Tin Pan Alley

For nearly a century New York's famous Tin Pan Alley was the center of popular music publishing in this country. It was where songwriting became a profession and songs were made-to-order for the biggest stars. Selling popular music to a mass audience from coast-to-coast involved the greatest entertainment media of the day from minstrelsy to Broadway to vaudeville dance palaces radio and motion pictures. Successful songwriting became an art with a host of men and women becoming famous by writing famous songs.