Over the years of our features, you may have noticed our reference to a place called "Tin Pan Alley" as the location of America's music publishing industry. If you are like we were at one time, you may have wondered, where is Tin Pan Alley? Is it a place? Is it a concept? Was there really a Tin Pan Alley?

In this month's issue we will answer those questions and hopefully give you some insights into the development of the American music publishing industry during the golden age of American popular music. Yes, Virginia, there really was a Tin Pan Alley and it was the popular music publishing center of the world from around 1885 to the 1920's. Before that though, all of the important publishers of American music were scattered over much of the country. Some were in New York but others were in Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Boston and Baltimore. All of these early publishers played important roles in the printing and distribution of sheet music and none had any monopolies on success. Most music publishers also published church music, music instruction books, study pieces and classical items for home and school use.

Below: A Typical home music parlor from the turn of the 20th century

As we learned in last month's essay, after the American Civil War, over 25,000 new pianos a year were sold and that by 1887, over 500,000 youths were studying piano. As a result, the demand for sheet music grew rapidly and more and more publishers began to enter the market. During the last fifteen years of the 19th century, New York began to emerge as the center of popular music publishing. Mainly, this happened because New York was becoming an important center for the musical and performing arts. As such, much of the talent was there and that was where one could immediately see trends and changes in musical style. During this period, a new generation of music publishers emerged who added energy and impetus to the music industry.

Among the most successful were Thomas B. Harms (Harms, Inc. started in 1881) and Isadore Whitmark ( M. Whitmark & Sons first published music in 1885). These visionaries concentrated almost exclusively on popular music, and the key to their success was their use of market research to select music and the use of aggressive marketing techniques to sell the product.

Song composers were hired under contract giving the publisher exclusive rights to popular composer's works. The market was surveyed to determine what style of song was selling best and then the composers were directed to compose in that style. Once written, a song was actually tested with both performers and listeners to determine which would be published and which would go to the trash bin. All of a sudden it seemed that music was becoming an industry more than an art. Once a song was published, song pluggers (performers who worked in music shops playing the latest releases, akin to playing new CD releases in a record store today) were hired and performers were persuaded to play the new songs in their acts to give the music exposure to the public. By the end of the century, a number of the more important publishers had offices on 28th street between 5th Avenue and Broadway. This street (28th) became known as "Tin Pan Alley" (Below: The corner of 5th and 28th streets, New York, ca. 1900)

Exactly why the area is called Tin Pan Alley seems to be fairly well documented, yet still smacks of an urban legend. Nonetheless, the name is attributed to a newspaper writer named Monroe Rosenfeld who while staying in New York, coined the term to symbolize the cacophony of the many pianos being pounded in publisher's demo rooms which he characterized as sounding as though hundreds of people were pounding on tin pans. According to the story, he used the term in a series of articles he wrote around the turn of the century (20th) and it caught on.

During these same early years, vaudeville replaced the minstrel show as the most popular form of stage entertainment. These shows had a great appetite for music and the publishing houses were more than happy to help out as enormous amounts of money were to be made from the sale of songs popularized by these shows. In the first two decades of its existence, Tin Pan Alley produced a succession of songs, remarkable from a commercial standpoint and for their endurance in American culture. The market potential for songs was enormous, even by today's standards. Charles K. Harris's After The Ball (1892) sold over five million copies! Large numbers of songs from this period became widely known and are a part of our traditions even today.

(Below: A sheet music cover artist works to create the beautiful covers we preserve today. ca. 1900)

Songs like: In the Good Old Summertime (1902), Give My Regards To Broadway (1904), Shine on Harvest Moon (1908, featured this month), Down by the Old Mill Stream (1910) and Let Me Call You Sweetheart (1910) are still sung today and their melodies could probably be sung by just about anyone you might ask.

The lyrics of music from this period suggest that the USA was a peaceful, happy and prosperous place. The many songs about the past describe warm memories of happy and innocent times in rural or small town settings. The persistent image of the "Gay Nineties" as one of the happiest and least troubled times in American history has been derived largely from these songs. Compare those images to today's music which is mostly in an urban setting with very disturbing and violent images.

Regardless of the happy times the music connotes, we cannot forget that Tin Pan Alley was not about love peace and happiness, it was about selling songs. The times certainly had their share of troubles and life was not a bed of roses then anymore than now. There were no altruistic desires on the part of the publishers to solve the problems of society nor were they attempting to create a happy world. They were simply about trying to create and sell music that people bought. Their chosen method during that time was to provide musical entertainment that allowed people to escape the realities of the hardships of life and their own life's troubles.

(Below: the music demo showroom at Whitney Warner, Detroit, ca. 1900)

Interestingly, I think many of us might have wanted to believe that the music of those years was of a kinder, gentler time and that the music evolved simply through the fates of artistic imagination. Yet, I realize that the composers and lyricists of the times were as much a victim of the system as they were driving it. We have to face up to the fact that art for art's sake is wonderful but that most of the composers and publishers of the period were much more interested in feeding themselves than creating a body of art that was valued as art versus a commercial success. How revealing to me to realize that the music of the times was not as much a reflection of the times as it was a reflection of people's desires for how the times and their life should be. Is it possible that that the beautiful music we see in our collection and displayed here on our site is nothing more than the result of creative and clever marketing?

No, it is not only that. The music and art we share with you represents a fusion of art and commercialism and as well, to me, represents the triumph of art and talent over the commercial interests. Sure, the publishers directed things but as always, it was the talent and creativity of truly creative human spirits who made the concept come alive.

Then of course, there are the people, you, me and all of the professional amateur musicians of the world. Just plain folks like these men from the turn of the century who love music and play it for the entertainment of others. Our tastes, our abilities are what have ultimately shaped the music of the past and present. In the end, we owe a great deal to the visionary publishers and marketers of Tin Pan Alley. Without the Harms' Whitmark's and Watterson's of the age, our world would be much different. Regardless of their profit motives (I firmly believe that profit motives are not evil and are the primary reasons for progress and opportunity in our country. Most of us can thank a rich man or woman for our job and what we have), the publishers of Tin Pan Alley not only established an industry that continues in grand tradition but they also are responsible for the beautiful music and covers we enjoy today. They deserve our thanks and respect for the fine works they had a hand in creating.

Rick Reublin, March, 2000

Photos displayed in this essay are from the Smithsonian collection of American historic photos. A major source for much of the text discussion is from The new Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. See our references page for details.

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