Birgit Heise and her team have published a very interesting article in the DMM (Sep 2017) - topic: The artist contracts of Hupfeld. These documents are part of a very extensive collection of original Hupfeld documents in the Saxon State Archives, Leipzig State Archives.
More than 180 artists, including Grieg, Reisenauer, Reinecke, Leschetizky, von Sauer and many more, and their contracts are documented there - with details on prices, pieces of music, rights, etc.. It is still unclear why not all contract documents can be found here.
Sehr interessant auch die Querverweise zu Verträgen mit dem „Konkurrenten“ M. Welte & Söhne in Freiburg. In aller Regel war dem Künstler untersagt, gleiche Stücke bei der Konkurrenz aufzunehmen. Auch die Hinweise auf „dynamische Vortragsanweisungen“ für den redaktionellen Prozess sind sehr wertvoll. Je populärer der Künstler, desto höher die Vergütung und desto größer dessen Freiheiten im Vertragstext. Im Prinzip genau wie heute.
The contracts were generally two-page standard contracts with individual adaptations. These surviving Hupfeld documents are currently the only documentation of this contractual basis between artist and company. Valuable personal comments can be found scattered in the diaries and letters of the individual artists. We are sure that very important discoveries will be made in the near future.
