Canadian Music Trades Journal

Canadian Music Trades Journal. Magazine of the instrument, recording, and publishing industries, issued in Toronto from 1900 to January 1933. Under its original owner, Dalton C. Nixon & Co., it was called Canadian Music and Trades Journal; it featured reports on musical life in Canadian cities and published pieces of music (usually of US origin) as well as trade news. In 1905 ownership passed to Fullerton & Shaw (later the Fullerton Publishing Co), and for a few years the magazine appeared twice a month. The rapid growth of musical commerce (and, probably, the establishment of another periodical, Musical Canada) led the publishers to concentrate entirely on matters related to the industry, although from time to time the journal continued to report on school music, festivals, organ inaugurations, and other events of interest to the music trade. The journal's owner was John A. Fullerton (b ca 1878, d 1957); its editor during most of its later years was Harvey A. Jones. The circulation reached over 1000 but only two libraries have important holdings: the New York Public Library (19 issues for 1907-9) and the National Library of Canada (one issue from 1900, four issues from 1901, and the volumes August 1912-January 1933). The NL of C also has photocopies of one issue from 1903, two from 1904 and one from 1905. Most of the early issues have not been located.

Coinciding in time with the peak of the Canadian instrument-building trade and with the burgeoning of the recording industry, Canadian Music Trades Journal covered its field in great detail, giving space to technical discussion as well as news. Lavishly produced and illustrated, the issues from 1912 to the late 1920s have from 50 to over 120 pages each, including much advertising. Special features included monthly listings of new records (from at least 1912 to March 1927 and again from December 1928 to February 1930) and of 'New music copyrights entered at Ottawa' (from at least 1912 to February 1919). Major sections were 'Music and Musical Merchandise' and 'Talking Machines and Records'. Some issues have a 'Tuner's Corner'. The journal continued to cover the record trade even after Fullerton established the Phonograph Journal of Canada about October 1919. The latter was absorbed by the senior publication in April 1926; no copies have been found in any library. The Depression years sharply curtailed music trade, and even an expanded coverage, revealed in the change of title (January 1931) to Canadian Music and Radio Trades, could not save the enterprise: the last issue, January 1933, has a mere 16 pages.

Author Helmut Kallmann