Avant-Garde Music: Some Publication Problems
Mary Wedgewood · The Library Quarterly · 1976
Composers of avant-garde music encounter many problems getting their works published. Three reasons why such music is generally unattractive to publishers are identified: (1) it is extremely difficult for an editor to assess it on the basis of its artistic merit; (2) to prepare it for public dissemination may require editorial services or physical plant capabilities which are not readily available in most publishing houses; and (3) there is a very limited market for the finished product. Some ways in which publishers deal with problems presented by avant-garde music scores when they do undertake their publication are mentioned, including applications of photoduplication and computer technologies. Currently common alternatives to standard commercial publishing are discussed, including informal circulation of "unpublished" scores, dissemination in the form of periodical anthologies, and composer-initiated ventures such as composer-owned or directed firms and cooperatives.