O}?FICW· ORGAN OF1l:tE 1 AMERICA.N<GtJl~D OF MUSICA,L ARTISTS, Inc. I A~MA Official Organ of the AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS, INC. 576 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. Telephone: LOngacre 3-6223 Re presentatitJes Hollywood Office: San Francisco Office: Chicago Office: Philadelphia Office: ERNEST CHARLES, Asst. Exec. Seq. LAWRENCE STRAUSS RUDOLPH REUTER EDMUND J. IRVINE, Asst. Exec. Seq. 1585 Crossroads of the World 1262 Francisco Street KIMBALL HALL 289 Sanford Road, Upper Darby, Pa. Officers: Board of Governors: Advisory Board: • LAWRENCE TIBBETT • • ZLATKO BALOKOVIC ERNST LERT President WALTER DAMROSCH RUTH BRETON LAURITZ MELCHIOR JASCHA HEIFETZ RUDOLPH GANZ FRANK CHAPMAN JAMES MELTON 1st Vice-President HOWARD HANSON RICHARD CROOKS EzIO PINZA RICHARD BONELLI MISCHA ELMAN LAWRENCE POWER ERNEST HUTCHESON 2nd Vice-President EVA GAUTHIER LANNY Ross SERGE KOUSSEVITZKY ALMA GLUCK CHARLES HACKETT ERNEST SCHELLING 3rd Vice-President LOTTE LEHMANN EDWARD HARRIS ALEXANDER SMALLENS JOHN MCCORMACK FRANK SHERIDAN ELISABETH HOEPPEL MARGARET SPEAKS 4th Vice-President GIOVANNI MARTINELLI JULIUS HUEHN GEORGIA STANDING GRACE MOORE DANIEL HARRIS EDWIN HUGHES DON VOORHEES 5th Vice-President JOSE ITURBI FRED WARING LEE PATTISON QUEENA MARlO FREDERICK JAGEL EFREM ZIMBALIST LILY PONS Recording Secretary PAUL WHITEMAN RUDOLPH REUTER FRANK LA FORGE ARTUR RODZINSK! Treasurer • L. T. CARR ALBERT SPALDING LEO FISCHER Edited by Executive Secretary Editorial Advisory Committee: GLADYS SWARTHOUT ARMAND TOKATYAN HENRY JAFFE EDWARD HARRIS, Chairman Counsel RICHARD BONELLI LEO FISCHER ELINOR REMICK WARREN CONTENTS • PAGE GUILD TALK 3 PENNY WISE 3 CHORUS ORGANIZATION PROCEEDS RAPIDLY ......................... 4 AGMA SENDS GREETINGS TO MUSICiANS' CONVENTION ............... 5 NEW CONSTITUTION IN EFFECT .....: .............................. 5 JOINT COMMITTEE TO STUDY ACCOMPANIST SCHEDULE ................ 5 ADDITIONAL BOARD MEMBERS ApPOINTED ........................... 5 WORLD'S FAIR COMMITTEE .................... " ................. 5 FEODOR CHALIAPIN-A TRIBUTE .................................. 6 GOAA ELECTION RESULTS ....................................... 7 AGMA's MEMBERS .............•............................... 8 THE WEST COAST ...........................................•... 9 BAN ON SEMI-RECORDED OPERA .......................... '" ...... 11 AGMA ENTERS THE THEATRE AUTHORITY ..•........................ 12 CODyright, 1938. by American Guild of Musical Artists, Inc. Page Two AGMA G U I L D TALK HE recent Hippodrome incident emphasizes the artist receives his $50. But he receives no extra T afresh the necessity for certain reforms AGMA amount to compensate him for his losses on previous is attempting to introduce in the popular-price opera gambles. He participates in no share of the profits for field. Chief among these is the use of written having been willing to have been a partner in a specu­ contracts in the engaging of principals and choristers. lative enterprise. (Try to operate that way in the It would seem logical to assume that had such con­ business world and see what happens!) tracts been in force on the occasion mentioned, the It is sometimes argued that popular-price opera is performance would not have been cancelled. at best a speculative business and that its impresarios Why do some popular-price opera impresarios should therefore be dealt with leniently and not be shy away from the written contract and engage their subject to regulation. That is nonsense. Under good artists and choruses only on an informal verbal un­ management, popular-price opera is no more specu­ derstanding? If an opera is being presented to the lative than the concert business. public in good faith, if artists are being engaged in The leading popular-price opera impresario of our good faith, there should be no reason for not follow­ time has been active over a long period of years. He ing the custom (standard in other fields) of confirm­ is a shrewd operator. He has been financially success­ ing such an engagement by the signing of a definite ful. And, by the way, he uses written contracts. contract. Contracts protect not only the artist, but The losses which popular-price opera impresarios also the impresario. often sustain are caused for the most part by their Assume, however, that the opera is not presented incompetence as managers and by their frequent errors and the artists engaged in good faith. Assume that of judgment. Artists should not be asked to pay the the impresario is not financially stable - that he is penalty for the impresarios' lack of ability. dependent purely upon box-office receipts to pay the AGMA is committed to the policy of the use of rent of the theatre, the hire of orchestra and of the written contracts. With the loyal support of its mem­ cast. Then the written contract may become a night­ bers it will soon be able to enforce that policy in the mare to him. With written contracts in force, if he popular-price opera field. Then, and not until then, guesses badly and the public doesn't buy tickets, he will the impresario know that an agreement is an has, nevertheless, to go ahead with the performance, agreement, the artists know that an agreement is really pay those whom he has put under contract, and, hor­ an engagement, and the public know that an an­ ror of horrors, lose money. Without contracts, if the nounced performance will become an actual per­ box-office is unfavorable, he can find some pretext for formance. cancelling the performance and save at least part of • • • his potential losses. Penny Wise The speculative (or "shoe string") manager who EVERY PENNY THAT AGMA CAN SAVE is a penny saved for cancels unprofitable performances, in effect asks the its members. artist to gamble with him. But he never shares with Whenever ballots or questionnaires or other communica­ the artist his gambler'S profits. It's a case of "heads I tions which require a reply from the membership are sent out win, tails you lose." from the AGMA office it involves a two hundred or three hundred percent increase in expense if it is necessary for us Suppose such an impresario verbally engages an to send out "follow up" letters or ballots in order to remind artist at a fee of $50. That the box-office is weak and the members to make that reply. We have not, so far, been he cancels. The artist loses. Or, that the impresario able to escape this waste and added expense. Why not make a mental note of this? Answer Guild com­ verbally engages an artist at a fee of $50 and the box­ munications promptly in the future and save yourself some office is favorable. Then the performance goes on and money. AGMA Page Three CHORUS ORGANIZATION PROCEEDS RAPIDLY N MAY 9th AGMA received from the Interna­ Alliance gave rise, naturally, to indignation and alarm O tional Board of the Four A's full jurisdiction and the Four A's International Board was many times over grand opera choristers in the United States. The importuned to intervene or to grant separate union jurisdiction formerly held by the Grand Opera Choral affiliation to the large body of choristers who were Alliance over this field was revoked and the Choral excluded from the Choral Alliance. Alliance charter awarded to AGMA. Immediately after AGMA received its charter from Since receiving this jurisdiction AGMA has pushed the Four A's we began to negotiate with the Choral ahead rapidly with the organization of the chorus field Alliance for an amalgamation because we believed so that already every professional grand opera chorus that in the grand opera field an organization which in the United States, with the exception of certain represented both the choristers and the soloists would groups within the Choral Alliance, have either become be much more effective in bargaining with employers. AGMA members or are preparing to do so. Regular AGMA chorus membership groups are organized in Four AJ s Decides on Chorus /misdiction New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Before these negotiations had progressed very far and organization is going forward with the chorus in however, we became aware of the monopolistic policy the San Francisco Opera Company in San Francisco. which guided the Choral Alliance and were very definitely convinced that the Choral Alliance was not Abuses in Chorus Field negotiating in good faith, since it had absolutely no Such rapid organization has been possible because intention of giving up the strangle-hold which it had there were, throughout the country, hundreds of over the chorus field without a struggle. Consequently choristers who needed and wanted union protection, the Four A's Board appointed a Committee to inves­ but who were prevented from getting it by the closed­ tigate the negotiations between AGMA and the shop fostered by the old Choral Alliance, whereby, Choral Alliance and to determine why they were not keeping less than two hundred members on its books, progressing to a mutually satisfactory result which that organization consistently refused admission to all would be beneficial to all choristers. The Choral other eligible choristers. During the twenty years of Alliance refused to cooperate with this Committee its existence the Choral Alliance had never attempted and instead filed charges against AGMA on the real unionization of the chorus field but, on the con­ grounds that AGMA had invaded Choral Alliance trary, had permitted the various choruses, which it jurisdiction. had refused to organize, to take work whenever the These charges of invasion were based upon the Choral Alliance found that it did not have enough fact that AGMA had admitted to membership two members to fill the requirements of the various im­ choruses, one in Los Angeles and one in Philadelphia. presarios who might be producing opera. The Los Angeles situation was reported in these pages some time ago. The Los Angeles grand opera This situation, in which there were fully a dozen chorus had, for over ten years, been attempting to expert grand opera choruses who could not hope to gain entrance into the Choral Alliance so that they receive union protection, resulted in the most extreme might receive union protection in their work at the forms of cut-throat competition and price cutting.