The founding artists “could no longer sit ‘with their arms crossed and do nothing,’ about what they saw as a dire gap in their country’s art infrastructure, said Nu Barreto, the visual and plastic arts curator of the country’s first biennale.” - The New York Times
The claim: “SoundCloud is paving the way for a future where AI unlocks creative potential and makes music creation accessible to millions, while upholding responsible and ethical practices.” Musicians disagree. - Fast Company
“Several people characterized the reaction among the remaining Kennedy Center staff as a collective eye roll to the fundraiser and subsequent boycott, even as employees continue to fear for their jobs.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
“Largely, it's cheaper to make films in the UK. That's thanks to generous tax incentives such as the Film Tax Relief, which offers a 25% tax rebate - as well as lower labour costs and centralised national funding for film.” - BBC
“They appear to have succeeded. Today, the three-building campus in the western suburbs is bursting at the seams with a staggering variety of music, a side of BBQ from their restaurant next door and offbeat entertainment like storytelling, gangland history and movie nights.” - Chicago Sun-Times
Will TikTok be banned? YouTube wouldn’t be sad about that. “Shorts is hoping that TikTok’s audience of almost 2 billion people will see it as a compelling alternative.” - Fast Company
“A brief statement from the show , which earned seven Tony nominations this month, said that it had decided not to perform at the library ‘upon learning of the termination of Dr. Carla Hayden.’” - The New York Times
The Baltic nation’s submission this year is “Espresso Macchiato,” in which Estonian singer-rapper Tommy Cash (who bills himself as the “Kanye East” of Europe) piles the stereotypes high. Many Italians are angry at the mockery, but Estonia’s ambassador to Italy says he hears the song played there often enough. - BBC
The charitable tax deduction is distorting American philanthropy. It doesn’t just shape where dollars go; it also warps the way that nonprofits behave. Let’s find out what the Met Gala looks like without the federal government as a silent sponsor. - The New York Times
The well-regarded author, critic and biographer has been appointed dance critic for The Hudson Review, a quarterly journal focusing on literature and the arts. - Marina Harss/Dancing Around
The space of possible languages is vast, and full of exotic languages that are much weirder and stranger than any we have yet imagined. We should explore what those might be – and for more than intellectual curiosity alone. - Aeon
With the real-estate heir-turned-tabloid fixture-turned-reality TV star-turned-politician having taken over the Kennedy Center and now talking about what big-name musicals to present there, Jada Yuan looks at his 56-year relationship with New York’s theater, including a brief outing as an investor. - The Washington Post (MSN)
Sycophancy is a common feature of chatbots: A 2023 paper by researchers from Anthropic found that it was a “general behavior of state-of-the-art AI assistants,” and that large language models sometimes sacrifice “truthfulness” to align with a user’s views. - The Atlantic (MSN)
Today, international markets account for more than 70% of Hollywood’s box office revenue. Ironically, Hollywood is one of the few places where the US does not see one of Trump’s dreaded trade deficits. The industry enjoys a $15.3bn trade surplus, and with that surplus. - The Guardian
