Chapter 4. Publishing For Profit

It is sometimes difficult to realize that music, despite its nebulous distinction as "one of the arts" is actually regarded as a commodity and is bought, exploited, distributed and sold in much the same way as other commodities including soap, food, cosmetics, cigarettes and automobiles. Upon this fact is based the music industry which embraces hundreds of publishing firms, thousands of professional songwriters, wholesalers, dealers, orchestras, radio performers, recording companies and music associations, and which impinges upon the allied fields of motion pictures, drama and radio. This industry is constantly expanding both in size and importance. From its humble origin at the turn of the century it has striven constantly, and successfully to increase the value and significance of its product-music. Today this industry is grossing an annual income of well over twenty million dollars.

It is important for the new songwriter to understand the purpose and function of the different components of the music industry. By comprehending the problems and expenses involved in publishing, exploiting, printing, and selling songs he will be better prepared to cooperate with the publishers and to create material that conforms to market standards. By studying the various sources of income derived from music sales and performance he will be able to decide whether he should regard song writing as a permanent career or merely as a pleasant and profitable pastime.

Before outlining the operations and functions of the music industry, there are two characteristics of music-as-a-commodity that should be made thoroughly clear. These characteristics explain certain peculiarities connected with the buying and selling of musical material. The first point concerns the value of a popular song.

Generally speaking, the publishers have no way of determining the actual worth of a popular song until it has been properly and completely exploited. In other words, it is almost impossible to determine the amount of profit to be derived from a song merely by listening' to the number or by comparing the song to other published songs of a similar type. Through experience, the publishers, bandleaders and other public performers have gained a fairly good conception the type of material that the public wants. They have also learned to recognize the type of material that stands little chance of success. This knowledge is, of course, only general in character and cannot be narrowed down to a correct evaluation of any individual number. Under these circumstances, there is a considerable amount of risk involved in the publishing of any number.

Sometimes the full value of a song can only be determined many years after its first exploitation and sales. An outstanding example of this is The Maine Stein Song. This song was only moderately successful when first published. It is extremely doubtful, in fact, if the sheet music sales fully covered the costs of publication. Fifty years after the song had been published it was discovered and revived by Rudy Vallee. His distinctive performance and exploitation of this number converted it into an outstanding hit. This was a lucky accident that could not have been foreseen by the publishers.

The Last Roundup had a similar history. This song was a "flop" when first published and gathered dust on the publisher's shelves for four years before it was successfully revived. Stardust, first published as an instrumental piece, rested on the publishers' shelves for over seven years, selling next to no copies. After this long period it was revived as a theme song and eventually topped the list of best-sellers in sheet music. As Time Goes By which was only a moderate success some years ago was revived in "Casablanca" and led the Hit Parade.

There are many other songs which seem to drop by the wayside but which through some freak or lucky accident eventually became hits. However, there are even more songs which give every evidence of becoming hits and which do not "click" even though they are plugged by outstanding bands and radio stars. The fact that a song is written by a top-flight professional song-writer, that it is featured in a successful musical show, and that it is plugged by outstanding orchestras throughout the country is no assurance that the song will become a hit. On the other hand, there are a good number of songs which are purely experimental, as far as the publishers are concerned, but which, for some unexplainable reason, strike the public fancy.

From these circumstances, it can be seen that the publisher is in no position to put a value on a song. He therefore arranges to "buy" the song on a royalty basis, giving the songwriters a percentage of the income derived from the sale of sheet music, orchestrations and records. The amount of money that a songwriter will derive from a song depends, therefore, not upon the publisher's original estimate of the number, but upon the actual success of the song itself. This is a fair arrangement for a number of reasons. If, for example, a publisher actually bought a song for $100 and the song became an outstanding hit, the songwriter would feel that he was entitled to an additional sum. If the same song were a failure, the publisher would feel that he had overpaid the songwriter. Under the royalty contract, it is important to both the songwriter and the publisher that the song become successful.

It is due to this uncertainty about the intrinsic value of a song that the publisher views the work of new songwriters with a certain amount of distrust. He realizes that publishing any song involves a certain amount of risk, but that the risk is materially reduced if the song is written by a professional who has already established his ability to write hit songs. A song written by a non-professional must therefore be extremely outstanding or, through performance, have attracted favorable comment before the average legitimate publisher is willing to risk his time and money in printing and exploiting it.

Since it is relatively impossible to predetermine the sales and popularity of a popular song, the publisher does not rush into full printing and exploitation until the song has been given a thorough and comprehensive test. This test may be accomplished by "spotting" the song in a motion picture, having it plugged by a few top-flight bands or radio stars, or through recordings made by popular singers or orchestras. Once the demand for a song ha& been started in this manner, the publisher can proceed cautiously with actual publication, keeping his expenses down until he has some definite assurance that the song will "click." As has been stated before, even these trial balloons do not always furnish true indications of the ultimate success or failure of a number.

The second characteristic that is peculiar to music-as-a-commodity is oftentimes described as "intangible property right." When a person buys an average commodity, such, for example, as a pair of shoes, he acquires full ownership of this commodity upon purchase. He can do anything he pleases with this commodity for he owns all right, title and interest to it. This, however, is not the case with a piece of music. The purchaser of a published sheet music copy or recording acquires ownership of only the printed copy or record. He does not acquire any of the rights granted to the owner of the music itself under the copyright law. He is therefore prohibited from copying this music, performing it publicly for profit, or from performing any of the other acts which the law grants exclusively to the owner. This simply means that the owner of a musical composition still retains his rights in the composition even though copies of that composition have been sold to other parties. It is because of this "intangible property right" that publishers and songwriters are able to collect fees for public performance, recordings, and the use of the song in motion pictures. It seems strange that many people fail to understand "intangible property right" as applied to music but have learned to respect this right when applied to other creative fields such as drama or literature. For instance, the purchaser of a book realizes that he is prevented by law from copying the book or any sections of it, from reprinting it, or from rearranging it without permission of the copyright owner. The purchaser of a published play knows that he cannot perform the play without securing permission. There have, however, been hundreds of instances where orchestras, singers and other performers have violated the copyright law through the mistaken theory that purchase of an orchestration or sheet of music entitled them to full rights concerning the music itself. The entire matter of "intangible property right" will be discussed in greater detail when we study the operation of The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. The point to be borne in mind, however, is that this property right plays an important role in the publishing, exploitation and sale of music.

Just what is involved in the "publishing" of a song? Why can't a songwriter publish his own numbers? To answer these questions, let us study the functions and operation of an average publishing firm.

The heads of the firm have come up from the ranks. They have learned, through years of experience and training, the many angles involved in publishing and exploitation. In the majority of cases these men have been successful professional songwriters, arrangers or song pluggers. They are on friendly terms with bandleaders, singers and other performers. They know the best methods of plugging different types of song material, and they are able to make a fairly shrewd guess regarding current public tastes and temperaments.

The professional manager is next in importance to the actual heads of the firm. He is in full charge of song exploitation and is general "foreman" of the song-pluggers employed by the firm. This man is generally a top-flight song plugger himself. He has a great deal to say about the selection of new material. This particularly applies to the work of new songwriters. Such a song may be auditioned by one of the firm's song pluggers or staff musicians, but it is the professional manager who usually has the last word.

Another function served by the professional manager consists of listing new songs according to their plugging importance. It would be highly impractical to start off a number of songs at the same time, giving each song the same type of exploitation. This would simply mean that a leading orchestra or band might be asked to perform three or four numbers by the same publisher within a short period, giving the same type of promotion for each number. Since there would undoubtedly be several hundred publishers making the same request, it would be literally impossible for the orchestra to accept this request, even if it wished to do so. The professional manager must therefore look over his new catalog and decide which of the songs will receive the first concentrated promotion, which songs will follow, and what type of plugging will bring the best results for each of the numbers. For instance, one song might be exploited best by some well-known radio star, another song might get its best send-off in a recording, a third song might require the build-up of a popular band. The professional manager's decision in this matter may mean the ultimate success or failure of the song. The professional manager must also determine by the general reaction to a song's initial exploitation whether it is worth the time and expense to continue plugging the song, or whether the song should be dropped. Some songs, particularly novelty material or fast rhythm numbers, either "click" immediately or give strong indications that the public reaction is unfavorable. Other types of songs require a slow and careful build-up with judicious plugging over a fairly long period before a definite public reaction can be determined.

The song-plugger serves an important function in any publishing house. He acts in the same capacity as a salesman except that in his case the product is music, and his customers are bandleaders, radio stars and other public performers. Those who are not acquainted with the customs of Tin Pan Alley often wonder why song-pluggers are necessary. They argue that since bands, orchestras and singers must depend upon music for a livelihood, there should be no necessity for the type of high-pressure salesmanship with which the song-plugger is associated.

There is a simple explanation to this. Public performers are perfectly willing to plug songs that have already created a public demand. Their aim is to please and satisfy the listening public. It is for this very, reason that they are somewhat hesitant about plugging new material unless they have been "sold" on the fact that this new material has hit potentialities. In other words, the average bandleader or radio singer cannot afford to be the "guinea pig" for new songs unless he is convinced that they have definite merit and that they are suited to his particular style of performance. There is also another factor involved in this reluctance. The radio performer has only a limited time "on the air" and is therefore required to concentrate on those numbers which, he is convinced, will be most popular with his audience. He cannot afford to waste any broadcasting time with new songs which might have a negative or unfavorable reaction. Furthermore, even if the is willing to try out a new song, he must make his choice from the current catalogues of several hundred publishers. For these reasons, it is up to the song-plugger to use all his persuasive arts in urging the performer to plug a particular number. To accomplish this, the song-plugger must use all the devices of the super-salesman. He must be able to approach his "customers'* on a pal-to-pal basis and to request a plug as a friendly favor. He must know the habits, hobbies and peculiarities of the performers he must contact. He must know, for instance, that one bandleader likes to play golf, that another enjoys fishing. He must understand their temperaments sufficiently to know the most favorable time to approach them. He must be so well acquainted with their likes and dislikes concerning popular songs that he can forecast their reactions to the material he wishes to present.

The average song-plugger restricts his operations to a few contacts which he cultivates to the best of his ability. These contacts are usually top-flight bandleaders and radio stars, representing the best plugging possibilities.

Although the song-plugger specializes in promoting plugs for new material, his activities actually stretch over a broader field. His job is to keep the, plugs coming in on old numbers as well as new material. Since the publisher's income depends upon performance rights as well as sheet music and record sales, every plug is important. The "life" of a popular song is quite short, but by clever plugging, the song may be "kept rolling" an additional number of weeks and months.

In addition to the professional manager and song-pluggers, a publishing firm usually includes a business manager and a few arrangers, piano players, clerks, etc.

The business manager attends to the distribution of sheet music and orchestrations through wholesalers, dealers, schools, music teachers, etc. He is also instrumental in arranging deals with recording companies, and motion picture concerns. The arrangers make spe- cial arrangements for certain performers, "scratch" orchestrations for experimental numbers, and occasionally the standard or "regular" orchestration for the published number. In most cases, however, the publisher has his regular orchestration made by some well-known arranger who is not connected with any publishing house.

The distribution system of the music industry consists of several thousand dealers and a few wholesalers or jobbers scattered throughout the country. The dealers comprise, not only music stores, but any other type of store where sheet music is displayed and sold. Many drug stores, for instance, have music racks in which. the most popular hits are displayed.

The jobbers are located at strategic points across the country. The jobber's function is important for it assures quick distribution and facilitates ordering. If the average dealer were compelled to order directly from the publisher, he might have to send separate orders to over a hundred firms and wait for the merchandise to arrive from different parts of the country. The publisher, on the other hand, would be compelled to keep an expensive and involved bookkeeping system covering thousands of accounts and requiring a close watch on credits and terms. Under the present system, the publisher sells principally to jobbers and to a few large dealers such as department stores where the quantity of merchandise ordered warrants direct handling. The individual dealers send their music orders directly to their nearest jobber who fills all the orders from stock, sends them out promptly in one package-and charges a slight service fee. Although the dealers have to pay slightly more for their music through this procedure, the time and trouble saved in ordering, more than warrants the extra expenditure.

The distribution system is somewhat different where standard music is concerned. "While there are only a relatively few standard publishers, their catalogs of current music material (including teaching methods, church music, classical numbers, etc.) are so enormous that no dealer would have sufficient room to carry a representative stock. The standard publishers therefore do not rely upon the jobber-dealer system for distribution of their merchandise. While they employ dealers to a small extent, the bulk of their sales are directly to customers such as music teachers, music supervisors, schools, institutions, etc.

The jobbers and dealers of popular music will not participate in displaying songs or carrying stock unless a definite public demand has been built up for the merchandise. Even songs that have actually been published are generally not ordered until they have been plugged sufficiently to cause the dealer's customers to request copies.

To illustrate the operation of the publishing firms and distributing systems, let us follow a song from its manuscript stage to ultimate publication and exploitation. To simplify the procedure, let us assume that this song has been written by a professional songwriter.

The first step, in this case, is an audition before the professional manager of the publishing firm. If the songwriter is a competent pianist, he will perform the number himself. If this shouldn't be the case, he will either ask a friend or the firm's piano player to perform the piece.

The professional manager may suggest a few changes either in the melody or lyric. After these revisions have been made (occasionally, the publisher may have one of his own arrangers "doctor up the tune") the song is accepted for publication and a standard royalty contract is signed by the publisher and songwriter. The publisher then has a few "scratch" orchestrations (handwritten) made by his arranging staff and turns these orchestrations to the song-plugger whose contacts are best able to handle the initial promotion of the number.

The song-plugger may be asked to contact a bandleader and a radio singer for the initial plugs. The bandleader may be contacted during rehearsal, or between performances. The plug may be requested in any number of ways, depending upon the song-plugger's methods, the attitude of the bandleader, etc. However, a possible procedure would be for the song-plugger to approach the bandleader on a friendly basis, discuss "shop" for awhile, and casually introduce the fact that he has a brand new number which is just suited to the style and instrumentation of the band. After building up the reputation and previous successes of the songwriter, the song-plugger may be able to persuade the bandleader to try out the number in rehearsal. Here, again, changes may be suggested. After these have been effected and, always assuming that the number has actual merit, the bandleader may consent to perform the number. For this purpose, he may have his own arranger make a new orchestration conforming to the particular style of the orchestra, or he might request the publisher to have a special arrangement made.

After the number has been performed, the song-plugger will try to get further plugs from the same bandleader and will also approach other top-flight bandleaders for plugs. The publisher does not have to concern himself with the smaller and lesser-known bands, for if the number is performed successfully by the topflight bands, the smaller bands will follow suit and jump on the "band-wagon."

The radio star is approached in much the same manner, although in this case a special vocal arrangement may have to be made.

By using different performers, and concentrating on constant plugging, the publisher soon builds up a demand for his song. Actual printing is then started, although this at first is restricted to a small quantity. As the song gains in popularity more and more plugs are obtained without the intervention of the song-plug-ger. Radio performances, band performances, and recordings are made to meet the public demand. Dealers begin ordering quantities of sheet music from their jobbers and printing goes into full swing. When the song is finally "on its own," the song-plugger's activities slow down and he begins to concentrate upon another new number of his publisher's. However, when the popularity of the song begins to fade and the sales start to drop, the song-plugger resumes plugging the song in an effort to keep it alive as long as possible.

When the publisher finds that his initial plugging is successful, he encourages plugging in different parts of the country by mailing out professional copies. These copies resemble the regular sheet music copies except that they contain no art work, have no title page, and are usually printed on cheaper paper. For this reason, they are sometimes known as "black and whites." Approximately 2,000 professional copies are printed and then mailed to out-of-town bands and radio performers. The average publisher has branch offices in the larger cities. Copies are also sent to these branch offices and are distributed by them to local bands and singers.

It can be seen from this brief outline that publishing a song involves much more than merely printing sheet music copies and orchestrations. The initial exploitation usually takes three or four weeks and costs the publisher approximately $1,000. This figure does not cover overhead, salaries or similar expenses. It merely covers planting and mailing costs, orchestration, special arrangements, trade announcements, etc. This time and money is actually expended before the publisher is certain that the song will "click." It is generally estimated that at least 5,000 copies of a song must be sold to pay for costs (excluding overhead and salaries).

Quite often, new songwriters, and particularly those who have not had much success with the publishers, seriously consider publishing their own songs. Some have even attempted this, although with dire results. It should be quite plain that such a procedure is entirely impractical. Actually, legitimate publishing requires an organization of highly experienced men who are thoroughly grounded in all phases of plugging and exploitation . . . men who have contacts with top-flight performers throughout the country and who know all the angles of the business. These men know their music and their public. They know when to gamble on a new song and when to reject it. Although they occasionally make mistakes, these are never costly and they can always retrieve their losses on other numbers.

The music business is highly competitive. The newcomer who does not know all the "angles" and is not equipped to meet and overcome this competition is very apt to lose ,his investment and to find that his songs, regardless of their merit, are not exploited sufficiently to warrant the time, effort and expense.

The Music Associations

The publishers and professional songwriters depend upon three principal associations to protect their legal rights, to arbitrate trade disputes, and to collect performance fees. These associations are The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), The Songwriters Protective Association (SPA), and The Music Publishers Protective Association (MPPA). A fourth association, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) serves a somewhat different, but equally important purpose.

ASCAP. If the publishers were compelled to depend entirely upon sheet music sales and recordings for their livelihood, there would be no publishing business. The average song has an extremely short life. It reaches its peak in popularity and sales in approximately one month. It usually stays near this peak for a few weeks, after which the sales and plugs drop off rapidly. Unless the song is an outstanding hit, it will rarely sell more than 7,000 copies. Orchestration sales will be considerably less.

One of the reasons for this situation is that all songs are exploited to the public by means of the radio. An expert performance can be obtained merely by tuning to the broadcast of a favorite band. Furthermore, a song that is really popular will be plugged so often that the interest in it soon dies, and the desire to go out and buy a copy of the song is stifled.

The publishers and songwriters, fortunately, have another source of income-the collection of fees for the public performance o their numbers. The reader may recall that in our discussion of copyrights and "intangible property rights," we mentioned that one of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner was the public performance of the song for profit. This means, simply, that no copyrighted number may be performed in any manner before the public (unless no profit whatsoever is derived from the performance) without special permission of the copyright owner. It is the principal function of ASCAP to collect these performance fees.

ASCAP is a voluntary, non-profit organization formed to collect public performance fees for its writer and publisher members. Representing approximately 1600 songwriters and 200 publishers, ASCAP's membership includes the creators of the nation's song hits for the past twenty-five years. In addition, ASCAP's members have written practically all of the nation's most popular college songs, patriotic songs, hymns and spirituals. The association has branches throughout the country. These branches keep a thorough check on public performances within their territory, and take action against any infringement of the performance rights.

ASCAP does not collect an individual fee for each number performed, but issues a blanket license which permits performance of any and all numbers controlled by the association. These licenses must be renewed yearly and are issued at a nominal fee. Where the performance is confined to a restaurant, theatre, tavern, dance hall, etc. the fee is usually based upon the seating capacity. Radio license fees are obtained on a percentage basis.

ASCAP's legal status has been attacked many times but has always been confirmed. The association's first test case was against Shanley's restaurant in New York which was utilizing Victor Herbert's music without license. Suit was filed in 1914 and reached the Supreme Court three years later. Justice Oliver "Wendell Holmes rejected the argument of Shanley's that "music was only incidental to the restaurant." Justice Holmes said, "If the music did not pay, it would be given up. If it pays, it pays out of the public pocketbook. "Whether it pays or not, the purpose of employing it is profit, and that is enough." This decision has been reconfirmed many times and has enabled ASCAP to wipe out musical piracy.

ASCAP collects several million dollars each year. Half of this sum is paid to the publisher members and half is paid to songwriter members. The amount paid to any member depends upon his "classification" which is determined by a Classification Committee and which takes into consideration the number, nature, character and prestige of works composed, written or published by the member, the length of time in which the works have been part of the Society's catalogue, and the popularity and vogue of such works. The Classification Committee meets periodically to review the classification status of all members. It can be easily seen that every publisher and songwriter member makes every effort to obtain as many plugs as possible so that his classification may be maintained or raised.

Membership in ASCAP can be obtained if the applicant can prove that he has been regularly practicing the profession of writing music (or lyrics) and that he has had at least one work of his composition regularly published. Any person, partnership firm or corporation regularly engaged in the music publishing business is eligible to membership.

Although ASCAP has not issued licenses to the symphonic and concert users of music (the publishers have previously collected their own fees for such performances), the Society has completed its plans for the licensing of these fields and expects to begin operation within the next few months. Another unexploited field that will, undoubtedly, bring a substantial income to Society members is industrial music. More than 3,000 American plants now use music to build up employee morale and speed production. ASCAP will not attempt to license this field during the war, but has asserted its rights with the issuance of $1 licenses. There is little doubt that industrial music will be continued after the war. ASCAP will then be in a position to demand regular license fees for the performance of such music.

SPA. The Songwriters Protective Association is a voluntary, unincorporated association of composers and authors of musical works, having for its principal purposes the improvement of working conditions of its members, protection against unjust practices, adoption by all publishers of standard uniform contracts, and in general, the improvement of the Copyright Law in respect to the practical aspects of protecting the creative worker in full ownership and enjoyment of the rights which the theory of such laws intends him to have.

Organized in 1931, and having a membership of over 1100 established professional songwriters, the SPA has brought into general use the "Uniform Popular Song Writer's Agreement" (see Appendix), and has improved the terms under which writers place popular songs for publication. The Association also requires prompt rendition of royalty statements to members who have placed songs under the terms of "uniform" approved contracts. If questions arise as to the accuracy of such statements, SPA has them audited.

Any person who has composed the music or written the words of a song which has been regularly published (by other than known "song shark" publishers) is eligible to membership in the SPA.

It can be seen from the above that SPA is actually a trade association for professional songwriters. While it does advise its members regarding the reliability of a publisher, it does not assist in securing collaborators, criticize or comment upon the merit of any composition or lyric, or assist in any manner in placing songs or in recommending songs to publishers, broadcasters, record manufacturers, bandleaders, etc.

The name of the association has led many non-professional songwriters to believe that they may secure advice, assistance or collaboration in connection with their unpublished songs. This, of course, is not the purpose or function of the Association.

MPPA. The Music Publishers Protective Association is the trade association for legitimate music publishers. In addition to normal trade association functions, it also collects fees for transcriptions and broadcast-recordings of its members' songs. This association arbitrates disputes between publishers, keeps a weather eye on the distributing system, and takes action against unfair practices in the industry.

BMI. Broadcast Music Inc. is, literally, an orphan of the storm; the storm, in this case, being ASCAP's famous fight with radio. As radio's income mounted, during the years, ASCAP felt justified in demanding proportionately higher fees. In 1939, the broadcasters paid over four millions dollars to ASCAP, representing 6j per cent of the Society's entire revenue. "When it appeared that ASCAP's next raise would double this figure, the radio people organized and produced their own "secret Weapon" ... a publishing firm which would develop its own catalogue of music to be used by broadcasters to supplant ASCAP's catalogue. The original plan was only partially successful. Since the majority of the successful publishers and songwriters were ASCAP members, BMI's catalogue was inferior. Since 1940 however, BMI has made considerable progress. Today over 930 stations are licensed by BMI. Many of these stations use BMI music exclusively. Other stations use both BMI and ASCAP catalogues. BMI's membership requirements are less stringent than ASCAP's. Non-professional songwriters, for instance, are eligible, providing they print, distribute and exploit their own numbers. At present, BMI represents over 750 "publishers," most of them being non-professionals. Among the hit songs that have been obtained from these members are Paper Doll, Besatme Mucho, and And So Goodnight.

BMI has opened the doors for many new songwriters. Although it was formed, originally, to combat ASCAP, it soon became evident, that the music industry was large enough to accommodate both associations. BMI has proven that it can stand on its own two feet and there is no doubt that although it did not "knock out" ASCAP, it has established a place of importance in the music business.

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