Music for the Salon OR Who owns a melody?

This project explores music publishing practices during the late 19^th and early 20^th century, with a focus on the Salon genre.

The Salonorchester (or orchestra for the Salon) is a mixed ensemble format that was popular on the continent from the 19th century until the advent of gramophone and radio. Typically, it included piano, strings, a few wind and brass instruments (often supported by a harmonium, a portable organ) and percussion. The Salonorchester performed without a conductor (directed from violin or piano) and could evoke a full orchestral sound in often surprising colours.

During most of the 19^th century, it was still unusual to ask for permission from the composer or first publisher to issue arrangements of music of the day. Publishers tried to get control over these activities by simultaneously publishing new compositions in several key jurisdictions (Britain, France, Austria, Prussia), by lobbying for a property right in melodies (Melodieneigentum, i.e. that arrangements that re-used a melody were always an infringement), and by a kind of cartel of big publishers who between themselves agreed not to offer arrangements of each other’s published works. By the end of the 19^th century, publishers also sought to shape consumer demand in a much more structured way.

The legal treatment of arrangements, as reflected in music publishing practices relating to the Salon genre, offers a novel window on the birth of the modern copyright system.