Fostering a Public Appreciation of Film Music inthe U.S.A.

Abstract

The American periodical Film Music Notes spurred a critical consideration of film music and of building public appreciation of the arts during its run from 1941 to 1958.  This history of its first decade starts with the connections and efforts of a group of Hollywood women on behalf of the National Federation of Music Clubs, to their founding of the National Film Music Council, to the final stage in editor turnover from the founding editors. It contributes to histories of professionalization of artistic and cultural study through its analysis of how the editors experimented with structuring content in a way to encourage the public to appreciate film music. This was influenced by changing relations between Film Music Notes and Hollywood studios, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, and educational organizations. This context explains how prominent composers and critics came to contribute to the periodical and the larger debates that were shaping their writings.