History of music publishing

Excerpted from a speech given by Nicholas Firth (Chairman/CEO, BMG Music Publishing) to Belmont University on November 22, 2004. Used with permission

Good morning. I am delighted to be with you today to talk about what I do, Music Publishing. I’ve been a music publisher for over forty years.

Over that time I’ve discovered that almost no one understands what a music publisher does or invariably, I am asked one of the following questions. "“oh do you sell sheet music, or what kind of music do you publish, or do you play an instrument, or can you read music, or do you mean you’re in the record business?

None of these questions really clarify what I do, although in part, they are all relevant.

In fact, music publishing is a strange and rather complicated business, which involves taking an author’s composition and transforming it into a commercial activity.

But that also does not explain much about music publishing.

To really understand music publishing, one has to understand the history of music publishing. That takes us back a very long time.

Music publishing is a very old business. We can say it began in the 11th century when musical notation was first standardized.

The first music publishers were of course, printers of music. And the earliest generally accepted date of music printing is 1465, which was only shortly after the printing of the Gutenberg bible and the invention of movable type.

For many centuries, all creative art owed its existence to the patronage of either church or court, and in music especially, no composer could afford to work without it. For, although printing had greatly assisted the diffusion of artistic output, the composer was unable to break away from the monopoly of patronage for some 300 years.

The father of music publishing was a man named Petrucci, a printer and publisher who flourished in large measure thanks to a twenty years’ monopoly of printed “figured” music in Venice during the 16th century. The first works printed by Petrucci were in 1501.

Petrucci flourished by publishing mainly Flemish works, rather than Italian, as in those days Flemish works were very popular throughout Europe.

In England, shortly thereafter, Queen Elizabeth 1st conveyed the monopoly in 1575 on two printers, Tallis and Byrd and gave them the right to print and import music for 21 years.

These monopolies offered the first legal protection which we know of and which have of course now been codified into copyright laws throughout the Western world.

In France the first important printer/publisher of music was a man named Attagnant who published from 1527 to 1549. We know that he published approximately a thousand books in all, many containing Flemish music and music from northern France.

Now we have an emerging business and one which is international.

This business could not have come into being had it not been for the new printing technology. Technology and art moved simultaneously in that music printing came into being at the appropriate moment when Polyphonic music was developing throughout the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, England and France. This relationship between music and technology is one which we should not lose sight of.

In order to give our neophyte industry legal backing, another aspect was required. And this was the legal underpinnings of what we now know today as copyright law, which actually was law to prevent unauthorized copying.

The leaders in copyright law were the English.

King Henry VIII of England passed a law, which required copies of all printed matter to be sent to the king and offered protection to printers in the form of licenses. This benefited the king with a new source of revenue and provided the word “royalty” with a new definition.

Times have changed since the licensing act of 1662 in England, which required the printer of every book to print on it a certificate of the licensor, stating that it contained no writing “contrary to the Christian faith, or the doctrine or discipline of the church of England against the state and government of the realm, or contrary to good life or good manners, or otherwise”.

It was in 1709 that the famous statute of Anne was promulgated, which gave protection of a work initially for a period of 21 years, later extended to 28 years.

In the United States protecting music initially was not a priority. In 1789 when the first congress of the US passed the first federal copyright law, music was not included. This omission was remedied in 1831.

However promising these early signs, the U.S. congress did not consider the industry a priority. In 1789, the first congress of the United States passed the first federal copyright law, but music was not included. The law was not expanded to include music until 1831. The copyright term for protection was 28 years plus a 14-year renewal period.

France followed with establishing their own copyright law. Soon began a movement for some international accord, which eventually came about at the meeting of Bern in 1886.

The 14 original member states of the Bern union adopted what is referred to as the Bern Convention.

The core of the Convention is its provision that each of the contracting countries shall provide automatic protection for works in other countries of the union and for unpublished works whose authors are citizens of or residents in such other countries. It is essential to understand that copyright law as it evolved, encompassed not merely the right to print, but the right to collect revenue from all rights including but not limited to performance rights and phonographic rights. As of April 2000, over 76 countries have approved membership in the Bern convention.

While England was the leader in the development of the legal protection of copyright, the honor of the development of the collection of performing rights goes to the French.

In 1777, Beaumarchais founded an organization, “Bureau de legislation Dramatique” which later in 1829 became the Societé des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD) pursuant to which theatres agreed to pay playwrights a portion of their takings by the Society.

In 1847 the author Ernest Bourget had the idea of claiming the performing right in the Café Concerts and other establishments which used songs and or musical works. One night in 1850, Ernest Bourget and two other composers, Parizot and Henrion, heard one of their works performed by an orchestra in the Café Des Ambassadeurs where they were having a drink. They refused to pay on the pretext that the owner of the establishment was using their works to entertain the customers without any remuneration to the authors.

Subsequently, a lawsuit and trial took place, which was won by the authors and in 1851, resulted in the formation of the Societe des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musiques (SACEM) – the first performing rights society in the world. Other countries followed suit.

In 1882 the Italian Society SIAE was founded. In 1903 the predecessor society to the current German society GEMA was formed by Richard Strauss in 1903 which became GEMA IN 1915 when it merged with another small society.

So we can see that by the end of the 19th century virtually all the steps were in place to safeguard the rights of a composer and therefore to render the activity of music publishing a viable business.

Through the 19th century increasing urbanization, the possibility of mass circulation of cheap printed materials, and the rapid growth of music hall and vaudeville led to the development of modern music publishing.

Technology would add the final ingredient – lithography, which was invented in Germany in 1798. Music could now be mass-produced more cheaply than by the conventional method of engraved plates. The scene was set for the commercial explosion of popular music.

Germany, following the great outpouring of German music in the 18th and 19th centuries, was the birthplace of modern music publishing.

In the 18th Century, the great German music publishing enterprises came into being. Breitkopf of Leipzig was the first significant name. He was a printer and general publisher and became a music printer in 1754. His business success was largely founded on improvements in the setting of music type. Hartel joined the firm in 1795 and then began the publication of the great series of the complete works of various composers for which the house is still famous, including Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Shubert, Schumann and Wagner. Breitkopf and Hartel were original publishers of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Wagner, complete editions of Bach, Schutz, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann, also Furtwangler and Hindemith.

Schott Music of Mainz was founded in 1770 and still exists today. They published French and Italian operas (Donizetti, Rossini), and later such authors as Hindemith, Stravinsky, Orff, Schoenberg, Henze & Wagner..

Simrock of Bonn and later Berlin was established in 1790. Their original authors were Beethoven, Haydn, Meyerbeer, Webver, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms. Firms were soon founded including Artaria of Vienna 1778-1932, the original publisher of Mozart.

Musikverlag Josef Weinberger of Frankfurt was founded in 1885 in Vienna. They published operettas by Kalman, Lehar, Offenbach, Stolz, Strauss and others. One can see from the large number of music publishing houses which were founded in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Germany advanced quickly to the top of the music publishing world.

All of these publishers are still active in the 21st century. Music was evolving too.

One of the essential changes which took place in the late 19th and early 20th century was the popularization of music. Music of course had started in churches as a liturgical form. By the end of the 19th century it had moved from the churches to the aristocracy and now in all countries, was reaching the masses. Naturally music publishers and diffusion of printed music contributed to this diffusion.

It is difficult to say exactly what came first, as there was a musical explosion throughout Europe and indeed in the United States.

Towards the middle of the 19th century a lighter operatic form made its appearance. The precursor of this development is certainly John Gay’s Beggars Opera in England composed in 1728. Of unusual popularity and frequently revised to this day, Beggars Opera heralded music for the masses.

It took over a hundred years after the Beggars Opera’s premiere but the explosion of the new popular music form was extensive and international.

The launch of the new music was almost simultaneous in Paris, Vienna and London.

French Opérette and Opéra Bouffe as we know it today, began in Paris in the Second Empire.

The inventor was an eccentric but highly gifted individual, who called himself Hervé. His real name was Florimond Ronger, and he was always known by the nickname “Le Compositeur Tocqué”.

As a young man, Hervé was appointed organist to a lunatic asylum in Paris. I have no idea whether this helped his composing.

Hervé became the conductor at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal where he established himself as a successful composer.

But it was Offenbach who consolidated and expanded what Hervé had begun.

Offenbach gave Paris a series of satirical operettas which enchanted and convulsed his audiences, such as “La Vie Pariesienne”, “La Belle Hélène”, and “Orphéee aux Enfers”.

Offenbach’s fame spread to Vienna where he became the toast of the town. He was to be supplanted in the hearts of the Viennese.

The new man of the moment was Johann Strauss, the composer of the popular “Blue Danube” waltz and “Tales of the Vienna Woods”.

Strauss was the first pop star the world has ever known. He was perhaps the most popular composer who ever lived. He toured Europe unceasingly with his own orchestra.

After Offenbach’s success in Vienna, Johann Strauss was persuaded by his manager and his wife to try his hand at operetta. His first operatta “Indigo, or The Forty Thieves” was produced in 1870. There followed no less than fifteen Johann Strauss operettas which included the incomparable, “Die Fledermaus”.

The successors of Strauss included a whole new breed of “modern” composers which included such greats as Franz Lehár who composed “The Merry Widow” among others, and Emmerich Kálmán.

In England, at roughly the same moment, Gilbert and Sullivan burst onto the scene. For twenty years commencing with “The Sorcerer” in 1877 and “The Grand Duke” in 1896, Gilbert & Sullivan occupied a place in popular music history, which has perhaps never been supplanted.

Popular music had been invented, and classical music would never quite reach the same level of acceptance by the public.

We should not leave this moment in history, without mentioning the Italian operas of the period, since this was the time of Verdi and Puccini, of “La Traviata”, “Il Travatore”, “Don Giovanni”, “La Boheme”, “Madame Butterfly” and so very many more. All of which, of course, we extraordinarily popular both in Italy and throughout the world.

The prime commercial beneficiary was sheet music. To give you some idea of the popularity of sheet music, in the U.S. during the first decade of the 20th century the million-seller was commonplace. During that decade nearly 100 songs each sold over one million copies. At that time, one million copies of sheet music yielded approximately $100,000 (about €700,00 in today’s money) for the publisher.

In England, the “Ratcatcher’s Daughter” sold over 250,000 copies of sheet music.

Turning to the United States and a brief step backward in time--- in 1764, Paul Revere, no less, and Josiah Flagg compiled the first collection of popular and religious music, printed on paper made in the colonies. Probably the most popular revolutionary war song was “Yankee Doodle”. The post-revolutionary period was notable for advancing the music industry when the first professional music publishers migrated from Europe in the 1770’s, opening shops in Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Baltimore, bringing with them their European technology.

In the first quarter of the 19th century alone, 10,000 pieces of popular music were printed by publishers. One example was the international success “home sweet home” (1823).

Much of this music consisted of the thousands of songs written during the civil war, documenting feelings on both sides. The rallying cry of the south was “Dixie” (ironically written by a northerner), and “The Yellow Rose Of Texas”, which became a hit again in 1955.

After 1880, song promotion developed, or what early Tin Pan Alley publishers would soon call “plugging”.

Prior to the 1880’s, popular music publishing was a subsidiary function of music stores or “serious music” publishers.

The industry did not promote music or develop writers. Songs became popular with virtually no promotion. By and large, most minstrel troupes and singing personalities wrote their own music or had songs written to order. This was all changed by the young men entering the business from other fields, many from humble origins with no experience in publishing, but with energy and innovative ideas, all of which they were to focus on publishing the American popular song.

About the same time, a fellow named Frank Harding created a firm specializing in pop songs in NY’s Bowery. He encouraged writers to write for his company by paying them with several rounds of drinks, an early attempt at writer development! “It was no use giving them more than $10 at a time, he said. “A man could get damned drunk on $10.”

In pursuit of an audience, publishers devised numerous and extraordinary promotional practices. Aside from performing songs live for performers of the day, the salesman would sing and play in stores to sell his sheet music. (Louis & Jerry Kem team!) (Jerry Kem/Max Top Hat).

The first “payola” was through gifts to performers and placing “plants” in the audience who would jump up “spontaneously” and sing their publisher’s song.

By 1900, music publishers were making the move from their home on 14th St. to 28th St. (between 6th Ave and Broadway) “Tin Pan Alley” in order to be closer to the thriving entertainment center of the day.

Actually, both the sound and the amount of music produced by Tin Pan Alley were voluminous. The first decade of the 20th century boasted the highest production of popular music in history, some 25,000 songs annually.

Sheet music was king, both publishers and writers only source of income. The million seller was commonplace. During the decade, nearly 100 songs each sold over 1 million copies (songs like “Bird In A Gilded Cage”, and “Down By The Old Mill Stream”).

In 1893, “After the Ball” sold one million copies in America and, in the next ten years, went on to sell a total of ten million.

Despite the enactment of new U.S. copyright legislation, including the 1891 Chace Act which allowed for the international protection of copyrights, the provisions of the 1909 copyright act had been generally ignored. Music history was made in the U.S. when a group of noted songwriters including Victor Herbert braved foul New York City weather to attend a small meeting at a restaurant called Luchow’s in 1913. They were brought together by the novel ideal of creating a society to ensure writers and publishers received the recognition and revenue their works generated. At a second meeting on February 13, 1914, these visionaries, whose members included some of that era’s most active and talented songwriters, such as Irving Berlin, James Weldon Johnson, Jerome Kern and John Philip Sousa, began a tradition of outstanding public advocacy on behalf of songwriters that continues to this very day. ASCAP was formally organized to license the performances of songs.

Soon after ASCAP’s founding, Victor Herbert, brought a lawsuit against Shanley’s Restaurant that established the legal basis for songwriters to protect their ‘performing right’ in the music they created. In a legal battle that took two years to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, ASCAP finally prevailed in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Oliver Wendell Homes. “If music did not pay, it would be given up. If it pays, it pays out of the public’s pocket. Whether it pays or not, the purpose of employing it is profit, and that is enough.”

Despite this decision, by the end of the first year of its existence, ASCAP was licensing only 85 hotels in New York at an average fee of $8.23 a month. It took seven years (until 1921) before ASCAP’s income exceeded its legal and operating costs.

During this time, income of music publishers was derived almost entirely from the sales of printed music.

As I said earlier, technology has always been one of the main drivers of the music publishing business. One invention above all transformed our industry and brought music to every nook and cranny of civilization, and this was the invention of the gramophone record.

Thomas Edison invented recording in 1877 when he was able to play back his own reading of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” on a tin foil cylinder. Ten years later, a German, Emil Berliner, discovered that the disc was a far superior shape for sound reproduction and mass production.

In 1902, the American directors of the Gramophone Company engaged Enrico Caruso to record several arias. In one afternoon, Caruso made ten records for which he was paid $100. In the next 10 years, recordings were to make him a millionaire.

Curiously enough, popular music was slow to take advantage of the new recordings and in 1910, more than ¾ of the records sold were classical music.

But soon after, popular and light music assumed a stronger position and in the 1920’s, Paul Whiteman, Louis Armstrong and many others jumped on the never-to-be-ended bandwagon. The 20th century had arrived and so had the modern “music business”.

During the first quarter of the 20th century, sheet music was still king and publishers and composers depended primarily on the sale of sheet music for their revenues.

However, sheet sales declined while records were still providing inadequate income to compensate for this loss. This led to short lived but serious economic problems for some publishers. In the long run, of course, records only increased publishers’ receipts. In 1927, after the advent of The Jazz Singer (the first talkie) motion picture, the need for music led movie studios to buy music publishing companies, gaining both catalogues of music and experienced composers at the same time.

For example, in 1929, Warners paid 10 million dollars for Harms, Witmark and Remick; MGM bought Leo Feist, Robbins and some smaller companies; Paramount started Famous Music.

Once again, the music publisher benefited from new technology.

The post WW2 period resulted in such innovations as the jukebox and microgroove recording, which brought us the LP record. This added to the proliferation of broadcast stations

Later, television became a powerful tool in increasing the dissemination of music.

The 1980’s also saw the emergence of more new technology (satellite transmissions - CDs) and new outlets (cable).

Through the 90’s, these new formats (especially CDs) generated strong growth for the music publishing industry.

Technology and the Development of Copyright Protection and the Collection Societies Had it not been for the invention of music printing, and the efforts of the early printer-publishers, music would not have been distributed to the public. Similarly, through the efforts of the early music publishers, music easily crossed frontiers.

Lastly, due in large part to the publisher, the composer of music became not just a travelling minstrel, a theoretical pedagogue or theologian, but rather a man with a vocation and a profession.

Where other forms of entertainment may be harmed by new technical developments, music publishers, in their capacity of rights’ owners, always profit.

So, while the radio and film businesses were hurt by the introduction of television, music publishers benefited. Similarly, whereas the record industry may suffer threats in the future from video or cable or pay per play or the Internet, music publishers will continue to flourish since the new technology will offer additional sources of revenue.

Historically, the business has progressed from printed editions, to performing rights (1897), to mechanical rights (records, tapes, CD’s in 1971) to synchronization rights (film and advertising), to television, to video, to cable, cable radio and satellite, and now the web, DPDs, ringtones and subscription services.

And in each case, the preceding revenue source continues sometimes though in a varied and sometimes reduced manner.

Music publishing benefits from the fact that it is not reliant upon any one sector of the entertainment industry. From a technology point of view, it is far from neutral – any delivery system will work.

The development of what can broadly be described as “the music biz” would not have led to a coherent and profitable industry had it not been for two other factors which paralleled the technological and musical developments.

One was the theory of copyright and the laws which supported it.

The second was the emergence of the concept of the performing right under copyright and the birth of the performing rights societies.

It was through these two evolutionary processes that publishing was transformed from a simple sale of individual music sheets to a “metier” which is .

It is copyright alone that makes music publishing a business, for without it there is no legal protection against unrestricted and uncompensated use of the property of the publisher.

The use of the word “copyright” frequently confuses; it may appear at first to denote a single legal right or interest, as for example ownership in land or other forms of property more generally understood.

In many respects, a “copyright” is similar to an interest in land; both are proprietary rights, can be bought and sold, mortgaged or dealt with in any number of ways.

However, a “copyright” is in fact a “bundle of rights” vested in an “author”, each of which can be independently sold, assigned or licensed.

Initially, the only right defined was the right to prevent unauthorized printed copies of a work.

It is the negative aspect of these rights which gives value to copyright, unlike other forms of proprietary right, an author is given the right to prevent any other person from doing certain restricted acts without his permission and is thereby enabled to set conditions for granting such permission, in particular, the payment of fees. The conceptual nature of these rights means that copyright, along with patent and trademark rights, are often collectively referred to as “intellectual property rights”.

Today, the duration of copyright protection is limited by law. In general, the period of protection is the life of the creator plus 70 years.

Most civilized countries, having promulgated copyright laws, are party to various international conventions – the principal one being the Berne Convention (1886, 1908, 1928). As of now, the Convention had been signed by more than 76 countries.

The basic principle of the Convention is that all authors of works published in a contracting state must be granted the same protection as citizens of other states without further formalities.

Other principal conventions include the Universal Copyright Convention (1952) and the Rome Convention (1961) which extended protection to performers and records.

One final note about copyright law. Copyright law has evolved over the years and been expanded in many, many respects. My discussion this evening in no way permits me adequate time, nor in fact do I have the competence to discuss all the judicial changes which have taken place. But just to give you an example with respect only to the French copyright law, which was first established in 1777.

Changes to the law took place in 1791 for “spectacles” and 1793 recognizing for the first time, the right of reproduction, which broadened the concept of “droits d’auteurs”. Further modidifications took place in 1805, 1810, 1844, 1852, 1866, 1887, 1902, 1910, 1920 and 1925, and this is just in France.

Finally, the whole of French copyright law was revised pursuant to the major legislation of 1957, which extended protection to such technologies as cinemetograpy, photographs, photocopiers, gramaphones, tape players, computers. Etc.

The most recent change took place in 1985, which covered among other things, producers of phonograms, and videograms, audio visual communication, as well as neighboring rights. Similiarily in the U.S., ……

Clearly, copyright law and copyright itself is not a stagnant concept, but indeed an evolution of rights applicable to all intellectual property and all changes of technology.

So I think that I have now answered the question as to what is a music publisher and how does a music publisher make money.

I think by inference you can also understand that it is only due to commercialization of music by a music publisher that composers and authors can profit. But I’m sure you would also like to know, practically speaking, what a music publisher does in today’s world.

If we use as our paradigm, the great music publisher Ricordi, who published the legendary operas “La Boheme,” “Tosca” and numerous others, this was a man who handled virtually every aspect of his composer’s business. He helped to get their operas presented, he subsequently rented the scores of music and even the set and costume designs to other opera houses. He was, in fact, a total entrepreneur.

In fact, publishers were rather powerful because they controlled the songs and they provided the songs to the record companies. In those days, recording artists did not write for themselves.

In the second half of the 20th century, this dynamic began to change.

As the recording artist became more important than the song in the eyes of the public, think Bob Dylan or The Beatles, so recordings became more important economically than the songs.

I now have explained to you the history and the theoretical and legal underpinnings of the music publishing industry.

You are perhaps now wondering how does this fit in with the practical circumstances of the modern world and the modern music business?

You may remember that I mentioned that at the time of the development of the Talking Motion Picture, Movie companies rushed to acquire music publishing businesses since they wished to synchronize music in their pictures and they wished to own that music.

Some of those companies became record companies, like Warner Brothers.

Other record companies over the last thirty or forty years have realized that the music publishing business fits very synergistically with the record business. I don’t think I have to explain that to you.

So in fact, all the major record companies in the world have become major music publishers.

During the course of the last forty years, there has been very significant consolidation in the music publishing business. All the world’s largest music publishers are all parts of groups which own record companies, the largest being EMI and the second largest being Warner-Chappell. Until recently, BMG Music Publishing, was part of BMG Records. We recently became the world’s largest independent music publisher when BMG Records merged with Sony Music. So, we have seen some significant changes in the landscape of the music industry just in the last few months.

You might find it interesting to learn how how we built BMGMP over only a 17 year period. During that time, we have made over 225 acquisitions of music publishing companies and catalogues. Since American music represents approximately 40% of the world’s music market and since it is the most exportable music in the world, we have naturally focused on acquiring many American catalogues. We have also purchased catalogues in England and Germany and France.

But does that mean that our business philosophy is just to buy old songs and old compositions? Certainly not, our philosophy is very clearly placed on several pillars. First of all, we have our back catalogue. It is our job to maintain this wonderful heritage, to market these works, to secure new recordings, to make new printed editions, to obtain synchronization licenses through commercials and publicity.

Generally, to do everything we can to maintain the life and profitablilty of these works for ourselves and of course for the composers, or in many cases their heirs.

For example, we always look for opportunities to get new recordings of our wonderful standard repertoire.

On the classical side, we maintain large departments in many countries devoted to promoting and marketing our great works. We rent out the orchestral scores and of course we sell sheet music and scores from our back catalogue. But we are a modern company and we seek to work in a multinational basis. And so we have in fact consolidated our printed music and rental business out of Milan, Italy retaining in Paris sales departments and promotion departments.

But we would be a very poor music publisher if we only relied on our back catalogue. As we have seen, a music publisher today does not count upon the sales of printed music from new works for its livelihood. In fact, the skills of a music publisher have somewhat changed.

Today, we must not only identify composers who can write music, but also artists who can sing that music, because in very many instances, the composer and the artist are one in the same.

So a music publisher has in fact become a kind of talent scout. We try to be on the scene earlier than record companies and in fact often we find artists and develop them for some period of time before they are signed to a record company.

Naturally, during this time we have to give them financial assistance. And it’s this kind of artist development that really distinguishes a good popular publisher from a poor one. Some of the artists whom we have developed and worked with are Maroon5, Nelly, Beck and Keane.

We are also very active in the film world. We have also placed music in such hit films as "Shark Tale," "Collateral," "Starsky & Hutch," "Something’s Gotta Give" and "Charlie’s Angels."

As a modern publisher we try to cover all genres of music and we have an extremely diversified portfolio.

Now I’m sure that you would like me to look into my crystal ball and tell you a a ittle bit about the future.

This is not the easiest thing in the world. We have seen how over the centuries, the music publishing industry has been affected and has grown as the technologies of the world have come into play. In the last few years, vast technological changes have impacted all our personal and business lives.

What home does not have a computer? Who does not use email or at least the mini-tell and who in this room has not surfed the web, or shopped on line or downloaded a song?

A few years ago, all this would have been unimaginable. The implications of this technological revolution are mind boggling. And all of this is no doubt a pronounced threat to the music business and therefore to the music publishing business.

Will we survive? I think so.

First of all, the ability to download and to pirate music is something which simply has to be combated.

It is not possible to have a world without laws and most people I believe are honest. Yet, we know that people who would not think about shoplifting a CD form the Virgin Records store in the Champs Elysee think nothing of downloading a piece of music. Clearly 3 things have to happen.

1) we have to educate people that stealing music and a composer’s livelihood is a bad idea.

2) we have to compel the entities which provide pirated music from the Internet to abide by copyright laws.

3) the Record companies or some company in the media sector needs to provide a reasonably priced and user friendly service to the customers which will compete with the illegal services like KAZA.

Is this possible? I think so. And I primarily think so because although the record companies have been very slow to provide a good service and to combat piracy on the Internet, the film companies have a great deal more to lose and they have considerably more political influence. I believe that they will find a solution.

And I do believe that one needs to be positive and think optimistically. In the past as I have demonstrated music publishers have always profited by technology. And indeed the Internet will improve the licensing of music and synchronization by creating new efficiencies to license our content to our clients and to offer new marketing tools.

We will be able to provide a better access to our catalogues through convenient and powerful search engines.

In terms of sheet music, we will be able to reactivate and license songs that lie dormant in our archives. This can create considerable additional revenue while being able to give our clients a much-improved service.

And we will be able to develop a better relationship wit our customers by building databases that will help us track sales activities.

The Internet will offer new means to distribute our products. For example, digital downloads of sheet music. Think of the possibilities for printed music products where every currently out of stock item can be made available.

While we have very old roots, we have ahead of us a unique opportunity to be a cutting edge, high growth business. While for many of us, this technological revolution brings a lot of uncertainty, it is surely a great way to add value to our repertoire and market it more effectively.

Our industry has survived and blossomed for over 500 years.

Every new technology which has touched us, has enhanced us. We have learned to adapt in the past, and we must for the future.

The greatest danger is that our laws and our ability to control the dissemination of rights will not keep up with the speed of the development of technology. As I have tried to point out, law and technology are inextricably intertwined for our industry. We must ensure that this interrelationship continues for our benefit. We need to continuously educate the governments of the world to protect our cultural and intellectual rights.

I am an optimist. I believe that in spite of the threats, we will survive and flourish and that we are indeed about to see the genesis of a golden age of music publishing.