Radio, Royalties and Rules

 

Christmas Eve – the year 1906 - classical music was first broadcast on the radio from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.  Over the air-waves people heard a phonograph recording of Handel’s “Largo.” Reginald Fessenden and F.W. Alexanderson were the inventors’ team who created the broadcast with Fessenden closing the program with, “Merry Christmas.” 

A few short years later in 1910 Enrico Caruso was heard live from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. 

Radio became a major venue for classical music and by 1920 and into the 1930s programs such as “Bell Telephone Hour,” “Voice of Firestone,” and “Cities Service Concerts” filled the air with classical music.  

Arturo Toscanini led the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Live broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera were heard.  These performances drew large audiences.  

Families gathered around their radios to listen to great performances by the top classical musicians of the day.

Those 20 years of broadcasts began the era of artists, whether a composer, conductor, soloist, orchestra or chorus, earning royalties from radio performances.  Up to that point, publishers paid composers royalties on the sales of their music.  But radio – no one knew what to expect.  Formulating guidelines, rules and payments became a pressing issue.

In early 1923 over WJZ in Newark, New Jersey, Gena Branscombe had two fifteen minute segments of her music performed live.  In her March 23, 1923 letter to Mr. Austin at Arthur P. Schmidt Publishing , she said:

“Am ever so thrilled about it – The possibilities are so limitless!”  

She hoped Mr. Austin would listen in, he didn’t own a radio, then asked if his friend in London would get up at 3 AM to listen if the broadcast would get across the pond. 

Thus began many years of Gena’s music being heard on the radio.  Her Branscombe Choral, violinists, pianists and famous singers of her era were heard live via broadcasts on WJZ, WNYC, WEAF and WOR.  Miss Branscombe understood the importance of this promotional publicity which might lead to sales of her music and royalties paid to her.

Radio broadcasts for Miss Branscombe were not an easy path to her copyrighted music being performed.  This new musical venue with great possibilities for the future had road blocks for the composer. 

In the 1930’s contentious letters between Gena and Mr. Austin regarding radio broadcasts of her music were nearly a daily occurrence.  Permission from Arthur P. Schmidt Publishing, who held the copyrights to her music, had to be sent to the radio stations where her music was to be performed.

Radio stations refused singers the performance of works published by Schmidt explaining they had not received the permission letters. 

From her May 22, 1930 letter to Mr. Austin she wrote:

“And now for something that’s on my mind.  Over two weeks ago a baritone came to me and told me that all his Schmidt numbers were being taken off – on his broadcasting program of the National Broadcasting Co.  Now a soprano comes along with the same story.  She is not allowed to do Schmidt numbers.  ….. How do you propose to handle this thing?  One’s opinion may vary as to the sales value of radio performances – but it will surely react unfavorably as to the whole catalogue if singers come to know generally that the works are taboo.  It seems a very serious situation to me.”

On July 23, 1930, after many letters back and forth, Mr. Austin replied,

“In any case, as we wrote you recently, any broadcasting you wish to have done of your compositions meets with our entire approval.”

 An unknown, unsolved issue for the broadcasting of Gena’s music was happening.  She did not let up with her vitriol in her July 26, 1930 letter to Mr. Austin,

“I wasn’t asking permission to have my things done, I was telling you of a condition which affects unfavorably all the works of the Schmidt catalogue, my own, included.  I have been told that this has been caused by some attitude on your part.  If this is not true, and you are not able, or do not consider it important, to clear the matter up, - there’s nothing more that I can do.”

 And on through the 1940s these discussions of permission letters to broadcasters, questions of where royalties originated and how they were paid to her were a constant in correspondence between Miss Branscombe and her publisher Mr. Austin at Arthur P. Schmidt.  They did come to an agreement and the mood of professionalism returned to their relationship. 

The beginning of classical music on radio broadcasts was not easy for the creative spirit.  Yet, through the trials and tribulations of developing rules and laws to protect artists, a path was laid down for today’s musicians.  All is not perfect as we know from news reports that performers accuse producers, agents, record companies and others of fraud. 

This is sad as we artists work long hard hours to share the soulful depth of our art.  Being paid for that work….. ART TAKES WORK….is essential to our livelihood and the ongoing endeavor of artistic creativity.

 #BringingBackBranscombe

·    Letters between Gena Branscombe and Arthur P. Schmidt Publishing Company are held in the Arthur P. Schmidt Publishing Company business papers at the Library of Congress.