Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
47
In tKe World of Music PublisHing
TRADE CONTINUES FAIR.
Publishers Are Hopeful of the Future, Notwith-
standing That the Close of Theatrical Season
Necessarily Makes Trade Slower.
As a rule publishers are recording no special
hard kicks against business; in fact, are gen-
erally pleased with present conditions and hope-
ful of future developments. Trade is fair, if not
altogether good. The slowing-down period is at
hand with the close of the regular theatrical Eea-
son. Road companies are working toward New
York and some are already here, which means
much to the publisher.
The demand from all kinds of summer resorts
for entertainment features of a professional
character and standing, is becoming more ur-
gent. This year the call is more insistent than
ever, and writers and publishers are putting out
a special line of goods to meet this demand.
The summer song is the thing just now, with
even some of the leading houses springing titles
which bear a ludicrous resemblance to each
other. This means an exchange of the retort
courteous clear up, or down, if you please, to the
lie circumstantial, and then the war of words
cease. To be sure, this is diverting to some, but
is deprecated by every one at all interested or
concerned directly in the welfare of the business.
Just at the present good instrumental have
the call, and many really fine and meritorious
compositions bear the imprint of firms who al-
ways aim to offer the best obtainable. Ballads
follow closely, and several numbers now out,
with a few announced for early publication, will
doubtless hold the public fancy for a long time.
Standard music is selling well, and it is ex-
pected business will keep up in this branch later
this season than for the past two years.
FLASHES FROM A LIVE WIRE.
haunting refrain. Both of these have, in theat-
rical parlance, "made good."
The comic opera, "The Royal Chef," now play-
ing at the La Salle Theatre, Chicago, is so full
of kaleidoscopic changes, such continuous action
both of the principals and chorus, so filled with
mirth and music, that scenery of any kind be-
comes of secondary consideration. The strains
of one musical number are scarcely through
with before it is sounded by another even more
pleasing. A few of the hits are: "A Little Bit of
Green," "Love in a Mango Tree," "In the Morn-
ing," "As Befits My Rank and Station," "The
Mythical Isle of Oolong," "I'd Like to Break My
Way Into Society," "I'm a Literary Military
Man," "When Old Glory Floats from Every-
where." F. B. Haviland Publishing Co. are the
exclusive publishers.
When a song is making strong headway the
publisher tells the jobber to "go to," otherwise
his assistance as a distributor is eagerly sought.
Little effort is made to reach the dealer direct,
because it requires time and attention to ac-
complish this object; but as a paying proposition
every publisher concedes its correctness.
Alfred G. Robyn's latest ballad, which some
say surpasses his famous "Answer," is unique
in that it seems to appeal just as much to the
vaudeville and professional singer as it does to
the concert and drawing-room balladist. Among
the well-known people who are now featuring
this song, are Howard Sayres, Haydn Coffin, the
well-known English tenor, Florence McNeill.
Maud Beach, Maurice Hewlitt and, in fact a long
list of the very best people in the singing world.
They were talking of musical comedies when
the publisher was congratulated on the music
in a certain production. "That may be all
right," rejoined the publisher, "but the songs
don't sell, hang it! and I can't make it out."
"Well, the trouble is," answered the other fel-
low, "the singers are a poor lot, and this defeat
has damned more than one musical comedy this
season." And it is true. The wonder is why such
poor talent was selected, for many of these enter-
prises have been costly undertakings.
Paul Dresser will be the interlocutor in the
minstrel show part of the program to be given
at the Broadway Theatre to-morrow night by the
managers and agents of the vaudeville perform-
ers for the annual benefit of the Actor's Fund.
Music publishers, with a few exceptions,
which point the case, seem especially blind to
the fact that imitation is the poorest sort of
policy, not only from the point of view of fair-
"The Wizard of Oz," that perennial success, is ness, but because, by rousing antagonism, it re-
going along its prosperous way with very little acts against their own best interests.
change in any of its features except that some
new and attractive songs have been interpolated
In these days of press booming, when every
into the clever score. Bessie Wynne has two show girl, who merits the name, has her advance
new good ones, "Mary Canary," by Furth and agent, it is rather surprising to note the methods
Moran, and "I Love You All the Time," by Will of "The Bostonians," who in "The Queen of
R. Anderson. The latter song is of a popular Laughter," have made one of the biggest suc-
nature of the alliterative lyric set to catchy and cesses of the year, and who yet go on their pros-
DOES NOT MEET WITH APPROVAL.
The Efforts of the Incorporated Society of Musi-
cians is Not Approved in England or Ger-
many.
Neither in England nor in Germany does
the plan of the Tonsetzer Genossenschaft, or In-
corporated Society of Composers, seem to meet
with much approval. The object of this so-
ciety is to levy tribute on concert givers, who
are asked to pay $1.25 for every song on their
programs. It is contended that if this plan could
be carried out it would result, so far as England
is concerned, in the banishment of German songs
from the programs, in much the same way as the
demands for petits droits have succeeded in al-
most excluding new French pieces from English
concert programs. In Germany about 140 im-
portant concert societies, with the famous Ge-
wandhaus of Leipsic at their head, have jointly
signed a document by which they decline to recog-
nize the "Genossenschaft," and declare their in-
tention either of seeking (by payment or other-
wise) for permission from the composers them-
selves to produce copyright works, or of striking
such works out of the programs altogether. Ac-
cordingly, the Tonsetzer Genossenschaft may find
itself rather in a tight place. The fact is, says
a London journalist, that composers obtain, or
at any rate should receive, a quite sufficient
remuneration for their work out of the royalties
which publishers pay them on every copy of the
music that may be sold. In England it is the
custom, even as to larger concert works, such as
symphonies or cantatas or oratorios, where the
right of performance is reserved, to gratuitously
grant licenses to perform, a purchase of the score
and parts automatically conferring such license.
Cobb & Edwards, the "songsmiths," are said to
be scoring with "The Bronco Buster," an instru-
mental by Leo Edwards; "No. 1 Cupid Street,"
"Pretty Kitty San," and "Good-bye, Little Girl."
it
THE WITMARK CORNER'
LOOK FOR BI-MONTHLY CHANGE I
KEEP "POSTED" ON OUR "GOOD THINGS"!
Successful Musical Productions Just Published!
" SHO-GUN,"
"MAN FROM CHINA/'
By George Ade and Gustav Luders.
By Paul West and J. W. Bratton.
"WOODLAND,"
"A CHINA DOLL/'
By Frank Pixley and Gustav Luders.
By H. B. & R. B. Smith and Alfred E. Aarons.
A FEW OF THE SEASON'S SUCCESSES:
"BABES IN TOYLAND,"
"THE TENDERFOOT/'
"BABETTE,"
" THE YANKEE CONSUL,"
" PRINCE OF PILSEN,"
" MAM'SELLE NAPOLEON/*
"WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME,**
"SULTAN OF SULU/'
"PEGGY FROM PARIS/' "MR. PICKWICK."
GET OUR 96-PAGE CATALOG -COMPLETE LIST OF PRODUCTIONS.
M. WITMARK AND SONS,
SCHILLER BUILDING, CHICAGO.
»•••*•!• N E W YORK CITY
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WITMARK BUILDING, LONDON
FROM OCEAN TO OCEAN — AND ACROSS