United States. Congress. House. Committee on Patents

“ The law provides expressly the opposite in regard to the public performance of the musical composition, and under that old principle let the buyer look out! He is supposed to know what the law is.
Mr. Chaney. That being so, ought not a man who buys a musical composition to have the right to do just as he pleases with it, the same as a man who purchases a mowing machine? For instance, I sing some myself. If I buy a piece of music ought I not to have a right to do what I please with it? ”

“ Now, if we simply give, as, for instance, for the benefit of the occupants of a hospital, or something of that kind, where there is no charge or anything of that sort, we give simply for the entertainment of a company of gentlemen and ladies, where the public is not shut out unless they had the price, then I am sure these gentlemen would not have the slightest objection to it whatever; in fact, they like to encourage that sort of thing, and they even lend their music for such purposes. ”

“ The reason that the composer has not gone hand in hand with the literary man and with the inventor, who produce their works from the brain, is because thus far our country has not been so ready to concede to them the right of absolute use and control of their works. The inventor has the right to say just who shall produce his invention, just what it shall be sold for, if he wants to limit it as to that, and just who shall buy it, even, if he wants to go as far as that. ”

“ In the face of what all other enlightened nations are doing to protect, encourage, and reward the genius of their countrymen, will the United States take this backward step and thereby begin to discourage the tardy development of its citizens in musical learning and progress? ”

“ I am attorney for many authors and composers, and I know that when they need money they take their composition to a publisher and he will pay them a small amount—$25 to $100—for a musical composition, and no matter what the income may be, whether it is $25,000 or $100,000, these music publishers are not philanthropists enough to hand any additional sum to such author or composer. ”

“ VALUE TO THE UNITED STATES.
All of this has been of great value to us as a nation, not only in the highest sense, but from the purely selfish view of financial profit. Therefore our composers should be considered and protected in their compensation, which comes solely from the sale of their works under the prevailing methods of trade. When a work is rendered many times from one purchase of books there is but small return to the creator of it ”

“ Perhaps the sender of the telegram we have just heard read is as well known in other countries as any composer we have; possibly his music has been heard by more people than the music of any other composer of the United States; and yet the musical critics all over the world say America has no national music because she has no national composers. ”

“ It is an extraordinary claim on the part of the music publishers to say that, while they admit that when they sell copies of their publications it carries the performing rights with the copies sold, yet the music publishers claim it only carries these performing rights to such persons who purchased the same from them, and that these books which have been purchased from them can not be used for performance by any other society to whom they may be loaned or rented by the society or person purchasing the same originally. ”

“ There is, to be sure, a limited amount of private sales to persons who, for instance, find some one little theme in a composition and like to have it in their homes and occasionally sing it in their homes and possibly somewhere else, but I should think it would be safe to say that not less than 90 per cent of all the sales of oratorios or operettas or cantatas—I am speaking both of religious and secular musical works—are either directly or indirectly solely for the purpose of public performance and connected with public performance. ”

“ The Chairman. Would you object, then, to an amendment that they might be loaned for charitable purposes, the only prerequisites being that they should notify the publisher that they would desire the loan of the books, or do you desire to pass on each application?
Mr. Furness. Yes; we would prefer to pass on each application. I think we would hesitate to agree to anything else.
Mr. Froemne. As a matter of fact, don't you buy most of your publications? Aren't they your own property?
Mr. Tindale. Absolutely not. Nine-tenths of them are published on a royalty. ”

“ The proprietor of the musical library, if he desires, may purchase the right of general public performance when be buys his books. If he simply buys the books without specifying that general right, he is getting all his contract calls for and all he has paid for. ”

“ Then we refuse to give them permission to render the public performance; we say to them, "You must buy the books from the publishers—the owner of the copyright or his authorized agent, the music dealer." So far as an individual goes, and so far as a society goes, we have never brought any suit at all, and the only suit that has been brought on a question of this kind emanates from Mr. Tams, who brings a suit for $200,000 against the music publishers for trying to restrain him from renting these books for public performances. ”

“ Furthermore, and in closing, in giving the above supposed entertainment a fair admission price has been charged, or in lieu of a fixed admission the plate has been passed; and few of us would care to listen to the music and neglect the opportunity to contribute. So that we may say that there is practically no such thing as performances of this kind without a revenue. In giving such an entertainment everything else is paid for. The light and heat are paid for, programmes are paid for, parties from whom the books are rented are paid, the organist—even the sexton is paid—but not the composer. ”

“ Previous to the international copyright treaty of 1891 few works of American composers were on the market, because the foreign works monopolized the trade. Since then our composers have been on an equality at home with the foreign works, and the rewards have been more equitably distributed to American composers, as our people have spent more of their money at home for music. ”

“ But you want the power of doing that lending yourselves?
Mr. Serven. Yes; if our music is gone, we like to do the lending.
Mr. Chaney. Suppose I buy this composition [holding up musical composition] : haven't I a right to sing it, and have not my friends a right to sing it at my expense? ”

“ From certain questions asked by members of the committee it was indicated that they might favor a compromise measure in which, by exception, the renting of copyrighted musical works would be legalized in the case of entertainments given by religious bodies or not given for profit.
We yield to no one in reverence toward religious matters, and trust that what we shall say will not be misconstrued, but religious bodies first of all should be and are noted for dealing justly with all men. They have taught us that "the laborer is worthy of his hire;" ”

“ It is proposed to make certain exceptions, to allow privileges to certain beneficiaries under this law, which would really defeat the law, because that sort of a proposition is solely for financial profit, the sort of entertainment that is referred to. Upon investigation it will be found that nearly every entertainment of the kind referred to is really for profit; that instead of lending or renting for a charitable enterprise pure and simple, it will be found that it is a money-making enterprise; there is hardly an exception. You will find that such an entertainment is not a social affair. ”

“ It seems to me that section 4966 of the copyright law should not be permitted to be used as a club by some of the unscrupulous music publishers in any case where they hear that one of their publications is to be performed by one of our schools or a church or a vocal society for the purpose of charity and without profit, and threaten them by imprisonment and damages. ”

“ The right to present and perform a dramatic piece or musical composition is a right distinct from the copyright in a book containing or consisting of such dramatic piece or musical composition, and no assignment of the copyright of any such book conveys any right of representation or performance unless so specified ”

“ Art. V. Any music publisher or firm of music publishers in good standing in the United States is eligible to membership, and may become a member by making application through the secretary, upon payment of $10 and receiving a majority of votes of those present at the annual meeting. The executive committee shall have the power to admit members during the period intervening between the annual meetings, subject to the approval of the association at its next annual meeting. ”

“ Chairman and the committee, to picture the fact that a certain church or society has prepared to publicly perform on a certain date a work of average size, costing, say, 40 cents each copy. The average number of copies required for such performance is about 30 copies, making a total outlay of $12, of which $1.80 accrues to the composer as royalty for the performing rights.
Instead of buying the music, we find that for economy the church has been persuaded to hire or to borrow copies that have been used elsewhere. ”

“ Gentlemen: At the recent hearings on the Bennet bill, the music publishers were represented, and the committee, of course, represented the interests of the people. There was, however, one party at interest in the matter who was not represented. That party is the American composer, and it is in his behalf that we ask you to please consider a few words.
The effect of this amendment would be to put the American composer out of business, so far as the writing of serious or important works is concerned. ”

“ We are speaking for the American composer who furnishes this entertainment.
The Chairman. You have run for more than a hundred years with no serious trouble, as you stated to us yesterday. Then came the musical libraries, men conducting an establishment like that of Mr. Tams, and the objection urged yesterday by you gentlemen to any modification of the law was on account of that. Now, suppose we cut that all out?
Mr. Furness. In going back for a hundred years this international copyright law has changed very materially the native publications in this country. ”

“ The music publishers and the composers of music whom we represent are opposed to the bill, which in effect provides for the public performance of religious and secular works of a musical character without first obtaining consent therefor from the copyright proprietor. ”

“ They have a few hundred books, and many times they loan them out to other societies for similar entertainments, to societies that are not so poor but what they could afford to buy them. That is one of the great evils that is interfering with the business of the music publishers. ”

“ It can not be denied, we can prove it by the bills, that Mr. Tams has paid for the past fifteen years from three to four thousand dollars for books which he bought of them. They knew he had a library; they permitted him to rent it; they knew he had rented it, and it is only recently that they are trying to stop it.
Mr. Sulzer. Do you mean $3,000 or $4,000 a year?
Mr. Froemne. Yes. So making it altogether from $45,000 to $60,000. As he explained to you yesterday, a work can not be loaned out more than five years once a year. ”

“ The Chairman. But the original purchaser purchases a copy for every single member of the chorus.
Mr. Tindale. Then we have no objection.
The Chairman. No objection to their loaning them? Then we can fix this in a moment. I want to ask where there is anything in that notice that would give notice to the purchaser that he could not rent or loan those books?
Mr. Serven. He may loan or rent or do what he pleases, but the fellow that borrows is the fellow that that notice affects.
The Chairman. Not at all.
Mr. Serven. It is the fellow that wants to give the public performance. ”

“ The result is seen in the schools and colleges of music in America, more eminent teachers, and much better training for our students, who can now obtain at home the same grade of instruction they formerly received in European conservatories. ”

“ Take any patented article, like a sewing machine; one who has bought it clearly has a right to lend it to another, to sell it, or to rent it without any infringement on the rights of the patentee, but when he attempts to manufacture the same that is another question, just the same as if Mr. ”

“ Art. IV. Each member, whether an individual or firm, shall be entitled to one vote, and ten members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Art. V. This constitution may be altered or amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present. ”

“ Thompson Music Company, 269 Wabash avenue, Chicago, Ill. Vandersloot Music Company, Williamsport, Pa. Victor-Kremer Company, Chicago, Ill. White-Smith Music Publishing Company, Boston, Mass. White-Smith Music Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill. White-Smith Music Publishing Company, 13 East Seventeenth street, New York. Witmark, M., & Sons, 144 West Thirty-seventh street, New York. Witzmann, E., & Co., Memphis, Tenn. Wood Music Company, The B. F., Boston, Mass. York Music Company (A. Von Tilzer, manager) , New York. ”