“Prices of Music Monographs and Scores as Reflected in Notes ”: A History of and Future for the Column

"Prices of Music Monographs and Scores as Reflected in Notes": A History of and Future for the Column Elizabeth Berndt Music monograph and score publishing has become increasingly complex in the current digital age. Library approaches and methods of acquiring these monographs and scores continue to evolve and grow in what often feels like an insurmountable number of ways. Staying informed and relevant to the publishing economy and patron needs is a constant challenge and one we hope this column can provide information, direction, and ideas. In June 2022, a survey was sent to the Music Library Association membership and recently lapsed members asking for feedback and perspective regarding Notes. The results revealed that of all the columns, "Prices of Music Monographs and Scores" column was ranked the least useful. When this column first appeared in March 1979 it served the purpose of gathering music score sales data, using the years 1967–69 as a base (see Table 1).1 It identified trends by comparing prices of music scores using methods similar to those that others had applied to books and periodicals.2 The sample price data was gathered from publisher catalogs and listings in the "Music Received" section of Notes and arranged in two categories: standard repertory items and new items. Given the co-authors' professional connections to the publishing trade, the methodology for gathering data made sense for the time. This does not mean writing the column was free from challenges. Several potential sources of error were provided in the price indexes, including determining the issuance date of sales catalogs, extrapolating prices for years between accessible catalogs, and finding different prices for the same title in different catalogs for the same year. As is still the case today, publishers, even those with significant material, do not always send to Notes everything that could be sent. Hill and Boonin stated, "Besides skewing our figures, this lack of cooperation End Page 632 should be seen as a malfunction of the communications system of which composers, libraries, and publishers are all a part."3As stated in the first column's conclusion: "The averages and indexes derived from the Notes lists seem to us to present too contradictory a picture to be susceptible of analysis."4 Application to an individual library budget can only be approximate at best, given that price indexes for library materials are not comparable to wholesale or consumer price indexes. The items listed in "Music Received" continuously change due to having only the year of publication in common, while the wholesale and consumer price indexes provide average prices for a stable body of music over several years. However, price trends seem noticeable as there were obvious large jumps of the standard repertory group in certain years, which is difficult to disregard even with the limited scope of data. Click for larger view View full resolution Table 1. Column authors with the years of publication and years of coverage. The column's second issue, which compared prices over the preceding decade, concluded that "no music library has had budget increases sufficient to stay abreast of price increases, let alone to improve the scope and depth of its holdings. More and more these figures show the need for the increased use of a very carefully prepared and judiciously applied collection development policy."5 By 1982, the "Music Received" portion of the column was abandoned and only the standard repertory scores data set continued. The 1986 update addressed major changes in the American music industry, namely the incorporation of music publishers into huge corporate structures, significantly altering the way printed music is published and distributed.6 Small publishers increased in number and activity for new compositions, but were unable to maintain standard repertory items, as is also the case today. The concern was that reprint editions of End Page 633 historical importance will become unavailable if they are permanently out of print due to their small annual sales. The column was discontinued between 1988–1995. With the return of the Price Index Column in the March 1996 issue, Calvin Elliker expanded the content by including music monographs, as reflected in the title change.7 Rather than using publisher catalogs, the...