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MUSIC

New UK Study Documents How Tough It Is For Musicians To Make A Living

More artists than ever before are releasing music, the report says, but this does not mean more are successful. Analysis published by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) shows the number reaching one million UK streams per month remains low, about 1,700. - BBC

Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra Takes To The Road In Europe In Daunting Tour

The logistics of international orchestral touring are formidable at the best of times. But the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s tour is probably going to set some kind of record, given the speed with which it has had to be planned, the state of health and travel in the world it has been planned for. - Irish Times

Police Warn Of “People Pretending To Play The Violin

When the reporters approached him and asked about his performance, a woman sitting beside him said they didn't speak English. As the man was holding his violin down, with his bow away from the strings, violin music began playing from his speaker. - KOMO

Mariinsky Appoints New Principal Guest Conductor

The Austrian-Iranian Alexander Ali Rahbari took to Instagram to announce the news stating that he was appointed by Putin supporter Valery Gergiev and will conduct 10 performances next season. - OperaWire

TicketMaster Dynamic Ticket Pricing Has Springsteen Fans Crying Foul ($5,000?)

To be clear, no scalpers were selling those tickets. Instead, a new definition of face value had emerged, one that many fans had never encountered. Confusion reigned, and anguished reactions poured forth in Facebook fan groups, into my inbox and onto Twitter. - The New York Times

What To Do About Teodor Currentzis And All His Russian Musicians?

Before this year, the controversies around the Greek-born conductor were usually over his music-making, which classical mavens tend to either adore or loathe. But his hand-picked orchestra and choir, called MusicAeterna, are based in and supported by Russia, so institutions elsewhere are under pressure to avoid them. - The New York Times

Julius Eastman Is Finally Getting His Moment

Julius Eastman: the fierce black queen iconoclast, scorned and consigned to oblivion in his day, is finally being celebrated for his unabashed talent and the sheer audacity of his inimitable genius. - Arts Fuse

Is America Ready For Arab Pop Music?

From Timbaland to Sting to the next rapper to say inshallah, Arab culture has been a persistent influence on American music. But songs actually in Arabic have never been a presence on the charts. - Los Angeles Times

Meet The Boston Typewriter Orchestra

Says one member, "We call them instruments, some people call them office machines, some people call them sculptures.  It's got a limited range of sounds, so you really have to work at what you are trying to extract out of it." - CBS News

Joni Mitchell Performs Her First Full Live Set In 20 Years

The 78-year-old folk legend, who has spent years recovering from a 2015 brain aneurysm, made a surprise appearance in what had been billed as "Brandi Carlile & Friends" to close this year's Newport Folk Festival, an event she last performed at in 1969. - Billboard

Film Music Concerts Have Become Big Business For Symphony Orchestras

They provide an entry point for film enthusiasts to appreciate the power of a live orchestra, which can enhance the emotion and excitement of the moviegoing experience tremendously. And they’re significant revenue generators. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Digital Concert Programs Are Replacing The Program Book

As anyone who has attended concerts or stage performances over the past year can tell you, digital programs are increasingly sprouting up as the heir apparent to the printed programs we’ve come to know and love. - Washington Post

Ticketmaster Tries To Defend Its Awful ‘Dynamic Pricing’ For Final Springsteen Tour

"Only 11 percent of tickets are involved" and "most tickets are under $200" might not be the ironclad defense the company widely known as "Ticketbastard" thinks it is. - Variety

The Important Things To Know About Baltimore’s New Music Director

He trained as a cellist, used to skip French to go to the symphony, can dance, and said that "as a young Black man in Baltimore, a majority-Black city, 'I understand that my presence here is much more significant than it would be in other cities.'" - Baltimore Sun

The Green Man Music Festival Isn’t Actually So Green

The government of Wales is under fire for helping the supposedly environmentally concerned music festival buy a farm for the festival to use "as a base for its expansion." - The Guardian (UK)

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