In 1899, Charles Godfrey Leland published, with the help of Roma Lister, Aradia, or the gospel of the witches, which purported to record an ancient tradition of female-led sorcery in Italy. In the 1950s, “mother of Wicca” Doreen Valiente used the book to shape Wicca as it exists today. - The Public Domain Review
Bucknell University Press is on track to shut down by the end of this fiscal year. Demise of the press is raising broader questions about the future of university publishing as higher education institutions across the country face financial hardship and pressure to prove their return on investment to an increasingly skeptical public. - InsideHigherEd
“Amid (Trump-era) turbulence, Nora Daley — who generally prefers to avoid the spotlight — has quietly built a reputation as one of the city’s most effective cultural brokers. … In recent years, that has meant retooling the state’s cultural arm, the Illinois Arts Council, where she led a full overhaul of grantmaking as board chair.” - WBEZ (Chicago)
Is there a unifying theme around the kinds of music being written in the classical world that could indicate an “American style?” (And, as an aside, can we take pride or ownership as a nation in something if we can’t define it?) - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For some institutions, a ban on selfie-taking could be an operational choice, tied to staffing levels, available space, or the types of objects on display. - The Art Newspaper
Music without instruments and lyrics without meaning. Endless reboots, sequels and superheroes in the cinema. After a burst of magnificent TV dramas in the noughties, every glitzy new show is hailed as a must-see when most are mediocre. The algorithm has vanquished imagination. - The Economist
The 32-acre campus, designed by William Rawn Associates of Boston and HKS Architects of Orlando, will include an 1,800-seat concert hall, a 700-seat recital hall, and education center, rehearsal facilities, courtyards, and parkland with wetlands and water features. - Observer (Sarasota)
A staggering 97% of listeners cannot distinguish between artificial intelligence-generated and human-composed songs, a Deezer–Ipsos survey showed on Wednesday, underscoring growing concerns that AI could upend how music is created, consumed and monetized. - Reuters
In the face of a revolutionary change that many educators believe will alter the career trajectories of school-aged kids and the instructional methods of their schools, a handful of districts across the country have responded with drastic measures to meet the moment. - Edutopia
The clock is ticking for Washington, D.C.’s 85-year old Wilbur J. Cohen building, described by preservationists as the “Sistine Chapel of New Deal Art” for the impressive art collection it holds, including works by Philip Guston and Ben Shahn. - Artnet
“In the space of a few months, a straightforward journalistic skill — editing tape for broadcast — has been behind a $16 million legal settlement, a network’s change in how it offers interviews ... and, now, the resignation of two top leaders at the BBC. The other common denominator: President Donald Trump.” - AP
There are currently multiple class action lawsuits at various stages, as well as a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against the world’s largest concert promoter, Live Nation, which programs concerts at PPG Paints, Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park and owns the ticketing platform Ticketmaster. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI should have acquired licenses for German song lyrics in GEMA’s repertoire before using them to train and operate ChatGPT. The verdict marks the first time a European court has legally examined and ruled in favor of creators whose works have been used by generative AI systems. - Music Business Worldwide
Trustee Patsy Marino, who chaired the search committee, has resigned (along with two other trustees) over the elevation of chief curator Christine Vendredi to the directorship. The objection is not to Vendredi herself: no outside candidate was interviewed and the final decision was made, Marino says, behind her back. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
