The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1884-01-10
Money in Songs.

The secret of success in the world de-
pends upon hitting popular fancy at
critical moment. Those who aim to
lead or direct taste generally fail; those
who catch the spirit of the hour tri-
umph. Thus it is that ephemerals
grow rich and notable while giant
minds are starving IN obscurity. We
need not go far for an illustration of
this anomalous condition. If one will
contrast the success of a certain class
of song-writers with the unsuccess of
composers of grand melodies and the
builders of noble verse there will be
seen in bold front the difference be-
tween qualification and education in
the matter of taste.
There are several young men in the
country, bright. observing, but not very
Intellectual fellows, who devote a
small fraction of their time to the max
ing of light-favored songs that appeal
sentimentally to the heart, the music
being little more than a jingle Of notes,
with an occasional melodious strain.
Being written to catch the masses, and
not to delight the sense of the musically
refined, these fugitive pieces are de-
scribed as "craze"' songs, and the uni
versatility of welcome given to many of
them justities the term. These are the
tunes that, heard from the stage, are
picked up readily and hummed by
every one, are whistled in the street
and sung in the parlor until they are
familiar with all conditions of people,
from gamin to belle. And these songs
are mostly musical tricks. The writers
shrewdly take up some common emo
ton and play upon it, nothing teing
more characteristic of these songs Chan
their nursery flavor, their childhood
elements.
In one of the most popular there is
an insignifcance of ideas, fatness of
verse, schoolgirl quality of rhyme
and an insipidity of musical character,
yet there have been over 800, 900 copies
of it sold, and the fortunate author has
already received $4,000 in royalties.
This is the song entitled 'tPeek-a-Boo," "
written by bright young Irisbman
named Scanlan. This young man, who
is but twenty-five years of age, has
written several of these 'scraze" songs,
among them. "He Never Went Back on
the Poor" Terry Joined the Gang, -
"By-by, Baby, By-by," from which he
has received something more than S25,
900, and now calculates his income
from continued royalties about $4,000 a
month.
| The sentimental "Silver Threads
Among the Gold" is still selling, after
$50, 900 copies of it have been put upor,
the public. "Put Me in My Little Bed''
and ''My Grandfather's Clock" have
reached 100000 copies each, and are
out of demand. There are score or
more of these '.craze" songs that have
been sold phenomenally, and they are
being turned off necessarily, each sea-
son having born to it from one to 8
dozen. OF course great many write
who get no returns, but that is because
they have neither the tact nor the
means of introducing them to the pub
lie, not because they can possibly write
anything too idiotic to win favor. We
cannot imagine any one writing less
sensible things than the popular
catches,
never drink behind the bar
| Though may smoke a mild cigar,
"Babies on Our Block" or care Ye
There, Moriarity?" The profits on such
songs range between $4,000 and $15,.
600.
There is another field in which trash
tells against worth in the conquest o.
public favor in astonishing proportion
Among the most popular plays now are
those that some years ago would have
been denied admission to the stage
They are made up of the most direct
appeals to the sympathetic emotions a:
distinguished from the reasoning facul
ties, usually being such affairs as the
Judgment condemns, while the senti
ment, easily affected, approves. A
successful play yields its proprietor
anywhere from $4,000 to 100000 {
year, though the latter figures, O.
course, cover the very rare exceptions
Profits of $4,000 a year on theatre
enterprises are not uncommon. 1t viii
not do to say that good plays sRd goot
attractions do not succeed, for as mat
ter of fact they make, in the long run
the most money. But the phenomena
successes are the plays that, like th'
adroitly-timed songs, become ';craze,
either for their striking novelty or be
cause of some Fictitious circumstance
attending their production. The re
ceipts from the performances o
"Hazel Kirke," for example, hav,
so far considerably exceeded $1,000,
900, and it is yet by no means worl
out. Mr.. BARLEY Campbell received
in one year from two of his play
j the sum of $4,000. He perhaps re
i ceives more than that now. Other play
. writers sell their works outright, whel
the terms range from $4,000 to SIC, 0,OOt
for play. This year Mr.. Daily, of New
, York, gets $4,000 for merely renting
two of his old plays for a season 0
thirty weeks to Mr.. John Stetson. Their
. is still cheaper class of plays, fo
which the terms are 800 to $500 for
play perhaps the work of three weeks
, With these figures to encourage tn
aspirant for wealth and fame, it is small
! | wonder so many rush into attempted
competition with successful song-writer
and dramatists. But alas for credulou
, human nature. The successes are a
3 one to myriad of failures. The for
tunes of the few is the ignus fatus o
3 the many. There are musical geniuse
r whose songs will never be sung, ant
prodigies of playmakers whose writing
9 will never be read. They may be NOR
' entitled to the forward place than thos
s who get there; but the battle is no
: always to the strong nor the race to tn
= swift. They who succeed are twic
fortunate-fortunate in the chance AM
n fortunate in happily availing themselve
/. of Cincinnati Commercial Gazette
= Rothchild's Wonderful Orchid.