Evening star., 1925-09-29
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

Musicians are born-not PAID. Is
the laconic retort to the protest of the
music trust" talias the society OF
composers. Authors and Publishersl
against the proposed liberalizing or
copvright law protecting modern mu-
sic from reproduction for pront with
out compensation to the producers.
The artists and their puoilsh@is
claim that. while there Is more truth
than poetry in the retort. there Is sun
less Justice. At a meeting heid iast
week in Syracuse. \. y, by some nun
dreds of composers a demand was
made that Representative MacGregor
Of Buffalo should lead their cause In
legislation which will protect their
proprietarv rights against the pi-
rates'-the broadcasting radios and
the movie picture orchestrds. Nnere
MacGregor sits there Is the head OF
the orchestra. for the society Aforesaid
controls 90 per cent of all the popular
music copyrighted in the United
States.
Just what the MacGresor bill will
cover has not vet crystallized. the
Perkins bill, which has already been
before Congress and which Is fathered
bv the Authors League Of America,
provides for a complete revision of
copyrisht law 1t was lost in the last
session. largely through the opposition
led bv Representative Sol Bloom, who
is one of the leading music publishers.
X II X
The Perkins bill enlarges the pro-
lection to writer's and artists and ex-
tends the protection to aliens VINO
produce while they are bona f1de resi-
dents of this country. 1t also gives to
-f Arfa
full protection in all countries OF Eu-
rope without further action, in reel
procity for similar protection for Tor
eign copyrights in our own country.
1t will cover all books, periodicals.
newspapers. lectures, dramatic and
musical compositions. maps. works OF
art, drawings and plastic works of a
scientific character, motion pictures,
scenarios unpublished or published).
etc. This protection extends for %
years. with the right of extension an
other 2S years.
s. ~
The contention is the growing prac.
tice of orchestras employed in motion
picture and other places of anuse-
ment or entertainment. including
hotels and radio broadcasting stations
of playing copyrighted music without
the license of the composer or pub
Usher.
The so-called Music Trust penalties
all cases of such infringement by col
lecting the legal forfeit of $3.50 for the
first offense and $50 for each sub.
sequent offense or requires the offen.
der to procure a license from the
trust" 1t is alleged that there are
agents who listen-in at places OF
amusement, and even set traps to In
duce Infringement in order to collect
the penalties, or force q license.
Recently a Masonic band was threat
ened with the penalty IL it played
special. arrangement of The Star
Spangled Banner" and Lead, Kindly
Light" written by Walter Damrosch
and Mr.. Sonneck for the United States
Bureau of Education. 1t was not
argued that the band was to charge
admission to it's music nor that the
music would be played without the
purchase of the copyrighted sheet
| music published by tho holders OF the
copyright.
The music Of "The Star spangied
Banner Is more than a century old;
It was q German drinking song before
Francis Scott Key used 1t for his
patriotic inspirations: Lead, Kindly
Light" is half century old, and Is
not copyrighted.
There are new principles Of law In