Abstract
The chapter investigates the role of copyright in the economic development of music publishing in the UK from a historical perspective. Peacock and Weir’s 1975 book, The Composer in the Market Place has been a strong influence on the research on the economic survival of music publishing over its long existence. There is little economic literature specifically on music publishing as an industry, though there is a useful related literature on composers and their publishers. The chapter looks at the development of copyright law in musical works (which differs significantly from that in literary works) and its effect on the market for published music. It shows how music publishers adapted to the new streams of royalty revenue arising from changes in consumption as successive technologies for access to music were adopted; these changes in turn occasioned the revisions of copyright law. The historical approach reminds us that disruptive technologies in the music industry are nothing new. What this research shows is that in the early twentieth century, music publishers survived the effect on the market for published music of sound recording and radio by switching from the long-established sales model to that of rights management. Updated copyright law supported the change of business model but it was not the motivating force. This conclusion has resonance for the similar switch being adopted today by other creative industries in adapting to digitisation.
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- 1.
- 2.
The chapter is an expanded and more detailed version of Towse (2016).
- 3.
d = one penny in old money. See footnote 5.
- 4.
- 5.
In old money (pre 1971), there were 20 shillings (marked by /- or s) in a pound and 12 pence (marked with a ‘d’) in a shilling, i.e. 12d = 1s; 20s = £1. Thus 40/- = £2 (worth £200 in 2014).
- 6.
Drysdale (2013) argues that the failure of publishers to enforce the performing right deprived composers of income, indicating that they failed to have composers’ interests at heart.
- 7.
The topic of an article by Ronald Coase (1979).
- 8.
The performer’s ‘royalty’ (as it was called) could be similar to that paid to the composer; for example, in 1922 a singer named Dearth was paid a royalty of 2d (a time, presumably) for 3 years by Boosey & Co to sing ‘Why Shouldn’t I?’ by K. Russell, for which Russell received a royalty on sales of 3d then 4d after sales of 10,000 (Boosey &Hawkes’ archive held at the Royal College of Music).
- 9.
- 10.
In 1996 PRS for Music was formed by merging PRS and MCPS: they have now formally separated.
- 11.
Later 45s, LPs and CDs had multiple titles and and/or works by different authors. Streaming has reverted to a single track.
- 12.
With songs mostly written by groups and teams of song-writers, as is present day practice, they have to share the writer’s 50 %.
- 13.
See also the chapter by David Throsby in this book.
- 14.
- 15.
See Towse (1999) for a fuller analysis.
- 16.
Research on this and related topics was conducted in the Boosey &Hawkes archive kept at the Royal College of Music Library. I am grateful for the assistance of Peter Horton at the RCM library.
- 17.
The tune of Danny Boy is traditional; nevertheless Boosey &Co. paid Weatherley royalties as both the author and composer (Boosey &Hawkes archive, Publication Book of Copyright Works). NB Boosey & Co. amalgamated with Hawkes &Co. in 1930 to form Boosey and Hawkes.
- 18.
All information from the Boosey & Hawkes archive (see above), researched by the author.
- 19.
‘Since its publication in 1887’ to quote Ehrlich (1985), p. 103—unfortunately the information is not precise enough to enable a modern calculation of what must have been a very high income. Stainer died in 1901 so the work would have entered the public domain in 1951. He retired as organist at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1888, possibly with the prospect of these royalties.
- 20.
The story on arrangements is complex: in principle, the original author must give permission and the arrangement attracts its own copyright. In practice, if the publisher owned all rights he could commission an arrangement and acquire the copyright to it. It was common practice for publishers to commission piano or other arrangements to be made of an orchestral score, for which the original composer might receive a royalty on sales of the arrangements depending on the terms of her contract with the music publisher (Drysdale 2013).
- 21.
Known to many UK oldies as composer of ‘Calling All Workers’, the theme tune of ‘Music While You Work’ (the first music this author remembers from early childhood!) and of music for the film ‘The Dam Busters’.
- 22.
Most on advances but also publishers run song writing camps, offering technical help to new writers.
- 23.
Instrumental music for ensembles is usually printed for one specific instrument e.g. first violins, oboe, trumpet etc. The full score consisting of all the instrumental parts is used by the conductor. Vocal music is usually printed for all voices SATB (soprano, alto, tenor, bass). A piano arrangement of orchestral music is made for rehearsals e.g. for opera chorus and for ballet.
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Acknowledgements
The research for this article was financed by a grant from the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Board for the project ‘Economic Survival in a Long Established Creative Industry: Strategies, Business Models and Copyright in Music Publishing’ (AH/L004666/1) at Bournemouth University.
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Towse, R. (2016). Copyright and Music Publishing in the UK. In: Rizzo, I., Towse, R. (eds) The Artful Economist. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40637-4_8
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