Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Opportunities for British Composers
- 2 Authors, Painters and Composers
- 3 Novello and the Music Publishing Business
- 4 Novello, Royalties and Copyrights to 1914 and the 1904 Royalty Agreement
- 5 Novello, Royalties and Copyrights 1914 to 1934 and other Music Publishers
- 6 Royalties and Copyrights on Elgar's Major Works
- 7 Elgar's Performing Fees and George Bernard Shaw
- 8 Elgar's Earnings from Broadcasting, Recording and Conducting
- 9 A Matter of Wills
- 10 Epilogue
- Appendix: Bank of England, Inflation Calculator
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - Novello, Royalties and Copyrights to 1914 and the 1904 Royalty Agreement
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Opportunities for British Composers
- 2 Authors, Painters and Composers
- 3 Novello and the Music Publishing Business
- 4 Novello, Royalties and Copyrights to 1914 and the 1904 Royalty Agreement
- 5 Novello, Royalties and Copyrights 1914 to 1934 and other Music Publishers
- 6 Royalties and Copyrights on Elgar's Major Works
- 7 Elgar's Performing Fees and George Bernard Shaw
- 8 Elgar's Earnings from Broadcasting, Recording and Conducting
- 9 A Matter of Wills
- 10 Epilogue
- Appendix: Bank of England, Inflation Calculator
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The Early Days to 1900
This was a period when a struggling, relatively unknown composer began his association with a major music publisher. It is informative of the market for music in those times and of the way in which a music publisher reacted to a composer's increasing reputation. The copyrights earned by Elgar over this period have already been researched, but the Royalty and Copyright Records throw an entirely new light on Elgar's success, or otherwise, in also earning royalties from his works. How much did Elgar earn in total from Novello over this period? On the face of it, the sum was £393 6s 3d as per Source Material 1(1). The net cash received was, however, only £293 6s 3d, which, in 2011 pounds, was worth around £32,000.
The first work to be accepted by Novello was the part-song My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land. Elgar was in no position to negotiate any sort of payment, although he did receive one hundred free copies according to the terms set out in a letter.
1, Berners Street, London, W.
Feb 12th 1890
E. Elgar Esqre.
Upper Norwood, S.E.
Dear Sir,
We shall have much pleasure in publishing your ‘Romance’, Part Song, in exchange for 100 Copies, & if you will kindly arrange with Mr. Lang for the use of the words on payment of 1 Guinea, we shall be happy to pay you this amount. Upon hearing from you that this is arranged we will at once put the Part Song in the printers' hands.
We are, Dear Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Novello & Co.
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- Information
- Elgar's Earnings , pp. 80 - 108Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2013