David Zaslav’s 2023 pay consisted of a $3 million salary, and more than $23 million in stock awards, as well as $22 million in non-equity incentive compensation and $1.6 million in other compensation, including security costs. - The Hollywood Reporter
A book is different from a pair of shoes or a scented candle—but is it that different? The kinds of excess we permit—even exalt—for books is unheard of for other categories of possessions. - The Walrus
This is not just a Bay Area problem. Film festivals all over the world are hurting, no matter how well-established. The two biggest film festivals in North America, Sundance and Toronto, have each experienced a dramatic drop in revenue, with Toronto losing its biggest sponsor. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
The famous Holbein portrait of the king's fourth wife portrays her as nice-looking enough. Yet Henry declared her a "Flanders Mare" and annulled the marriage, and letters from ambassadors at the court were not flattering. It's possible, one scholar argues, that the problem was not her face but her clothes. - History Today
There are now 26 million videos on YouTube and TikTok videos featuring Epidemic Sound music, and the company reports that its tracks receive 40 million plays daily on music streaming platforms. - Music Business Worldwide
The lobby became the Vault Bar, with an elevated stage and a rotating disco-ball eye. Upstairs is the Red Bar, with dancers behind beaded curtains. Then the Green Bar has sequined fruit on the walls. Dancers move between the spaces on a tightly choreographed schedule, accompanied by a trippy musical mix. - Variety
A total of 353 dancers from across the globe held the position, known as going “en pointe,” to beat the current Guinness World Record of 306, said Youth America Grand Prix, the group that organized the tutu-centric turnout. - New York Post
Larry Goodman, a board member, stepped in as interim CEO after founding chief exec Michael Krasnyansky resigned and his wife, artistic director Gladisa Guadalupe, was fired. The board has now anmed him to the position on a permanent basis. - WKYC (Cleveland)
"We are not a museum, just a neighborhood frame shop in Evanston, Illinois. … The art is unrelenting. … When I get home at night, I collapse in a chair, mute and unable to move. The art feels like a tornado whooshing through me. I feel euphoric and empty, cleaned out." - Oxford American
With the introduction of the stand-alone audiobooks offering, Spotify is now able to pay lower music-licensing rates for the music-and-audiobook bundle, introduced in the U.S. in November 2023. - Variety
"Here are 19 ways of understanding how TikTok became part of American life. ... Even if you’ve never opened the app, you’ve lived in a culture that exists downstream of what happens there." - The New York Times
"Because as soon as Estonia doesn’t have its own culture, the country will become fair game for Russian propaganda and Russian aggression. … All they have is their culture. And if culture keeps being treated so badly, then we could find ourselves in a really tough situation in 10 years." - Van
