THE GRAMOPHONE

VOL. XXVI

MAY, 1949

No. 312

EDITORIAL A [.-tt~r signed' by a few of the most influential names in music and poetry has been sent to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, asking him to receive a deputat ion to put before him the case for removing the purchase tax on records and thus accord to music the privilege already accorded to l i terature. For the moment I am not at l iberty to publish the t ext of the letter or mention the names of those who signed i t because until a decision has been given the matter must not be prf'judiced. I will, however, remind readers that from October 2[st, 1940, to April l'jth, 194'2, the Purchase Tax was 33} per cent, from' then to April [3th, [!:I43. i t was 66~, from then until April loth, 1~)46, i t was 100 per cent. from then until November [3 th , 1947, i t was 331 per cent, from then to April ~th, 1~48, i t \\-as 50 per cent and on that date i t was increased to 661 per cent, at which rate i t now stands. Since the tax was first levied the music lovers of this country have paid £7,750,000 into the National ExLhequer for the records they have bought and £5,250,000 for the record-playing devices they have bought-thirteen million pounds in all.

Several readets seemed to suppose that my remarks about the long-playing record were an attempt to put back the hands of the clock. They were nothing of the kind. What I was trying to advise was caution before supposing that the overtaxed music-lovers of Britain would have to scrap their existing records and instruments within the immediate future. When we remember the way our recording companies over here have wrried the British gramophone record to the indisputable firs"t place in the world we are entitled to feel confident that they will not surrender that supremacy without fighting.

Here is an authoritative statement of the position from the point of view of the American dealer, which mayor may not err on the side of optimism. I f that statement be read in combination with Harold Scholl berg's article printed on another page readers of THE GRAMOPHONE should be able to make up their minds whether they will be able to alford to pay the piper if they decide to call the tune.

There are three systems of phonograph reproduction available :

([) Turntables spin at 78 revolutions per minute (r.p.m.). This is the old established system with IO-inch records yielding 3z minutes of music and 12-inch records 4! minutes pCI' side. Records are pressed either in shellac or VinyJite (the latter at considerably higher cost).

All existing companies use this system at present and will continue to do so.

(2) Turntables spin at the reduced speed of 331 r .p.m. Records come in either 7-inch size with up to 5 minutes of music per side, IO-inch size with up to 13! minutes per side, or 12-inch size with up to 25 minutes per side. All arc pressed in Vinylite. The increased amount of music is achieved by the slower speed and considerable reduction of the width of the record grooves. To play these records, an attachment to the current phonograph or an l"ntirely new machine with slow-speed motor and light pickup are needed. Changers still come in the conventional mechanism for all three sizes. So far, Columbia and Mercury Records are using this system. On major symphonic works, the long-playing 331 r .p .m. record has one distinct advantage in so far as there are no breaks where the composer did not intend them.

(3) Turntables spin at the medium speed of 45 r .p.m. Discs come in 7-inch size with a large centre hole which keeps the music away from the middle, thus allowing for higher fidelity. Each record plays up to 5 minutes and 5 seconds of music. Continuation is achieved through a revolutionary changer mechanism which reduces breaks between records to a minimum (2 to 3 seconds), makes changes noiseless and gives an almost uninterrupted playing t ime of about 50 minutes. Records are packed in capsule cartons that store away neatly and can be easily stacked on bookshelves or even on desks. So far, RCA Victor (the inventor) and Capitol Records have adopted . this s)'lItem, which needs either a changer-player attachment to your present phonograph or an entirely new changer-player.

No one's equipment is rendered obsolete by the new systems or the records that tum on them. But buyers will benefit from the switch to 33t or 45 r .p.m. turntables or both. For the record companies are maki~g offers so advantageous that homemakers can really save by switching over from the old 78 system to the new 33! or 45 r .p.m.

The various types ofphotographic equipment, with their attendant various sized films that do not fit every camera uniformly, have not hampered the camera business. Likewise, each consumer will be able to buy that record which will best be able to serve the purpose of the type of music recorded.

According to the prices announced, a breakdown of record purchasing costs goes like this : One Minute of Music Costs

1:2.5 cents on the old-style shellac (breakable) discs. With the cost of album thrown in, the minimum increases to 14. I cents. (This figure increases by about 80 per cent. on the unbreakable Vinylite discs in the old-style 78 system.) One Minute of Music Costs

10.7 cents or 1es£ on the new system in unbreakable records. In specific sets, savings run as high as 63 per cent. Thus, savings in record purchasing costs alone completely absorb and underwrite the cost of change-over. Spread out over no more than a handful of average record store purchases (half a dozen symphonies, a concerto or two, or a raft of popular singles), the saving in new-style, cheaper records buys the player. Price Reductions

The slash in prices was mainly due to the competition offered by the two major companies, Victor and Columbia. For instance, as soon as Victor announced its new 45 r .p.m. system, Columbia reduced the price of its 331 r .p.m. player attachment from $:29.95 to S9 .95. Customers then figured that buying the cheaper records would absorb the cost, and they bought 600,000 long-playing machines of all types (attachments and consoles) and two million lp records within a period of six months. This represents the equivalent of ten million shellac records. Total sales in dollars amounted to eight million imtead of the 12 million dollars the same amount of music would have cost on shellac. Thus, a saving of four million dollars was effected for the buying public.

The Ip player was packaged for sale in a clever merchandising operation. Some stores sold it outright for 89 .95. Some offered i t as a package deal with two Columbia Ip discs, a logical offer since everyone pllfchasing a player needs the Ip records to go with i t . Other stores again gave it as a free bonus with each purchase of a television set. The idea proved excellent. Experience has shown that wi.th every purchase of a 33k r.p.m,' attachment a great number of additional Ip discs were sold. Logically, the same is to be expected from future 45 r .p.m. sales.

At the same time, Columbia announced its prices of single 7-inch records (the equivalent of old-~tyle 10 or 12-inch shellac records) : 60 cents for the popular and go cents for the classical disc. This represents a saving of 20 cents in the popular, 35 cents in the cla<;sical field (even without considering the added advantage of the non-breakable materiaL)

The prices of the 45 r .p.m. equipment and records, as announced by RCA Victor, are on the approximately same level. The player attachment sells for S24.95, the independent 45 r .p.m. player for $39 .95. The popular single retails at 65 cents, the classical single at 95 cents.

The saving on buying the new 45 r .p.m. records is best illustrat~d with examples. An · old-style, eight-~ide classical shellac album that used to retail for 85.00 will now retail for $3.80; a twelve-side album in the old-style . cost S8'50, but can now be had for Sj.70. Thus, savings of from 33 to 37 per cent. in comparison with old-style shellac, or more than60 per cent. in comparison with the old-style Vinylite, are effected.

A comparison bet.ween the three systems is illustrated by the following example of a highly popular symphony, Beethoven's Ninth. 78 r .p.m. shellac 78 r .p.m. Vinylite 33t r .p.m. Vinylitf'

[with a Beethoven Overture thrown . in on the final side.) 45 r .p.m. Vinylile

812.25

19.00 9.70