Music: Gene Buck Goes to Town

Generalissimo of the clangorous army of Tin Pan Alleymen is long, lean, grey Songwriter Gene Buck, president of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers). ASCAP holds performing rights to a mighty volume of sound: 1,270,000 musical compositions. Last week in San Francisco, at the word from Generalissimo Buck, ASCAP shock troops made a vigorous sortie. Their enemy was Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), formed by radio chains. Sooner than sign contracts to pay bigger fees for ASCAP tunes after next Jan. 1, the networks vow to use music from BMI, which by then will control 10,000 numbers. Melodious and...

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