There’s a cost to this beyond the tourist dollars and economic impacts others will analyse. It’s the great silencing of a cultural conversation once led by America, rooted in values of social freedom and personal liberty that influenced the imagination of the world. - The Guardian
The rough economic times caused by the 2008 financial crisis and 2020 COVID shutdown were hard on the industry, but back then, at least, market penetration and consumer loyalty were solid. But now Hollywood is reeling from major changes in its business, and that’s before any economic instability. - The Hollywood Reporter
“This is happening faster than… our society, our democracy, our laws will address, and there’s lots of implications. That’s why it’s underhyped – people do not understand what happens when you have intelligence at this level which is largely free.” - Music Business World
Andrea Chu has achieved a rare ascendancy in the literary world over the past several years, in equal parts for her clever, lethal takedowns of various authors and for her long essays on gender and sexuality, written from her perspective as a trans woman. - The New York Times
“It’s not that these are great pieces that happen to be long; the length itself is the point. The language – ‘endurance’, ‘epic’, ‘marathon’ – is that of extreme sport. Test yourself, we’re implicitly urged. … In that moment, an act of artistic engagement … becomes solipsistic and a self-congratulatory cultural flex.” - The i Paper (UK)
Conservative dominance of Hollywood may prove to be a much rosier future than the one we’re actually going to get: a future where pop culture is little more than a careless swirl of stock images, slapped together with no rationale beyond ginning up engagement—the wholesale replacement of storytelling with slop. - The New Republic
“Didion left no instructions about the (diary), so nobody knows how she would feel about its publication as a book, titled Notes to John. But even ahead of its release on Tuesday, the book … has triggered strong reactions among the writer’s friends and readers.” - The New York Times
“It makes sense, then, that subscription services want to push their curation skills further, by commissioning, editing, and publishing titles that aren’t already in the world. They have a guaranteed customer base, a strong sense of the titles that work for them and the ability to create exclusive editions.” - The Guardian
“He was the cellist of the Juilliard Quartet from 1974-2016, and a renowned teacher at New York’s Juilliard School. … His passion for contemporary music led to him giving premieres of works by composers including Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, Roger Sessions, Stefan Wolpe and Charles Wuorinen, among others.” - The Strad
The orchestra is facing “financial challenges driven by inflation, shifting consumer behavior, an increasingly competitive landscape and broader economic uncertainty.” - Nashville Business Journal
“In January 2024, the work” — titled Le Nez — was sold to Geffen, seemingly on (Patrick) Sun’s behalf. Sun now says the sale was illegitimate.” The two are suing each other. - Vulture
The 18-to-25 demographic isn’t usually considered a target audience for a circuit where tickets are so expensive, but the last couple of seasons have seen productions of shows deliberately aimed at that age group. It seems to be working. - The Guardian
“There is perhaps no institution on earth whose opening has been as wildly anticipated, or as mind-bogglingly delayed. ... Its construction has been such a fiasco — mired by funding lapses, logistical hurdles, a pandemic, nearby wars, revolutions (yes, plural) — that it begs comparison to that of the pyramids.” - The New York Times
This odd wind instrument, whose name is Italian for “little goose,” was invented more-or-less by chance in 1853 in a little town near Bologna. That town now manufactures hand-crafted ocarinas, boasts an ocarina septet which tours internationally (and sells out concerts in East Asia), and hosts an international ocarina festival. - Atlas Obscura
