The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-12-16
BY TOM WOLF

NEA Service Staff Correspondent
 New York, December 6-The radio bells which ring in the New Year of l941 will toll the knell of much of the music Americans know and love the best.
 The hearts of the radio broad casters and of the American So- ciety of Composers, Authors, and Publishers do not beat in three quarters time. The broadcasters will not renew their contracts with ASCAP, Americas most powerful group of music copyright holders; and ASCAP will take its copy lighted music off the air.
 Tn ASCAP's library of perhaps 100000 melodies are 8 great ma jority of the favorites-standard, popular, and classical-of the past 50 years. These copyrights extend for two 28-year terms. The radio broadcasters will be hard put to replace varied perennial favorites ranging from Sweet Adeline," "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and "Mademoiselle from Armen- tieres" to ''Stardust," "St. Louis Blues and the present top popu- lar hits.
 As ASCAP goes, so go the melo- dies of Americas best-known md ern composers, from Victor Her bert, John Philip Sousa, and Ferde Grofe to Berlin, Conan, Gershwin, Hart, Hammerstein, Kern, Porter, Rodgers, Romberg, and Youmans.
 BROADCASTERS
 ESTABLISH RIVAL
 To fill this gap, the broadcasters, prompted by the big networks, called a special convention in Sep tember 1889 to establish a rival to ASCAP-Broadcast Music, Inc. To date, some 452 stations, represent large and small, have bought ing over 90q6 of the industry, shares of BMI's $1,500,000 stock.
 BlAI's first catalogue appeared early last April-with five tunes. Today it has grown to cover over 100000 including most of the Latin American music heard on the air; some of the most import ant hill-billy music; American folk songs: Western songs; ballads; sa- cred music; Songs of the Sunny Soush";; Songs Children Love to Sing" etc.
 These tunes, plus those songs that are in the public domain" s(i. c., their copyrights have ex- pired), plus any new hits BMI canl find = these will compose Ameri- cas- radio musical fare until ASCAP and the broadcasters come to terms.
 s Broadway wiseacres think BMI stands for Bad Music Indefinite ly." BMI replies: ! Jour music has already been heard exclusively on most sustain- ing programs for some time, with out complaint. 1-Listeners today are more cncerned with the band playing a tune than the music it. self; and most of the name" bands are playing BMI songs. 3 -l No one missed Herbert, Porter, Ycumans, Kern and Romberg - ~eat as they are = when their | ines were pulled off the air for Ax months in 1886.
 LONGTIME
 QUARREL
 The present battle royal of mu- sic is the climax of a fight as old as radio. The specific issues are manifold. Radios biggest kick is against being charged a per- centage of its entire income-part of which comes from rlonmusical programs. The broadcasters want to pay for music on a per-pro- gram-used basis.
 ASCAP's president, sentimental, old-timer Gene Buck, replies: "Conservatively, 7O96 of every radio operation is music. Music is the backbone of radio. An indi- vidual program is only part of an integrate mass of radio entertain ment. Because it's an integral part of radio, we charge for, music on an overall, availability basis. He might have added that (al- though it is looking for a better system) the broadcasters' own BMI also charges stations on an overall basis.