What Radio Wants

In the 21 years of its court-studded existence the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers has fought many a stiff fight to collect revenue for its members when their music was publicly performed. Radio even prompted the Federal Government to charge ASCAP with violation of the Anti-Trust Law (TIME, July 1, et ante). The case is still pending but odds so far have favored ASCAP, which has made no bones about controlling the bulk of the popular music on which Radio depends.

Biggest blow of its career was struck at ASCAP last week from within its own organization, when four of its publishers and their subsidiaries resigned their memberships. Together the four claim to have published some 40% of the music most in demand. They are Harms, Inc., M. Witmark & Sons, T. B. Harms Co. and Remick Music Corp., all subsidiaries now of Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. which announced that it would hereafter do its own dickering.

Radio's complaint is that ASCAP charges too much for its music (5% of a broadcaster's net receipts). Warner Brothers says that it asks too little. ASCAP's President Gene Buck stated last week that all the important songwriters were bound personally to the Society by new five-year contracts, that Warner Brothers' experiment would depend on finding new talent. But ASCAP was obviously perturbed. Its strength has been its ability to dictate terms without thought of rivalry. An ASCAP rival is what Radio has long been wanting.

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