Leeds Music

Leeds Music

Leeds Music (Canada), a Division of MCA Canada Ltd. Established in Toronto in 1960 as Leeds Music (Canada) Ltd, a branch of a New York company which had offices in Great Britain and Australia. The branch was set up to promote the publications of the parent firm and to publish Canadian music. Bailey Bird was appointed vice-president and general manager. In 1967 Leeds was purchased by MCA Inc, and in 1970, following the reorganization of the MCA Canadian holdings, Bird became president of Leeds Music (Canada), a Division of MCA Canada Ltd, and a vice-president of MCA Inc, positions he held until his retirement in 1982.

The publishing and distribution activities established by Leeds were continued and expanded in Canada. A wide variety of publications emerged, ranging from educational material to concert works by Murray Adaskin, Louis Applebaum, Norma Beecroft, Robert Fleming, Harry Freedman, Kelsey Jones, Oskar Morawetz, Clermont Pépin, Norman Symonds, John Weinzweig, and others. The W.R. Draper Co of Weston, Ont, became the printers of music for Leeds. Plate numbers do not appear on Leeds Music (Canada) publications.

Leeds became the Canadian distributor for the publications of Eulenburg, Schott of London, Schott's Söhne of Mainz, Sikorski of Hamburg, Belwin-Mills, Edward B. Marks, and Lawson-Gould of New York, and Ricordi (Canada). In 1982 the company closed when the US parent company, MCA, decided to discontinue its educational and 'serious' music publishing and distribution. Some of the copyrights held by Leeds Music were assumed by Gordon V. Thompson Ltd but most were returned to the composers.