Presto

24
PRESTO
January 3, 1925.
SHEET MUSIC AND RADIO
LONDON COPYRIGHT CASE
Important Suit by the Performing Rights So-
ciety Against Prominent Concert Singer
Decided in Favor of Plaintiff.
Questions of considerable interest to music pub-
lishers and concert promoters were raised before Jus-
tice Tomlin in the Chancery Division in London re-
cently in an action brought by the Performing Rights
Society, Ltd., for an injunction restraining John
Coates, a well known concert singer, from singing
without their permission certain songs, of which they
had the performing rights.
It was explained to the court by the attorney for
the plaintiff, that the society was formed in 1914 to
protect composers from the very large appropriation
of their works without payment. It had been ex-
tremely difficult to stop the practice until the Copy-
right Act, 1911, which included the right to perform
the work in the copyright. The complaint against
Mr. Coates was that knowing the position full well
he took up an attitude of antagonism to the Society
and deliberately set himself to refuse to pay unless
he was in effect "caught out." The real thing the
Society wanted was that its position should be as-
serted and that it should not be set at defiance. The
objection of Mr. Coates appeared to be that a distin-
guished singer conferred a benefit upon the company
by condescending to sing his works in public. That
might be, but it was no justification for taking some-
body else's property and appropriating it for his own
use. In effect Mr. Coates said: "If you tell me when
you have found me out I will pay."
Calls It Trade Custom.
Counsel for the defendant said he would establish
a trade custom that when a publisher sent a singer
the copy of a song marked professional or compli-
mentary it was accepted by bo'.h parties as an invita-
tion to the singer to sing it, not in the woods and
solitudes, but in public, in order to popularize it and
without any suggestion whatever as to performing
rights. Such authorization was received by Mr.
Coates in respect of the songs in dispute and it had
never been revoked.
John Woodhouse, controller of the plaintiff So-
ciety, said it never attacked the individual singer and
that Mr. Coates was being sued as a concert pro-
moter.
Mr. Coates said that during his forty years' career
as a singer he had received many complimentary
copies of songs from publishers. They were usually
accompanied by notes to the effect that the publish-
ers would be glad to know which he intended to use.
In his opinion the songs were sent to him to be sung
in public.
Professionals Testify.
Thomas Green, professional singer, said he had
received professional copies from practically every
London publisher. He had never received any de-
mand from the publishers for payment or any inti-
mation that he ought to obtain consent before singing-
it. He had been engaged by publishers to sing
songs at a royalty. Harry Plunket Green, a singer,
gave similar evidence.
Madame Kirkby Lunn,
George Parker and John Goss gave evidence to the
same effect.
In giving judgment, the court, without calling upon
counsel for the plaintiffs, said there was no doubt
that it had been the practice for many years for
publishers to send professional copies to well-known
singers in the hope that they would sing the songs
and that nothing was said about fees, but these pub-
lishers in the present case were not the owners of
the performing rights and he could not see how this
could be treated as a license to sing the songs with-
out first obtaining permission. It was impossible to
hold that the acts of publishers who were members
of the Society were to be treated as acts of the
Society. They were not expressly authorized by the
Society to send out professional copies. They were
acts by the publishers performed in the course of
their own business and not in the course of the
Society's affairs. The knowledge of them could not
be brought home to the Society. The publishers
were not the only members of the Society and they
could not be deemed to have authority to bind the
Society.
Singer Is Fined.
He thought that many singers had not appreciated
the legal position and that they would not find it
satisfactory, but he had nothing to do with that.
In his opinion, however, in order to avoid criticism
publishers who were members of the Society would
do well in future to put upon their professional copies
some warning as to what the position was. He held
that Mr. Coates in singing the songs in question had
infringed the rights of the Society and granted a
declaration to that effect with fifty shillings damages
and costs.
REMICK SUCCESSES
Dealers Find All the Numbers Profitable
Things But Some Rank Among the Big
and Continuous Profit Makers.
The big successes of the songs of Jerome H.
Remick & Co., are due to the sentiment in the words
being carried out in the music. In the ballads,
"There's Yes, Yes in Your Eyes," "It Had to Be
You" and other charming songs of the kind, the
emotions are simultaneously appealed to by the words
and the music. It is the quality that makes the
"hit." In every city in the country the songs named
continue to command big sales.
'Dreamer of Dreams" is strongly featured by the-
ater organists and the orchestras in the theaters, but
the presentations are in reflections of the popular
favor for the number which is now one of the great-
est sellers at sheet music counters. "Mandalay," of
course, continues to be a money maker for the
dealers. The song was an instant success on the
date of its issuance and its favor does not wane even
in the face of more recent successes from the Remick
presses. Another. strong and consistent favorite is
"Bring Back the Old Fashioned Waltz," which has
really stimulated the dancing waltzes and incidentally
the sale of waltz music everywhere.
"Follow the Swallow," "New Kind of Man" and
"My Best Girl" are Remick songs that grow in
favor every day. They have the qualities of pleasing
words and charming music that distinguishes the
Remick productions.
MUSIC IN SAN FRANCISCO.
Municipal music for Christmas was presented in
the Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, on December
24, under the auspices of Mayor James Rolph, Jr.,
and the Board of Supervisors. The Auditorium Com-
mittee and the San Francisco Community Service,
Chester W. Rosekrans, executive secretary, had the
program in charge. A large chorus gave Christmas
carols, supported by the municipal band, the school
children also rendering a pageant. Uda Waldrop
played Christmas music on the municipal organ.
A DE FOREST REPORT.
A recent report of the De Forest Radio Co., New
York, says: "An analysis of shipments made by the
company shows a gain for the month of September,
1924, over the same month in 1923 of over 68 per
cent, for October, 1924, over October, 1923, of over
81 per cent, and for November, 1924, over November,
1923, of over 204 per cent. December has not yet
started, but from present indications it will be such
that even with the increase of manufacture the new
production will be inadequate."
SINGS QUARTER-TONE MUSIC.
SHEET MUSIC SALESMEN
Necessity for Competent People to Keep
Stock and Sell the Goods Big Problem
of the Business.
The increased interest in sheet music by music
merchants has naturally added to the number of sheet
music departments within the past five years. The
spread of the general music store idea increases the
interest in sheet music, as it is considered that a
music store cannot claim to be general if it lacks a
sheet music department. But with the increase of
sheet music departments was presented the problem
of salesmen and saleswomen to efficiently handle
sheet music customers and take care of the stock.
Fitness for the work and training are requisites for
the job.
At periods like the holidays the dearth of efficient
sheet music salesmen and saleswomen is particularly
noticed. In the large music stores with sheet music
departments the disadvantage of insufficient compe-
tent help has irked managers for the past few weeks.
With salespeople drafted from other departments to
help out in the emergency the inevitable happened.
In the frequent rush periods the stock became topsy
turvy and a frantic condition naturally came about.
The customers had the insistence of the Christmas
shopper, and the inexperienced salespeople became
rattled, and irritation made the work of the old-timers
in the department less effective.
The profits from sheet music may be big, but it
takes a big turnover to make the department a suc-
cess. The salaries paid to the sales force are con-
siderations in the department's success. One or two
efficient people at a fair salary may mean the profit-
able operation of the department, whereas three or
four inefficient ones may spell failure for it.
The trained sales force is a necessity if the music
merchant desires to cover all the phases of the sheet
music business. If he is satisfied with handling the
populars the efficiency of the force is not of such im-
portance. Many merchants who have added sheet
music limit the business to easy selling populars in
the belief that carrying the music of that kind wilt
attract customers to the store and help in conveying
the idea of a "general" music store.
Of course there are conservative music houses
where the sales of so-called popular music is not
attractive. In many cases the clientele drawn by
the popular songs may not be of the type the
conservative house desires. The stock of popular
music would not have any attraction for the music
student, the music teacher nor anyone interested in
standard music and the better class music and books
generally. It is when the conservative music store
plans a sheet music department that will be thorough
in character and fulfill every phase of the business
that the competent sales force is an absolute necessity.
AMERICAN RADIO IN FRANCE
Report That Paris Stores Are Featuring Their
Products Is Pleasing to American
Manufacturers.
NEW RADIO DEPARTMENT.
The Carberry-Parker Co., Milwaukee, is canvass-
ing its list of phonograph purchasers and suggesting
installation of Globe radio sets, which are designed
for that purpose. The result "oT the canvass so far
is said to be satisfactory. The activities are part of
the plans of W. C. Schmidt, manager of the new radio
department of the company.
The report of the radio trade in France is grati-
fying to radio manufacturers who have found a good
field there for American products. A correspondent
of the Chicago Tribune says:
"All the windows of the big Paris stores are
stacked full of all varieties of radio sets, ranging in
all prices and various forms. Everything possible
has been done to bring the radio into the public
eye in the drive started a few weeks ago by the
French manufacturers to bolster the fast declining
radio trade in France."
The director of one of the largest Paris stores
gave the information that "there has never been
such a demand for radio sets, and we have more
orders than we are able to fill comfortably. There
is a big demand for American and English loud
speakers and phones, which admittedly are the best
in the world. The American loud speaker is the
finest for clear tones, but they have the fault of
being as ugly as claxon horns."
ROLL SALES INCREASE.
The player roll department in the Portland, Ore.,
branch of Sherman, Clay & Co. has been remodeled
and the space increased. The Duo-Art and Q R S
music rolls are handled in the department and the
business in the roll line constantly increases.
MOST POWERFUL STATION.
The most powerful wireless station in the world is
now being erected at Rugby, England. The steel lat-
tice masts are 820 ft. high, and there are eight of
them, each weighing 200 tons. The ground space
covered by the aerial system is 800 acres.
For the first time in the United States, it was an-
nounced in St. Louis this week, an artist sang music
written in the quarter-tone scale. It was an illus-
tration to a discussion by Professor Max Meyer, of
Missouri University, at the fifty-sixth annual conven-
tion of the Music Teachers' National Convention.
Miss Louise Kroeger, of St. Louis, who accomplished
the feat, sang to the accompaniment of a twenty-four-
tone harmonium especially designed by Professor
Meyer.
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