Adverse Balance in Music Rights

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23275, 18 February 1939, Page 18 (Supplement)

Adverse Balance in Music Rights

BRITAIN AND CONTINENT From Our Own Correspondent LONDON. Jan. 30. During a session of the annual conference of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, Mr. Kenneth Wright, assistant director of the British Broadcasting Corporation, stated that this country paid about £IO,OOO a year to some eight or nine European countries for the performing rights of serious music.

"For every pound that goes to those countries we receive back sixpence for rights on British works played in them," said Mr. Wright. "We pay Franco £SOO a year for every £1 they pay us. We love French music and perform her works here, but they don't seem to love ours. From Germany we receive £1 for every £75 sent." On the credit side Holland paid four times as much each year as England paid her. Denmark paid one and a r half times as much. Poland twice as much, and for Italy the payments were equal. Sir Thomas Beecliam, who presided, said that France was looked upon almost as a hopeless case as far as the performance of British music was concerned.

"We may find some consolation in this reflection," he said, "that the French do not like the greater part of their own music and do not listen to it. Germany entertains tho idea, even more firmly and consistently than France, that there is no music in the world but German music."

These countries looked upon the question very much as this country did in regard to certain branches of literature and drama. It was quite impossible to get one of the masterpieces of Racine performed in England. We did not even listen to the bulk of our own great dramatists. The business of introducing English art to the Continenl was very slow, but it appeared that, with the exception of Franco and Germany, we were on the up grade.

Sir Thomas added; "From the point of view of concerts, London is the centre of the musical world. It is in advance of Berlin, incomparably in advance of Paris, and it is even ahead of New A "ork in this respect. You can hear moro good music in one week in London .than in one month in. Berlin"