Music Trade Review

46
THE
MUSIC
TRADE
REVIEW
DECEMBER
29, 1923
IINrfftWOiUDOF=~VrllisH1N6>, I
CONDITIONS EXISTING IN THE POPULAR MUSIC FIELD
SONGS THAT SELL
Present Situation Shows the Need for More Intensive Exploitation Campaigns in Trade Circles
on Popular Numbers-Some of the Factors Which Are Exerting Influence on the Market
Th e sales of the average popular song have
shown a further decrease in compari son with
the Spring and Fall, 1922, seaso ns, this, of
course, with th e except ion of unusual hits. In
many cases the sa les on average nu mbers have
been cut in half, a con siderab le loss in vo lum e,
particularly on seasonal or yearly periods. .\
co ntinu ation of this in anything like a perm a-·
nent characte r will, undoubtedly, make it neces­
sary to increase prices on sheet music. Any
increase,· of course, would naturally take care
of the dea le r's profits in add itio n to adding to
1 he pu bli shcr's income.
Many reasons are given for t he diminished
sales. Among these are the dem and of 35 and
.sO ce nt records whi ch market to popular sellers
at a most reasonable price; the ove r-night and
weekly record releases; the increased number
of talking machines constantly entering the
homes of the co untry; continued interest in the
player-piano; the vogue of dance orchestras
a nd, last but not least, the present radio en­
thusiasnl.
It is not thou g ht that any of these interests
that take awa y from the sales of sheet music
are to be, or can be, curbed and, such being
the case, there are really only two oth er methods
of adding to vo lume. One is more intensive
sa les camp aigns in trad e ci rcles. Instrume ntall y,
s heet music is ge tting all of the publicity it
needs. If anything, the present activities overdo
that sort of exploitation. If more vocal rendi­
tions co uld be obtained on meritorious songs,
it might help matters, although in many in­
s tances· pr esent-day orchestras do use vocal
passages in their instrumental renditions. The
other alternative is to lay more stress and mor e
attenti on on the popular so n gs of the better
grade, songs that are not s hort -lived; son~s
that will have a sa le ove r a period t hat mak es it
po~ s ible to get t he utmost in sale; vo lum e.
If
t he re were Ie"s activity on novel tie" , cOIl.ed ies
would neither have too large a di ~rlay of titl cs,
nor would profe!'sional or orche s tration depart ­
'"ents have too many irons in the fire. There
are so many of these latter numbers and tlte
is s ues that, are termed "race" songs that w id e··
spread interest is curtailed a nd it is doubtful if
th e piano-playing public is in tere st<;d in COI1­
s uming or cou ld absorb such a wealth of
material.
All of these thin gs a re contributing to the
pres ent decrease in sa les and adding their mite
to popular publi s hers' probl ems. :\ way Oll t
will, of course, be found. From all indi ca tions,
the popular song is doin g too much for the
othe r fellow and not enough for it self. A ll of
whiclt gets back to the sayi ng of Leo Feist,
spread on the minutes seve ral years back: "The
music industry is the only business activity
where th e tail wag·s the dog." And what Leo
l:cist said then just about explain s the e ntir e
sit uation as it exists to-day.
"DEAR LITTLE BOY OF MINE"
I
1­
Featured With New First National Film, "Boy
of Mine," Written by Booth Tarkington
Ernest R. Ball's beautiful ball a d, "Dear Little
Boy of Mine," published by M. vVitmark &
Sons, is li) lease of life. This song, one of the bes t-known
in the vVitmark Black and White Series, was
originall y writte n and published during the war.
It wa s not actua lly what were termed ill tho se
days war so ngs, but, due lar ge ly to the mom ent
of its first app carance, it cam e to be genera lly
regarded as such. "Dear Little Boy of Minc"
enjoyed a ve ry large meas ure of popul arity and
its sales were big. The y have kept up eve r s in ce,
for it is a song that possesses a wide appeal.
Now, however, one of those unexpected but
a lways possible incidents in the music bu siness
is abo ut to occur that will bring the song no
end of publicity and undoubt edly create a new
and extensive demand for the number. T he
F irst National is releas in g a wo nd erful feature
picture, made by ]. K. McDJ)nald, s tarring Ben
A lexand er, filmed around a story written by
Booth Tarkington, entitled "noy of Mine." The
Ba ll song naturally fits into the picture per­
fectly, not only in title, but in theme. Ind eed,
"Dear Little Boy of Mine" will be used as the
theme numb er throughout the pictur e. Inc i­
dentally, the musical score will be made up
largely, if not entirely, from composition s by
Ernest R. Ball. But th ere is little doubt thitt
"Dear Little Boy of M ine" w ill be the out­
standing a nd genu ine pi cture song of the yea r,
for t here is nothing for ced o r artificial in its
connection with the picture . The publishers
have issu cd a spe cial souve lllr edition, with
a ttractive title page, to commemo rat e the .asso­
cia tion of so ng and film .
-
-
1­
That Old Gang of Mine
Sittin' in a Corner
If I Can't Get the Sweetie I Want
(I Pity the Sweetie I Get)
-­ -
-­
-­
-
Indiana Moon
When You Walked Out, Someone
Else Walked Right In
Love (My Heart Is Calling You)
Ten-Ten-Tennessee
Kokomo
Roamin' to Wyomin'
Lovey Came Back
I Love the Girl Who Kisses
Why Should I Give My Love to You
Tell All the Folks in Kentucky (I'm
Comin' Home)
You Darling You
You
I Wish I Had Someone to Cry Over Me
Bit by Bit, YOII're Breaking My Heart
Nobody Else Can Love Me Like
My Old Tomato Can
Salt Your Sugar
Just One Kind Word
Universal Dance Folio
Special Edition for 1924
Song Gems from Irving Berlin's Third Annual
MUSIC BOX REVUE
An Orange Grove in California
-
The Waltz of Long Ago
Little Butterfly
Tell Me a Bedtime Story
Learn to Do the Strut
Climbing Up the Scale
RAINBOW NUMBERS GOING WELL
Blues Songs of That House Meet With Wide
Popularity in Sh'Ort Time
One Girl
IRVING BERLIN, Inc.
1607 Broadway, New York
Since the two numbers, "Mistreatin' Daddy"
a nd "Love ,\in't Blind No More," came out in
sheet music form the orders have been large.
The records arc a lso selling well.
The Rainbow Music Corp. reports the fol­
lowing numb ers of its catalog sellin g we ll:
"Wish I Had Yo u" (And I'm Gonna Get You
Bl ues), "Tantaliz in' Mamma," "Ti red 0' Waitin'
Blues," "Charleston Crazy," "Save Your ~fan
and Satisfy Your Sou l," "Just Thinkin'," "Goin'
PAUL SPECHT
And His Alamac Hotel Orchestra
Broadcast
~ ~appp j}ehl ~ear
To All of You
Smith on the Okeh and Bessie Smith o n the
Columbia, is a tremendous seller.
The Rainbow Music Corp. has made great
s trides for the s hort tim e it is in business and
the comin g yea r, 1924, looks auspi cious.
Warren D . Ownby, of Broken Arrow, Okla.,
is the writer and publisher of a new song en ­
titled "De Ku Klux Gwine to Git You Ef You
Don't Watch Out." Mr. Ownby, by the way,
is a well-known physician in Oklahoma but oc­
casio nall y fe els the call to write a topical son g.
Consult the Universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
free of charge for men who desire pOllitions.
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