T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, Inc.

T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, Inc. was the largest publisher of popular sheet music in the United States in the 1920’s. Max Dreyfus led the company to its success after taking over for Alex and Thomas Harms who founded the company in 1875 under the name T. B. Harms & Co. Max Dreyfus, a music arranger, bought 25% share in 1901 and by 1904 bought the company outright. Dreyfus was a great entrepreneur and was able to sign many significant composers including: Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Vincent Youmans, Richard Rodgers, and Cole Porter. From 1908 to 1920 the British firm Francis, Day & Hunter owned a third of the company helping with the expansion in the United Kindom. Louis Drefus took over the company in New York during the 1920s, eventually selling to Warner Brothers in 1929.

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Kohn, Al, and Bob Kohn. Kohn on music licensing. Aspen Publishers, 2010.