally
very short-lived. If this proves the case it will
be due to the fact that by Lindbergh's visits
to various localities new enthusiasm will be
aroused and make possible the extension of the
interest in the songs.