[78-L] This Will Make Radio Even MORE Dead

[David Lennick]

Michael Shoshani wrote:
> On Mon, 2009-05-11 at 05:51 -0700, Alan Bunting wrote:
> 
>> It is my understanding that playing records is "free" on American radio stations is because it was originally seen by the record companies as a good source of advertising so they allowed it to happen.
> 
> Actually, it wasn't. Record companies went to great lengths to prevent
> their music from being played "for free" on radio during the 1920s and
> 1930s, with most labels putting a notice that read "Not Licensed For
> Radio Broadcast" on the record label itself.  

But it didn't stop them. Fred Waring actually stopped recording in 1933 since 
there was no other way to prevent radio stations from putting together programs 
of his records.

> Radio was deadly
> competition back then, because who would want to spend 35c to $1 on a
> record when one could hear the same songs free of charge on the radio?

The Compo Company in Canada instituted a ban on radio play of all Decca (and I 
presume Apex and Starr) records unless a fee was paid. This happened in 1940 
and lasted into 1949. No other record company did this and eventually the radio 
stations started playing Decca records with impunity..one DJ told me that the 
first disc they played was "Goodnight, Irene". One side effect is that I never 
find pre-1949 Decca records in radio station libraries, except for reissues.

dl
> 
> Remember, the day of the artist-specific song was yet to be. Popular Tin
> Pan Alley songs were all represented by numerous artists back then.
> Today you'd go out and buy the latest Gawky McPimpleface record because
> he's the only one who sings it, while back then you could get the same
> song by half a dozen bands on record easily, and hear two dozen more
> bands playing stock arrangements on the radio. It was more the song than
> the performer, so the record companies had reason to worry.
> 
> This situation probably did not change until the two major US radio
> networks wound up owning the two major US record labels. RCA owned both
> Victor and NBC, while CBS owned Columbia Records.  Certainly by the
> 1950s the situation had reversed itself, with record companies actually
> bribing disc jockeys for airplay.
> 
> MS
>