Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay: The Business of Popular Music

Imagine a world where music existed only as live performances, ephemeral and fleeting. Then, in 1710, a revolutionary idea took shape: music could be owned, protected, and sold. The Statute of Anne, passed by the British Parliament, granted authors exclusive rights to their written works, including music. This moment marked the birth of music as a commodity, a product that could be bought, sold, and controlled. Suddenly, publishers could persuade songwriters to assign their rights, turning songs into valuable assets. Sheet music became the currency of the music business, with publishers printing and selling copies to eager households. In an era before recordings, owning the sheet music meant owning the song itself.

But this new business was far from gentle. Publishers engaged in fierce competition, bribing performers to include their songs in concerts and shows. The public, unfamiliar with new songs, needed to hear them repeatedly before embracing them, so promoters paid to ensure songs were 'plugged' in the right venues. This practice, though morally ambiguous, was essential to success. No song was played until someone was paid.

Among the luminaries of this period were Gilbert and Sullivan, whose light-hearted operettas captured the imagination of the middle class. Their shows, filled with memorable melodies and witty dialogue, not only entertained but drove sheet music sales into the stratosphere. More than 60% of middle-class families owned pianos, and they eagerly purchased the music to play at home. Their success demonstrated that musical theatre could be a powerful engine for the music publishing business.

Yet the business was not without its challenges. Piracy thrived, with cheap copies of sheet music flooding the streets, threatening publishers' profits. Legal battles ensued, culminating in the Copyright Act of 1906, which gave publishers stronger protections. This early struggle between creativity, commerce, and law set the tone for the music industry’s complex evolution.

As we close this chapter on the dawn of music publishing, we see how the foundations were laid for a business that would grow to dominate popular culture worldwide. The journey continues as technology begins to transform how music is created, distributed, and consumed, ushering in a new era that we will explore next.