Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-06-13
PLAY ROYALTIES.
What Some of the Big Successes Have
Paid the DramatiztS.

The question of royalties offers an in
teresting field of investigation. Tho Chi
cago Post says that Charles Frohman, who
is in London cornering the play market
and reaping the profits Of Secret Service"
has found that foreign authors set a much
higher valuation on the American rights
to their work than formerly. Mr.. Froh-
man is responsible in large measure, hav-
ing been the one to begin paying foreign
writer's on a sliding scale OF royalties.
Some of the things Mr.. FTohman says on
this matter follow:
big prices are paid for plays when they
are big successes. Big prices are also paid
for calls on plays to authors OF reputation.
In the old days, the author received a fixed
sum, from IS to SIS a night, whether his
play drew $500 or $4,000 in the box Office.
Now the authors earnings are governed by
the plays receipts, and when he furnishes
q manage with a good thing 1t turns out
himself.
arranged a sliding scale of royalties,
based on the gross receipts. 1 paid Bron-
Shenandoah: Belasco and De Mile, $4,000
for Men and Women and Belasco and
Franklin Fyles fully $4,000 for The Girl I
Left Behind Me- William Gillette received
$4,000 for the work he did on 'Wilkinson's
Widow and about the same for putting
Too Much Johnson In shape; and l will
gladly agree to give him tomorrow S1O0,-
600 for all his rights in Secret Service
] can say, without any fear of overstating
Ine inquire. lnal MI. Gillette Will receive
considerable more than Sl0o, 600 In royalties
from Secret Service before the war play
ceases to be a drawing card. Charles
Wyndham bought the American rights of
Rosemary from the authors for a very
small sum. BY his arrangement with me
he has already received over $4,000 for the
play. Before Rosemary ends its career
It will have paid $4,000 TO Mr.. Wyndham.
i paid $500 in royalties to William Les
tocq for the little farce Of Jane and sent
SIS. 900 to London for the use OF 'Charley's
Aunt paid 1900 down after reading the
manuscript Of The Two Little Migrants
in Paris. 1 offered the author. Pierre de
Courcelles, 325,0 600 in lieu of royalties for the
play in this country. He preferred the
which is now running successfully at the
Academy OF Music here. is ready for the
from II. The Fatal Card paid its authors
5000. Sydney Grundy got $4,000 out of
Sowing the Wind during the time that
the Empire theater stock company found
1t profitable. Henry Arthur Jones Ameri-
can royalties from The Masqueraders'
amounted to $4,000, and Bison and Care
got $4,000 Of the money that John Drew
PLAYED to when he was appearing in The
bronson Howard's ROYALTIES for 'Aris-
tocracy' exceeded $4,000. and before the
usefulness Of The Sporting Duchess IS at
an end, its authors will have received fully
100000. None of these plays date back ten
years, and most OF them go back no fur
Their than hve years. When this fact is
considered. II will be seen that the slid
ing scale Of royalties. particularly where a
play is a great success, makes the money
return that comes to the author rise quick
ly into thousands. Under the former svs-
tenn the highest an author could realize
from his play, no matter what the size OF
his triumph was about 500 a week. and he
had 10 be an author of repute TO do that,
for most Of the plays were paid for at the
rate Of SO a night and s. a matinee. Now
Il is q poor play indeed which VIII not
pay $500 to $500 a week. I ave paid auth
ors as much as 81. 2 n week in royalties
for a play when but a single company was
presenting II. and as high as 5000 a week
when used by two or more companies.