The academic music sector is fractured, especially in relation to classical music. This mirrors wider cuts or proposed cuts to English National Opera, BBC Orchestras and other institutions, and needs major shifts in government policy if the situation is to be reversed. - The Critic
People "accept that a 'challenging' painting—or modern dance work, or play, or independent film—can be exciting, mind-expanding, really cool, and sort of out there precisely because it’s challenging. Why in classical contemporary music do so many people equate challenging with intimidating?" - The Atlantic
A study shows nearly a third of professional musicians report poor mental health. Why? "Despite high levels of education and training among professional musicians, ... more than half the respondents have to work multiple jobs to keep up with the cost of living." - The Guardian (UK)
In Britain, it's definitely the latter: "At least 240 people in the UK have had rap music used against them as criminal evidence in court in the last three years." Wait, what? - Irish Times
It's nearly impossible to write about instrumental albums and "the inarticulable narrative created by the changing relationship between sounds." - The Atlantic
Research has shown that most people in Western countries use music to self-soothe. “They know that there are certain kinds of music that will put them in a good mood,” he said. “Christmas music is a reliable one for a lot of people.” - The New York Times
You may like Davies or not, and there are some valid concerns about aspects of it, but the SF Symphony’s major problem is not the number or nature of seats in the hall but finding and maintaining enough ticket-paying bottoms to sit in them. - San Francisco Classical Voice
Now forced to operate at a distance from most of their fan bases and, in many cases, labeled traitors by their government, they are adopting touring schedules that hew to the new geography of the Russian diaspora as they try to keep their careers moving forward. - The New York Times
The company claims the updates will drive an additional $1 billion toward artists, by re-directing the payments that had previously gone to fraudulent streams, noise content or distributors that do not distribute royalties below a certain amount. - Variety
Google head of global partnerships Don Harrison confirmed Spotify paid a 0 percent commission when users chose to buy subscriptions through Spotify’s own system. If the users picked Google as their payment processor, Spotify handed over 4 percent — dramatically less than Google’s more common 15 percent fee. - The Verge
Article 285 will put into copyright law the “right to a fair and equitable remuneration” for all “agreements entered into by authors, composers, performers, directors and screenwriters with respect to their faculty of public communication and making available to the public of phonograms and audiovisual recordings”. - The Guardian
At around 7 a.m. Sunday at the TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, a 41-year-old worker for the venue's cleaning contractor was attacked and murdered by a 51-year-old man; the two reportedly knew each other. No performers or patrons were affected, though Sunday's events were cancelled. - The NL Times
The interest flows both ways. Not only are performers seeking out orchestras to partner with, but organizations such as the San Francisco Symphony see pop offerings as a way to broaden their patron base. - San Francisco Chronicle
"For (Julia) Perry, who died in 1979 at age 55, the 1950s and ’60s were replete with success, the summit of a career that fell into obscurity despite musicians’ admiration of her work." Perry's Stabat Mater returns to the concert hall this week. - The New York Times
