While describing his audience as “spark plugs that can ignite” cultural growth in L.A., the mayor pointedly did not promise to fuel the engine with increased city government funding of the arts. The current core budget of the Department of Cultural Affairs is $8.96 million, down 38.5% from where it stood a decade ago, adjusting for inflation.
As More Music Streaming Services Go Online, The Music Industry Thinks…
“The music industry views on streaming is largely split in two. On the pro side are the majority of labels (in particular the bigger ones) – and on the con side are the artists.”
National Endowment For The Arts Escapes US Budget Unscathed
The funding level came as a relief to arts advocacy group Americans for the Arts, which wrote in an email to supporters today that the budget survived a “fractious appropriations process and a government shut-down that lasted 16 days” and “avoided the disastrous proposal” in the House of Representatives to slash NEA funding by 49%.
Stolen Art Treasures Recovered In US Returned To India
“Three sandstone sculptures worth more than $1m stolen form India five years ago have been returned to the Indian government at a ceremony in New York.”
Report: The Hottest Growth Sector In The UK Economy? Arts And Culture
“It is the UK’s fastest-growing sector, worth £71.4bn a year and making up 5.6% of the workforce, the Department for Media, Culture and Sport said.”
Culture Wars? Korean Island’s 100+ Museums Compete for Visitors
From any one of Jeju Island’s three sex museums, “visitors can visit two chocolate museums, three teddy-bear museums and, by one count, seven museums that specialize in ‘trick art,’ images that let people pose as if they are stuck in a shark’s mouth or having a drink with five scantily clad women.”