Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Charlotte Symphony Quietly Raises $41M For The Future
“This campaign is going to solve a major problem that the symphony has wrestled with for years, of not having a big enough endowment...
Marlon Brando Was A Revolutionary Actor. Where Are His Successors?
April 3 marks the 100th anniversary of Marlon Brando’s birth — the centenary of one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture....
We All Have Rights, Right? Well…
The idea that we have rights is an unquestioned certainty, but rights are also often a source of considerable conflict in the modern world....
As Baby Boomer Leaders Retire, A Shortage Of New Non-Profit Leaders
Just as more baby boomers are stepping down from the top spots, fewer people want to take their place, and those who are interested...
Music For Video Games Is A Booming Industry For Composers
The music created to accompany and enhance the quests, missions, adventures, and world-building that unfolds in games doesn’t stay in the digital realm. “It’s...
Hollywood Musicians Sign New Contract Including Streaming Fees
The agreement, which covers basic theatrical motion picture and basic television motion picture contracts, gives musicians streaming residuals for the first time, as well...
British Museum Being Investigated For Stolen Artifacts
The artifacts are sacred wood and stone altar tablets, or tabots, that were stolen by British soldiers during the Battle of Maqdala. The items...
Alex Ross: Why Conductors Are Collecting Orchestras
Both the Concertgebouw and the Chicago Symphony are orchestras at the very highest level, and they deserve a conductor’s full attention. The definition of...
Spotify To Raise Prices Again Because… Audiobooks
It’s reportedly because of audiobooks. Spotify added audiobooks to its service last year on a trial basis. The price increase is how the streaming service...
200 Artists Sign Letter Protesting Use Of AI
Two hundred musical artists, including Pearl Jam, Nicki Minaj, Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, and the estate of Frank Sinatra call on AI...
Whitney Museum Chooses New Chief Curator
As the chief curator, Conaty said she plans to focus on Latino and Indigenous artists, who remain underrepresented in the Whitney’s collection, and invest...
Classical Music’s Image Problem
Classical music has an image problem that feels like an existential threat. The pernicious idea of “elitism” — a word that was only coined...
We’re Obsessed With Dystopias Of The Future. What About Protopias?
Protopias, on the other hand, are achievable. They present a realistic, better tomorrow. But even the protopian visions of more recent iterations of Star Trek,...
Crossword Puzzles Are All about structures Of Context
Associations, it emerges, are the currency of crosswords — the cleverest clues are dense with puns, word play and sly allusions. - Washington Post
How Censorship Wars are Impacting Theatre In Schools
A whopping 67 percent of educators told EdTA they are weighing potential controversies when they make show selections—and with good reason. - American Theatre
Why Is Adele Talking So Much In Her Concerts?
“I better warn you. I do talk a lot,” she said last Saturday night in Los Angeles. “I have 10 songs and the rest...
Our Achievement Culture Is Not Healthy
In the contemporary world, the self is no longer a subject but a project. The self is something to be optimised, to be maximised, to be made...
Why Rachmaninoff Is Still Hugely Popular (And Misunderstood)
In some ways he seems the archetypal modern man, prone to anxieties and constantly on the move, pushed around by world-historical forces. - The Telegraph...
State Of Podcasting: American Public Media Downsizes Its Podcast Unit
APM Studios will move away from being a standalone podcast studio and will instead “focus on building strong, multiplatform brands that align with our...
Why The UK’s Universities Are In Crisis
What has happened to Britain’s supposedly world-beating universities is partly the old post-Brexit story of the young suffering the consequences of something they overwhelmingly...
How Harper Collins Is Tweaking Book Design To Save Trees
In an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of each book, they’re tweaking fonts, layout, and even the ink used. And so far,...
Music Venues Are Being Squeezed Out Of UK City Centers
One in six live music venues closed in the past year, according to figures from the Music Venue Trust. But amid the gloom, there...
A Crisis In Classics Studies
Classics is no longer sleepy. The legacies of ancient Greece and Rome have reemerged as key cultural battlefields fought over by everyone from left-wing...
The False Promises Of Being More Productive
Time was the problem, I assumed: There was enough of it; I just wasn’t using it right. Or maybe the problem was my attention...
AI Is Changing Movie Workflow. But AI Still Won’t Show Up In Final Product
Speed. That’s what you hear, over and over again, as the real benefit of Gen AI imaging. By eliminating the friction of time-consuming tasks...
