The RIAA reported that U.S. recorded revenue grew to $17.7 billion, an all-time high, while vinyl sales stayed strong, growing to $1.4 billion in 2024. But this year’s report confirms that streaming growth is slowing, down to just 3 percent compared to 8 percent a year ago. - The Hollywood Reporter
As the rules and criteria for grants have abruptly changed, many organizations in Philadelphia are taking a watch-and-wait stance, some, like the Black-founded-and-run Philadanco, more nervously than others, like the Philadelphia Museum of Art. One group has decided, for now, not even to apply for NEA grant money. - WHYY (Philadelphia)
Scientists are finding experimental evidence that supports what Edison and Dalí knew all along — that the transition between wakefulness and sleep is a portal for creative thought. - Washington Post
Authorities say that Schiff defrauded clients of her art advisory business out of roughly $6.5 million in connection with the purchase and sale of about 55 artworks. - Artnet
AI’s objective analysis has thrown a wrench into this traditional hierarchy. If an algorithm can determine the authorship of an artwork with statistical probability, where does that leave the old-guard art historians whose reputations have been built on their subjective expertise? - Wired
“Jury Games (is) one of several immersive theater productions that are taking jury service … and repackaging it as entertainment. Similar experiences will be popping up in cities around the world this year, including The Jury Experience in … North America and Europe, and Murder Trial Tonight, touring Britain.” - The New York Times
“Mayor Steven Meiner introduced a resolution last week describing the film No Other Land as antisemitic, but he withdrew it during Wednesday’s commission meeting after five of the six city commissioners opposed the proposal. … No Other Land opened earlier this month at O Cinema, located at the Miami Beach Historic City Hall.” - AP
“Roeper co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, succeeding Gene Siskel after his death. He announced his final day with the Sun-Times”— from which he has accepted a buyout — “will be March 21, but he won’t be putting his pen down anytime soon.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The four-year extension means that the Italian conductor will remain in D.C. at least through the National Symphony’s centennial season. - The Washington Post (MSN)
“Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — the U.S.-funded news outlet set up to reach people under Communism during the Cold War — said on Tuesday it sued the administration of President Donald Trump to block the termination of the media outlet's federal grant.” - Reuters
The five-year extension of his contract means that Hallberg will stay on in Melbourne at least through 2030. The company has also appointed a new Executive Director: Claire Spencer, former CEO of Arts Centre Melbourne and London’s Barbican Centre and ex-COO of the Sydney Opera House. - Limelight (Australia)
“(The) eminent concert pianist, who has boycotted strongman rule in Russia and his native Hungary, said on Wednesday that he would no longer perform in the United States because of concerns about President Trump’s ‘unbelievable bullying’ on the world stage.” - The New York Times
“The phrase, which has religious origins, appeared in hundreds of works before Austen was born. From Britain it traveled to America, and from religious tomes it expanded to secular works. It even became a hallmark of abolitionist writing.” - The Conversation
They are called micro dramas — vertically filmed, under minute-long clips that together are often movie-length soap operas. But instead of waiting weeks to find out, it takes just minutes for the plots of series to unfold. - NPR
“By connecting cables from his custom-built modular synthesizers to mushrooms, fruits, and leaves, he transforms their natural bioelectric signals into captivating sounds. During his performances, he works with focused precision, adjusting the knobs and buttons to fine-tune the rhythmic and peculiar sounds that are created.” - Atlas Obscura
