It’s not as if the money is going to the artists, either. "The music industry may be the worst example of rampant commercialism,” one consultant says - before accusing cinemas, theatre, sports, and tourism as well. - The Observer (UK)
Explaining the culture war being fought by right-wing nationalist prime minister Robert Fico's government — particularly his culture minister, former television host Martina Šimkovičová — against both national institutions and smaller independent groups, and how those groups are trying to resist. - Eurozine
That’s not just hurting theatres and symphonies - it’s also hurting bars and nightclubs. Hence: “Welcome to the daytime rave, where you can dance, meet people and still be curled up on the sofa afterwards.” (Maybe orchestras need to take that hint?) - The Guardian (UK)
And that is why “Irish-language rap trio Kneecap have won their case against new Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch after she blocked an arts grant to the band, citing anti-British politics.” - The Guardian (UK)
And they’re filing a major lawsuit over copyright violations. "The suit was filed by several leading Canadian media companies, including the owners of the National Post and Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press, and CBC/Radio-Canada.” - The Verge
Everyone who made fun of Moana - and that’s a lot of us - needs to beg forgiveness. Why? “The music of Moana 2 is the biggest mark against it with derivative melodies and clunky lyrics that screech the action to a halt.” - Vulture
The scroll-shaped structure, designed in 1976 by Philip Johnson and illuminated inside with the ceiling's beautiful spiral of stained-glass windows by artist Gabriel Loire, is linked to the general feeling of gratitude rather than the holiday, and it serves Dallas well as a non-sectarian place for public commemoration. - Bloomberg CityLab
About 450 institutes are reliant at least in part on state subsidies, from theatres and opera houses to nightclubs and galleries. They're attempting to force a rethink over the €130m cuts. At around 12 to 13% of the current annual budget, they have been described even by those proposing them as “brutal”. - The Guardian
"Beautiful brick early 20th-century town halls were once venues for council meetings, award nights and country dances. But in recent decades many have been under-used or left entirely empty." Now municipalities are offering them to strapped arts organizations, often without rental fees. - The Guardian
Spiegelworld, an entertainment and circus company based in Las Vegas, bought the entire town in 2022 for $2.5m. This isolated plot of land, roughly an hour’s drive from Vegas and the same distance from the nearest grocery store, is now known as Spiegelworld’s “global headquarters” or, more simply, the “circus town”. - The Guardian
Visual artists in the UK take home a median annual salary of only £12,500 a year, a 40% decrease since 2010, a new survey commissioned by the Design & Artists Copyright Society (DACS) has found. - The Art Newspaper
"For many years, Google’s sprawling empire has faced little legal scrutiny, allowing the company to freely build up its search engine, browser, operating systems, and line of hardware products that all intersect to bolster one another.” But all empires must fall. - The Verge
Well, this is a cheery article. “There are fewer than two months—and honestly, about one month with the holidays—to shore up your institutions to make them as strong and solid for the community as possible.” - Book Riot
Ronan Farrow’s new article argues that we’re all at risk of being hacked - by our own government. “When it happens in a democracy … , it creates a sense of disorientation: ‘Could this happen to me? Here? Really?!’ And yet it can, and it does.” - The New Yorker
“Small communities roll out the red carpet for filmmakers, but there’s not always a happy Hollywood ending.” Take this devastating fire on the set of HBO’s I Know This Much Is True. - Los Angeles Times
