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A Smaller Edinburgh Fringe Festival — Is It Better?

For some in a city with a population of only around 500,000, a break from the Fringe last year, followed by a much smaller festival this year — one that doesn’t clog up roads and sidewalks, or cause short-term rents to skyrocket — has been welcomed. - The New York Times

Instagram Is Turning Away From Photos To Videos. Artists Are Angry

The move has the artistic community seeing Pantone 032. Though there’s no way of knowing how many artists, architects and photographers have left the app, many are at least threatening to. - The Guardian

What Happens To Pop Music Stars When Recording Labels Lose Confidence

Stats from UK music trade body BPI say that only one in 10 signed artists are expected to succeed commercially, and if the relationship does fall apart, any music an artist has made typically remains owned by the label. - The Guardian

How Seattle’s Last Remaining Video Rental Store Plans To Go National

Scarecrow has approximately 140,000 titles, on physical media. Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu — combined — have approximately one-third of that, and the ephemeral nature of streaming rights means that titles on those platforms come and go. - Seattle Times

Is Cancel Culture Stifling Comedy? In A Word, No.

"If the 'wokeism is killing comedy' crew are motivated by a genuine devotion to great comedy, then they can relax, because it is in rude health when it comes to risk-taking, boundary-pushing content." - The Guardian

China Will Ban Karaoke Songs With “Illegal” Content

According to one CNN report, a song called "Fart" was blacklisted. The lyrics of the song read: "There are some people in the world who like farting while doing nothing." - BBC

Why Bollywood Is Cranking Out The War Movies This Year

Basically, it's because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing the country in a more militaristic direction, especially with regard to Pakistan. And "India's wars with Pakistan are privileged by Bollywood 'because we always win.'" - The Guardian

We’re Being Cajoled To Be Positive. It’s Not Helpful

The pressure to try to adopt positivity as a constant state of being has begun to feel exhausting. Some have gone as far as to call it “toxic positivity,” which may seem contradictory. - The Walrus

Are We Finally Getting Over The “Show Up For Dance Class, Even If You’re Sick (And If You’re Injured, Sit And Watch)” Rule?

Dance psychologist Lucie Clements says we should reassess the value of "pushing past the pain": "You are risking more harm than good if someone is hurt or sick. … It perpetuates that you are not worth as much as the art." - Dance Teacher

Cautionary Tale For Publishers: Andrew Cuomo’s Book About Dealing With The Pandemic

When the manuscript began circulating, several major publishing companies vied for it in a frenzied auction, with bids soaring into the seven figures. - The New York Times

Egypt’s Greatest Living Novelist Explores Why The Tahrir Square Revolution Failed

Alaa Al-Aswany on his The Republic of False Truths: "I made a big mistake. I thought the revolution was representing all Egyptians, but we were the minority. … At some point, people turned against us. This novel is a way to understand what happened." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

Counting: American Orchestras’ Programs Take A Leap In Diversity This Season

In 2017-18, 2% of works performed were written by women, and 3% by composers of color. By 2019–2020, it was 6% of works by women and 8% by composers of color. This year music by women comprise 12%, and nearly 17% are by composers of color. - San Francisco Classical Voice

The Pandemic Has Shown Us That Museums Should Give Up On Blockbuster Shows: Chris Dercon

Says the former director of Tate Modern, now at Paris's Grand Palais, "We probably cannot afford to ship works back and forth, and will have to think of … how a museum can do more for a local community instead of catering to economic models for tourists." - Artnet

Provincetown And Its Performers Step Nervously Back Into Action

The arts-dependent Cape Cod town got clobbered by last year's lockdowns, but with vaccination rates up and caseloads down this summer, the scene joyfully geared up — until it was hit with a cluster of "breakthrough" COVID cases among people who'd had their shots. - The New York Times

Walter Yetnikoff, Hot-Tempered Head Of CBS Records, Dead At 87

"(He was) as famous for guiding the megastar careers of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, Bob Dylan and Billy Joel as for his profane, sometimes uproarious feuds with Paul Simon, David Geffen and the entirety of Warner Bros. Records." - Billboard

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