One aspect of the phenomenal Walt Disney organization that is not as well known or as well publicized as the others but is equally efficient in organization and valuable in result, is the music company, or more accurately, two companies.
The Walt Disney Music Company was established in 1949 and is affiliated with ASCAP. Wonderland Music Company, vintage 1951, is affiliated with BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.). All the songs published have had their origin in either Disney features or Disney shorts.
Music has three essential facets in relation to motion pictures, it is said. There are the obvious ones of actual production numbers in musical features and background music to coordinate a mood for dramatic scenes. But the one that is least obvious to the public, yet whose greatest impact is felt by them, is exploitation. Disney's two companies were created primarily to capitalize on the exploitation potential inherent in the field of music.
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