Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-07-17
POPULAR BALLADS.
HOW THEY ARE COMPOSED, MANU-
FACTURED AND SOLD.
Writers of Rhymes Set to Music and
Some of Their Incomes-How Many
of the Ditties Come to he
Written.


llIllHuelpnld llltS'l
To enumerate the songs that have
sprung into popularity within the past
fifteen months by reference to their in.
dvidual sales would constitute an invidi.
Gus comparison, for the sale attending an
ordinary song is like leaf, which, tossed
by the gale iiutters a moment into promi.
nence, aud then asses as quickly away
The ballad that is whistlcd to-day by the
thousands may be dead and forgotten be-
fore the end of tie year. while another,
not so readily to meet W til popular recog'
milton, may endure TO an unlimited time,
and even then continue to sell.
1t is univ ersaly conceded that, without
the aid of the tinerant minstrel and the
professional stage singer, very few, If any,
of the popular airs now so familiar to us
would exist. A catchy ballad or song
brought out before an audience by COM
petent singer seldom fails to create de-
sire to initiate II us. refrain indiller-
emily heard is frequently caught up,
hummed. and unconsciouslv repeated I'M
til further desire to become fully con
versant with it is realized. Among ex-
ponents of this class of sucCesse, none
stand so conspicuously before us as the
actress Lolita, who has possibly done more
to create and dis emnate popular music
than any other professional in the coun
try. 1t i, also worthy of note that out of
number of rivals for this distinction
that little soubrette has succeeded in sur
passing all attempts of Others to compete
in this particular, as witness the unparal.
leled re ertoire of compositions written
expressly for her, with embellished tile
pages, many of unique design and elabor-
aely executed.
very few, if any, of the modern writers
of song music are so fortunate as to be
the recipient of any income on their
works. IN the contrary, the song com
poser is type of the struggler of whom
poets have sung and Judges have spoken.
Hence his work is q synonym for his
bread ard butter. and the small remunera.
ton for his manusC ript is not to be staked
for the alternative of prospective in
come Manuscripts are purchased on
royaly, which means that u stipulated
fraction shall be paid on each copy sold
after Il certain number have been issued
or they are purchased outright from the
author for given sum. which debars the
writer from all further claim or interest
in his composition. \ good song will
bring 81 on an average, though writer's
of known repute have received as high as
500 for single composition
With the exception, possibly, of two
New York publishing houses, Ph label.
phia embraces the largest and most extern
sive publishing marts in the MON. More
than one.third of all the cheaper grades
of sheet music, fore gn reprints and music
books printed in the nted States are
issued in this city. In band and orchestra
music one dealer in this city controls,
without exception, the largest and most
varied patronage in the country supply
ing this class of music from Maine TO
California Tons of music are sent out
annually from hiadep hia. The late cut
in prices, which brought about the present
market of cheap 5-cent muse, has also
opened another channel for com clifton,
and, as result, many London houses are
now filing their orders for reprints with
American publishers, whose facilities for
supplying this kind of work at II lesser
cost are greater than any publishing house
in the wOr d
Although the songs that find the most
favor with audiences at the present day,
especially patrons of the light opera, are
the topical or local ones very few of them
reach large sale I his is chiefly due to
the fact that
with the theme of the day
The song dies away"
The writer, on a recent visit to different
publishing houses, was surprised to find
how numerous and slight were the themes
employed for musical creations. Any
and almost every subject is utilized for
the text of both vocal and instrumental
manufac ure. At one house en-
countered no less than half score OF
manuscripts that had been prepared as
prospective dirges on the death of Gen.
Grant, and as many more on the com
pletion of The Bartholdi pedestal.
The competition and rivalry in modern
songs, against the sales of which innum
cradle means are employed to thwart their
popularity by those who challenge and
depreciate it, and others who frequently
go so far as to boldly initiate title, words
and music, has succeeded in greatly de
peing the profits which would otherwise
accrue to their copyrighters In the face OF
these adverse circumstances howeN err