Cord Cutting is growing faster than ever but many cord cutters are moving away from live TV service. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, over 1.2 million people canceled Comcast, Spectrum, and DISH. Now YouTube TV has reportedly lost 150,000 subscribers in the 1st quarter. - CordCutters News
"Lahiri’s urge to escape English has many origins, but in part stems from her rebellion against contemporary publishing’s subsidiary plan for nonwhite authors, which incentivizes them to write about the persecution and difference they experience." Her new collection of Italian stories indicates that she may remain stuck in that paradigm. - Public Books
Aside from merely making a copy of a voice, MicDrop purports to offer a voice-to-instrument function, similar to the features that can make keyboards sound like a guitar or drum. - Rolling Stone
"'I get hate mail. ‘How dare you use the Ave Maria with a drag queen in it?’ It’s music. It’s sacred for you, but it doesn’t mean that it’s sacred for everyone.' And it’s not just LGBTQ+ elements. ... There’s been ignorance when he’s introduced Afro-Latine dance and culture into his ballet." - Remezcla
The fake journals show how easy it is to game the systems used to evaluate researchers for promotions and hiring — and this could be a bellwether for knowledge workers in other industries. - TechCrunch
The pull-out-all-the-stops production now on Broadway is pulling in $1 million a week despite lukewarm reviews. The version at ART in Cambridge, initially billed as "pre-Broadway," has direction by a Tony winner, book by a Pulitzer laureate, and score by a rockstar. Is there room for both? - The Washington Post (MSN)
The initial Netflix House locations will open in “two of the most popular shopping centers in America,” according to Netflix, the Galleria Dallas and the King of Prussia Mall, and will take over the sites of former department stores, providing each venue with over 100,000 square feet of space. - The Verge
"Now, the future of the company that owns Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV and Paramount+ is once again in question — with many of the players involved six months ago out of the picture, and some new names" — including potential buyers — "joining the fray." - The Hollywood Reporter
"(Shari) Redstone’s ability to make a unilateral decision to call off the talks is a testament to her unusual power, even with her empire’s diminished state. The only woman to ever control one of Hollywood’s largest media conglomerates (concluded) that Skydance wasn’t the right move at the right time." - Variety
While there are concerns that some districts are illegally using the new money to pay for existing teachers, schools around the state are adding different kinds of instruction — in Santa Cruz County, for instance, ukulele lessons, tin-embossing classes and hip-hop dance workshops. - PBS SoCal
"In a 10-page analysis …, (former schools superintendent Austin) Beutner's coalition — which includes the labor representatives of most district employees — documented alleged misspending at 14 schools and suggested their research represents a small sample of what they believe is widespread misuse of the arts funding." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
A 34-year-old Singaporean-Australian who is currently music director of the Wyoming Symphony and resident conductor of the Colorado Symphony (jobs he will retain), Christopher Dragon begins his term with the upcoming season. Chelsea Tipton has been named principal guest conductor. - The News and Record (Greensboro, NC)
"Sir Ian McKellen will not be returning to his starring role for the final three West End performances of Player Kings, after falling from the stage on 17 June. It is hoped the veteran actor will return to the cast when the play moves to Bristol on 3 July." - BBC
Two members of Just Stop Oil sprayed orange paint (which they say is made of cornstarch and will rinse off) on the ancient monument just a day before summer solstice crowds arrive. Their reason is that the Labour Party's promise to stop new oil and gas exploration licenses is not enough. - AP
In the rest of the country, they’re arguing about statues of Confederate generals. In Palm Springs, they’re arguing about Marilyn Monroe’s underpants. This is fitting, perhaps, for a make-believe city, an oasis in the desert created by unsustainable water policies and the Hollywood studio system. - Slate (MSN)
