Under pressure from activists, both Hay and the Edinburgh international book festival have sacked their main sponsor, the investment fund Baillie Gifford, blowing a mighty hole in their finances. Why? The anti-capitalist group Fossil Free Books has started a campaign against it… - The Observer
If the group achieve the $1 billion price tag, it will be the biggest deal of its kind, surpassing the $500 million (£393 million) that Sony paid to acquire Bruce Springsteen’s catalogue in late 2021. - BBC
The creator of Worldle is vowing to fight back on the grounds that there are many other games with similar titles. “There's a whole industry of LE games,” he told the BBC. “Wordle is about words, Worldle is about the world, Flaggle is about flags," he pointed out. The New York Times disagrees. - BBC
His Decca recordings of Sibelius and Stravinsky are unconvincing — ceviche in patches, if not totally raw. His live concerts are perhaps more exciting, but the potential is priced above the tangible product. How four fine orchestras put their future in such soft hands is a mystery, unless they all bought into the same brand. - The Critic
Children do not use cellular technology; the technology uses our children—by monetizing their data and converting their attention into advertising revenue. - The Walrus
"In the latest in a string of financial and legal battles, the Philly Pops is being sued in a federal racketeering lawsuit by its former artistic director of jazz, Terell Stafford, who alleges he wrongfully lost his job and is owed money under his contract." - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
The biggest flaw for film writers, I began to realize, was that often writers are told to draft superfluous articles about celebrities to satisfy a publication’s advertisers and investors. In return, writers and editors make enough to pay their bills. - The Smart Set
After 15 years running Geneva's opera house, he returned to Paris to restore the national opera after years of shrinking audiences, administrative turmoil, the flight of top-tier singers, and the difficult opening of the Opéra-Bastille. He had more success than most observers had dared hope for. - Forumopera (France) (via Google Translate)
Last weekend’s failures may mark the beginning of an unusual summer packed with Pyrrhic victories and well-reviewed but overlooked projects. Still, a bad Memorial Day weekend doesn’t mean that the movie industry is in free fall. - The Atlantic
"The most avid audiobook listeners consumed an average of 6.8 titles in 2023, the survey found, marking an increase from 6.3 in 2022. Among a broader survey group, which included those who had ever listened to an audiobook, the average number of audiobooks listened to last year was 4.8." - Publishers Weekly
"Programs that address this discontent exhibit a remarkably consistent set of characteristics. They are interdisciplinary, integrating methods and perspectives—from, say, engineering and the social sciences—that are normally kept apart." - Persuasion
"Amanda Jones vividly remembers the time she received her first death threat. … Jones lost 50 pounds, took medical leave from work and watched in disbelief as chunks of her hair started to fall out. Knowing something had to change in the spring of 2023, she filed a lawsuit and wrote her book." - The Guardian
That publishing decision is not being met with glee in either the U.S. or Canada. “‘It's hard to simultaneously draw the ire of black people, white people, conservatives, AND liberals… But I think you've just done it,’ rapper and podcaster Zuby replied on X.” - CBC
For every rave like Entertainment Weekly's ("jaw-droppingly gorgeous from start to finish"), there's a critique like this from The New York Times ("too often a misguided attempt to resuscitate the show breaks its ribs"). Director Rebecca Frecknall and stars Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin consider why. - The Washington Post (MSN)
