In an attempt to tackle fraudulent activity on the platform, the digital music service now also requires a minimum number of unique listeners for royalties to be generated. In addition, the length of play-time required for so-called “functional content” (such as white noise) to generate royalty payments has increased. - Eurozine
"How does the Taj Mahal’s history — one that has come to visually represent the period of the Mughal Empire, an Islamic empire — sit within the narrative of a contemporary India during a period when the Hindu nationalist movement is seeking to minimize, or perhaps erase, its Islamic past?" - JSTOR Daily
Although distributors and streaming services frequently use language that places the blame on the artist for fraudulent activity detected on their accounts, it has become clear that artists are often caught in the middle of a crossfire between streaming services, distributors and fraudsters attempting to game the system for their own financial gain. - Variety
"The film’s themes struck a chord in a country where dissent had been criminalized and fear of arbitrary arrest was pervasive. … Still, the backlash was swift. Putin’s propagandists … denounced (Michael Lockshin) as a traitor to his adopted country. They called for the film’s banning and the director’s prosecution." - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Since these digital services first promised to boil down a title, usually a nonfiction work, a decade ago, the marketplace has become crowded. So much so that authors and publishers are concerned about the damage to sales, as well as to the habit of concentrated reading. - The Guardian
In 2004 Italy adopted a law allowing museums to request payment for commercial reproduction of "cultural properties." So the Italian government and the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice (which holds Leonardo's original) are suing the German manufacturer of a "Vitruvian Man" puzzle. Is the claim valid beyond Italy's borders? - The New York Times
In the foreword to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a possible second Donald Trump administration, it says “people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders.” - AP
"(He) was the most politically literate working-class dramatist and screenwriter of our times, a scholar of Marx, Gramsci and Trotsky, who translated his passion into a series of plays and television dramas without equal." - The Guardian
The STAGE Act of 2024, sponsored by three Senators and one Congresswoman (all Democrats), "would direct $1 billion annually to the struggling industry for five years. That money could be used for payroll and workforce development, as well as other expenses like rent, set-building and marketing." - The New York Times
"The new double-sided Scrabble board will still feature the original game. ... But the new game on the flip side will include helper cards, use a simpler scoring system and be quicker to play. The new board, Scrabble Together, will also allow people to compete in teams." - BBC
Said the 82-year-old this morning, "I woke up at 5:30 yesterday morning to get ready for rehearsal and I thought, what am I even doing? I was wobbly on my feet, and then I thought, I just shouldn't do it anymore." - NPO Radio 4 (Netherlands) (via Google Translate)
The pandemic and the shift toward remote working have hit Los Angeles as hard as they have other cities. That includes performing and visual arts, whose attendance numbers are (mostly) not back to 2019 levels. Yet several downtown cultural institutions are keeping hope alive, investing in major expansions. - The New York Times
"(The donation) of more than 300 pieces, including works by Robert Mapplethorpe and Keith Haring, greatly diversifies the permanent holdings. The gift also opens a relationship with a New York City museum, sparks new educational opportunities and offers the beleaguered institution a morale-boosting sign of support." - Orlando Sentinel (MSN)
Kedrick Armstrong, a 29-year-old "Black queer kid from Georgetown, South Carolina," starts the job immediately, but his first concert will be next October's season opener. In this Q&A, he compares conducting to cooking his favorite dish, shrimp and grits. - The Oaklandside
Science fiction prides itself on being visionary, but like any literary genre, it just ends up examining whatever issues the author is working through in the present. We just do it more allegorically. - Nautilus
