HALF A MILLION FROM ONE SONG.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 120, 6 May 1911, Page 1 (Supplement)

HALF A MILLION FROM ONE SONG.

£ S. D. OT THE AIUSIC MARKET

It has been stated by Air. Henry T. Finck, the well-known American critic, that in his opinion the most profitable seng over written was “Listen to the Mocking Bird.” by which publishers in all parts of tlie wwrld have realised £.500.000, and which was bought in the first place from the composer lor £7. And, according to the same authority Llii.OflO was netted from Arditi's “Kiss Waltz.”

“QT’EEN OF THE EARTH.”

The highest price ever given for a song is the £2.210 which was paid a row years ago at an auction sale for the copyright of Masehr-roni’s “For All Eternity.” This song then had nearly its full term of copyright to run, and : t shares with “Queen of the Earth” the honour of being the most popular of modern compositions. Curiously enongh, “For all Eternity” w'as refused by several publishers before a well-known firm agreed to undertake the publishing of it; and tho venture turned out to hu a very lucky spcc.nlation. The copyright of a song lasts lorty-two years, and, of course, the roarer it approaches the end of its copyright period the loss it is worth in the auction-room. About the same time that the copyright of “For All Fternitv” was sold, however, some remark able prices were also fetched by other compositions.

“Farmer’s Viobn Tutor.” for Instance. was sold for £1.752. and the simple though very pretty piano piece. “Fairy Barque.” consisting of six pages, realised £l.Bl0 —over £3OO a page. As a curious instance of the musical peculiarities of the public, it is interesting to note that while this little piano piece was sold for nearly £2.000 in, 1893 the whole of ’’’erdi’s opera. “I! Trovatore.” only reached the siim of £503. Operas seem to have been more appreciated thirty years ago. judging from the fact that in 1871 Wallace's “Ma’itana” realised the sum of £2.232 and this amount was eclipsed when shortly afterwards £?,ri)o was paid for “Lurline.’’ written by the ■-ame Composer. In 1883 Bnlfe’s opera. 'Rose of Castillo.” fetched £958, and Weber's Oberon” £428.

PROFITS OF WAGNER’S OPERAS

Talking of operas, it is interesting to note that Wagner’s heirs are said to make £28,000 annually from royalties for the great composer’s works. Richard Strauss is estimated to have earned £2-5.000 in twelve months, while the late Sir Arthur Sullivan made £30.000 a year during the great run of the Gilliert-Sullivan operas at the Savoy. Humperdnick’s royalties from ‘Hansel and G retel” amounted to CIO.OOO in one year, and both Mascagni and Leoncavallo are believed to have received in fees £20.000 apiece for ‘ Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliac-