5 minutes with ... Morty and Iris Manus.(Interview)

Morty and Iris Manus are members of the MTNA FOUNDATION FUND'S Legacy Society. Morty is president of Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., the world's largest educational music publisher, A versatile musician, he is author and editor of numerous Alfred publications. Iris has worked for Alfred since the 1960s and is now executive producer,

Could you give us a brief synopsis of Alfred's history? What was the very first thing published?

Alfred began in 1924 and was bought by my father Sam in 1928. He published accordion music and French instrumental solos. When I began in 1950, there were four people in the company, sales were $17,000 a year, and I was making $20 a week. The first book I ever published was Melodic Adventures in Bassland for the accordion. I was afraid to release it because I wasn't sure how good it was--but then a teacher came to the office, looked at it and ordered 20 copies. I was thrilled and that sale suggested to me that I could become an editor and a writer.

How did the recent acquisition of Warner Bros. publications come about? (Is it true that Bugs Bunny tried to stonewall the deal?)

Actually, it was Porky Pig. Time/Warner company sold off the Warner Music Group (WMG) (records, music publishing and music print) to Edgar Bronfman, Jr. He was not interested in the print company and solicited bids for it. We still, however, have a close connection with WMG.

Morty, did you envision the company growing this much?

No. When you start at $17,000 a year, it's more a question of surviving. Publishing of any kind is a very hard business. It's slow growing and financially draining. If it wasn't for Iris, I would have failed a long time ago. She just wouldn't let me quit when I wanted to give up. She is very courageous. I never thought we would reach sales of $30 million a year. Now with Warner, you add another $40 to $50 million. It's all so unbelievable. When we first reached $100,000 in sales, my parents couldn't quite believe it. I can't begin to imagine what they would think now.