[78-L] Unison

[Philip Carli]

The early classical Broadcast "Twelves" did fairly well commercially, judging from the number of copies that turn up, and were very well received in the record press (though with a slight note of condescension regarding how inexpensive they were; the class system extended to shellac, it seems).  The repertoire is pretty sophisticated and varied, performances are uniformly excellent, and the records were a steal at the price;  Maurice Cole, their regular pianist, was an important artist, and Stanley Chapple's "Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra" sides (a group that has to be one of the major London orchestras under a pseudonym, as it is infinitely superior to any UK pickup recording orchestra of the period) are brilliantly precise and energetic.  However, the Depression killed classical record sales across the board and Vocalion was especially walloped. None of the classical "Twelves" made it into Broadcast's client series such as Unison, as far as I know, though a few of the 8" issues did.  Crystalate discontinued the UK classical series completely when they took over the Broadcast label.  PC

________________________________________
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com [78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Matthew Duncan [recordgeek334578 at yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 5:54 PM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: Re: [78-L] Unison

Hi John

It is my understanding that they are identical, as you say, but I have a theory
about the reason behind it all.

Broadcast records were sold in a variety of shops - gramophone dealers (as
normal), some hardware stores, some gents outfitters and some cycle shops etc.,
based on shop covers I have seen.

A Vocalion salesman would have gone into these individual establishments and
pitched 'Broadcast' as a product to them...like: ''We will pay you £xxx or xxx%
of sales if you have a Broadcast display and advertise them in your window and
on your shop covers and we will replace stock when needed and remove any
non-sellers''.  Or something to that effect.

Unison discs were sold in Co-op stores - and these stores alone I believe....if
the Co-op had refused Broadcast, or another big chain had accepted them then the
Co-op (potentially a real money spinner for Vocalion due to having a nationwide
customer base) wouldn't appreciate a second visit from a Broadcast salesman, but
may have accepted Unison on their second try (especially at a higher % of the
money!)

The same name/pseudonym would have been OK because people buying Unison discs
wouldn't know about Broadcast (necessarily) or link the two together because
even if they bought both labels, they wouldn't buy the same song twice??  So no
chance of duplication...

So, seems like they made the Unison discs in order to pitch to a big player in
the retail sector (and ended up with the Co-op) and essentially double their
profits...no point a record dealer selling both labels??!

Also, regarding the 'sale or return' system, alot of the early numbers on
Broadcast 8" (and many 10" Broadcast Twelves) of classical or opera music must
have been returned as they were heavily advertised on their sleeves - Vocalion
must have been stuck with them...classical buyers purchasing HMV and other
dependable products and buyers wanting dance music on a budget buying the other
Vocalion items?? Maybe...just a thought..

Well, it's a (long winded) theory anyway!

Regards
Matthew Duncan




________________________________
From: JOHN WRIGHT <vintage at jabw.demon.co.uk>
To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
Sent: Tue, 31 May, 2011 21:41:54
Subject: [78-L] Unison

Been trying to tidy up that corner of my collection occupied by 8 inch
British shellac (why do they always get mixed up and become in total
disarray!)  mainly Broadcast, Edison Bell Radio, Eclipse, and reminded
myself that I have a few of the Unison label, a product of Vocalion.



Just checked them all re content and all the dance band items I have are
EXACTLY the same as Broadcast issues, same number, same band name/pseudonym
on label, same takes (either take 1 or if there's an x I think that's take
2).



So, are all the Unisons just copies of Broadcasts with a Unison label? What
was the point of using same band name/pseudonym?



I was hoping to find alternate takes of Waikiki Serenaders/Fillis/Bowlly but
no such luck.





John Wright

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