Not only have start times been changing from the traditional 8:00 pm to 7:30 or even 7:00, but more weekend matinees are being added and weeknight shows moved. These five directors and producers from the San Diego area say this is all about audience demand. - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
Post-pandemic trends that will grow the market most: a) the rapid rise of AI, and B) the rise of the consumer-creator. Consumer-creators transformed photography (Instagram) and videography (TikTok); music will be next. Not only will casual music creation become mainstream, it will trigger an unprecedented widening of the music creator economy funnel. - Music Industry Blog
"(It was) no accident: the British state was one of several which sought to expand their influence and bolster their economies in the interwar period through cultural diplomacy. One of the UK’s key institutions then (as now) was the British Council." - History Today
Spotify states that redistributing the revenues from the end of the tail will be more impactful for ‘these tens of millions of dollars per year to increase payments to those most dependent on streaming revenue — rather than being spread out in tiny payments that typically don’t even reach an artist’. - Music Industry Blog
"The Georgia film and TV tax credit creates 34,354 jobs per year, according to a new state audit of the program — about half the figure reported by an industry-funded study last month. The audit also concluded that the credit ... returns just 19 cents to state coffers for every dollar spent." - Variety
The 2000s, as economic inequality in the nation has gone from bad to worse, the theater world has become more profoundly unequal. No one these days seems to be thriving, but less commercially oriented companies have been left to fend for themselves in the urban wilderness. - Los Angeles Times
Disagreement between board members of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture — over how and to whom to distribute a shrinking amount of money (revenue from a dedicated cigarette tax is down more than half from 15 years ago), staffing levels, and where to seek more money — has alienated the area's arts community. - Ideastream (Cleveland)
The $125 million redesign/renovation of Copley Symphony Hall, begun in late 2021, was supposed to be done this fall, but the scheduled Nov. 4 opening was postponed indefinitely, and the CEO won't yet say exactly how far along the work is. - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
In September, the CEO resigned and then commited suicide. Two weeks later, the board announced that an audit found "questionable, unauthorized or improper" expenditures, the finance director had quit, and the budget was immediately cut by 30%. Police are investigating; community members are telling the entire board to resign. - WCBU (Peoria)
"In theory, it will be a useful legal tool for all job seekers — and particularly powerful for artists. But in practice, it is likely to have symbolic rather than functional consequences for dancers." - The New York Times
The much-honored Russian-American journalist, who is Jewish, made the comparison in a December 9 New Yorker essay criticizing Germany's unequivocal backing of Israel in its war on Hamas. In response, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which administers the prize, withdrew its support, though Gessen will be awarded by another entity. - The Guardian
Cynthia Graham, a principal with a previous incarnation of the company who retired from the stage in 1992, stepped in last month to direct this year's Nutcracker. She voluntarily stepped down following allegations that some of the current choreography for the Tchaikovsky ballet was plagiarized. - Ideastream (Cleveland)
Isabelle Adjani — who has won five Best Actress César awards and gotten two Oscar nominations (in French-language films, no less) — was fined €250,000 and given a suspended two-year prison sentence for evading taxes by fraudulently claiming residence in Portugal and arguing that a €2,000,000 gift was only a loan. - Variety
The oil painting by Chicago artist Shawn Michael Warren presents the iconic talk show host-turned-media mogul in virtuosic detail, wearing a dramatic purple dress with a full skirt and standing amid a greenscape on the grounds of her California home. - Hyperallergic
Now that the pandemic relief funds have stopped, many arts organizations are scrambling to balance their budgets. The new report says "the duration" of those funds hasn't matched the "slower rebuild" many arts organizations are facing. - NPR
