Music Publishing: Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley is a term used to describe the area in New York City where music publishers and songwriters congregated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name “Tin Pan Alley” was coined by journalist Monroe Rosenfeld in the early 1900s, and referred to the sound of pianos being played simultaneously in the many music publishing houses in the area.

Tin Pan Alley was located on West 28th Street in Manhattan, and was the center of the American popular music industry from around the 1890s to the 1950s. During this time, songwriters, publishers, and performers worked together to create and promote popular music that became an integral part of American culture.

The origins of Tin Pan Alley can be traced back to the late 19th century, when sheet music sales became a profitable business for publishers. Publishers would hire songwriters to create popular songs that could be sold as sheet music, which was a major form of entertainment at the time. As the demand for popular music grew, publishers began to congregate in the area around West 28th Street, and a vibrant music scene emerged.

Many of the most famous American songwriters and performers of the early 20th century got their start on Tin Pan Alley, including Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter. These composers wrote songs that became popular hits, and their music helped to shape the sound of American popular music.

Tin Pan Alley declined in the 1950s with the rise of rock and roll and the advent of the television age. However, the influence of the music created on Tin Pan Alley can still be heard today in many genres of popular music, and the legacy of the area and its songwriters continues to be celebrated