How Songs are Forced into Fame lhe free-Born Englishman boasts of his freedom to do anything, even hum tunes in his bath. Acccording to an article in the '"Svund Wave," he cam hum as much as he likes, but what he hums depends entirely: on the pushfulness of certain music publishers.
The publishers select a programme of a dozen to twenty songs, and concentrate all their energies to push them at the various seaside resorts.
The writer of the article in the "Sound wave" refers to the activity of a firm of publishers at Blackpool, where there is "a force of something like a hundred persons made up of vocalists and instrumentalists divided into groups of demonstrators, concert parties, bands, etc. They are all working towards the same object, namely, the popular ation of selected programme of songs and dance numbers." He continues:
"In shops and stalls along the promenade you will find numerous parties composed of two or three singers and a pianist. These are demonstrators, all more or less trained in the art of putting over songs. Their success' is evidenced by the huge sales they effect-"Tf you are fond of dancing you will trip the light fantastic to the same strains that have greeted you in your walk along the front. This is not coincidence. It is all part of the publisher's scheme and he has made his arrangements with the dance bands to feature his numbers.
"In some cases he even supplies the dance band free of charge, in these tunes. It is not by mere tracted to his publications.
"You may visit. the various piers on the first day of the season, but Mr. Publisher has been there before you. He has his bands concert parties, and demonstrators there also. You are bumming. the popular refrains: before you are aware. of if, but you do not realise that the publisher has made arrangements accordingly.'
The gramophone companies do their share, too, in.popularizing: these tunes. It is no by mere'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.