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Are Major Recording Companies About To Sell Out Their Artists?

MUSIC Posted: July 29, 2014 8:29 am

“Sony, Universal and Warner — the “big three” record labels, which control 89% of global music sales — are nearing a deal with SoundCloud, the popular Berlin-based music site that since 2007 has allowed its 250 million monthly users to upload and stream music. The deal would grant SoundCloud licenses to play big three-copyrighted music (and “avoid legal trouble”) in exchange for a 3-5% stake for each company in SoundCloud’s estimated $500-600 million net worth (plus a chunk of future revenues). That’s $15-30 million per record label to not sue SoundCloud. The kicker? The musicians might not see a dime of it.”

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MUSIC Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in Mic.com Published: 07.17.14

Has Philly’s Historic Gay Bookstore Been Saved?

WORDS Posted: July 25, 2014 12:47 am

“Owner and cofounder Ed Hermance told PW that he is in the midst of working out an agreement with the same potential buyer that he had alluded to in an e-mail blast to customers two months ago, a local LGBT organization.”

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WORDS Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in Publishers Weekly Published: 07.17.14

Writing Romance Novels Is A Feminist Thing To Do (Duh?)

WORDS Posted: July 21, 2014 4:30 am

“In romance fiction, the lesbian werewolf with a thing for raw meat and three-ways underneath the full moon can get a date. The cross-dresser in 18th century England will find true love with a prince or a princess.”

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WORDS Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Rumpus Published: 07.17.14

The Dream Of Speed-Reading (And What It Does To Our Brains)

WORDS Posted: July 20, 2014 5:00 pm

“It is much more difficult to gather ideas of any complexity at all using Spritz than it is in ordinary reading. Complex ideas, like those routinely presented in philosophy or literary fiction, require a lot of rereading as you go. Also, when the sentence begins in a Spritz display, you can’t tell how long it’s going to be: a terrific drawback for comprehension.”

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WORDS Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Awl Published: 07.17.14

Should Playwrights Be Worried About Piracy If They Digitize Their New Plays?

THEATRE Posted: July 20, 2014 8:45 am

“Since theater is a live art form, to me there’s nothing about digitization that intrinsically makes piracy easier. Unlike the music and film industries, where digitization (and the attendant problem of piracy) has had a vast and industry shaking effect, I don’t anticipate the same thing for theater. As a friend once said, the worst piracy tool of the century is the photocopier.”

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THEATRE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in HowlRound Published: 07.17.14

A Creativity Pill? A Doctor Looks At The Evidence

IDEAS Posted: July 18, 2014 6:35 am

“I started painting from morning till night, and often all through the night until morning. I used countless numbers of brushes at a time. I used knives, forks, sponges … I would gouge open tubes of paint–it was everywhere. But I was still in control at that point. Then, I started painting on the walls, the furniture, even the washing machine. I would paint any surface I came across. I also had my ‘expression wall’ and I could not stop myself from painting and repainting [it] every night in a trance-like state. My partner could no longer bear it. People close to me realized that I crossed some kind of line into the pathological, and, at their instigation, I was hospitalized.”

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IDEAS Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Atlantic Published: 07.17.14

The Heart Of Opera? Why, That Would Be Germany

MUSIC Posted: July 18, 2014 6:25 am

“According to the opera statistics website Operabase, last year 7,230 opera performances took place in Germany, one-third of the world’s total. The United States was a distant second, at 1,730 performances, followed by Russia and France, at 1,441 and 1,288, respectively. Austria ranked sixth, at 1,252 performances, and Switzerland ninth, at 795.”

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MUSIC Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in Newsweek Published: 07.17.14

Is This MySpace For Art?

VISUAL Posted: July 18, 2014 6:12 am

“On the ART:I:CURATE site, collectors and artists create profiles – think Myspace, but for visual artists rather than musicians – and can buy and sell work. ART:I:CURATE members can also give their digital mark of approval with a Facebook-esque “like” button. In addition, ART:I:CURATE organizes exhibitions in non-gallery settings including apartments, warehouses and hotels.”

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VISUAL Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in Newsweek Published: 07.17.14

Robots Will Soon Be All Around Us. So What Are The Moral And Cultural Implications?

IDEAS Posted: July 18, 2014 6:08 am

“In many ways, they’re becoming more like us. Whether you find it exhilarating or terrifying (or both), progress in robotics and related fields like AI is raising new ethical quandaries and challenging legal codes that were created for a world in which a sharp line separates man from machine.”

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IDEAS Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in Wired Published: 07.17.14

Dancing While The Bombs Are Falling

DANCE Posted: July 18, 2014 6:01 am

“The audience was in ‘the hole’ when the siren went off about 9:15. They evacuated to the safe room downstairs in the costume department, as did the dancers. We sat. The atmosphere was both rational (what are the chances of a rockets hitting right here?) and fearful (what if?), experienced and fresh, trying to keep the morale positive and alert; selfies were taken….We heard a few loud booms outside, presumably the iron dome intercepting the projectiles, and the sirens stopped.”

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DANCE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in Wendy Perron Published: 07.17.14

The Deep Comfort Of Mediocre Sitcoms

MEDIA Posted: July 18, 2014 12:31 am

“The easy tropes and practiced banter, the reliable fulfilling of a sitcom’s tasks, contributed to a sense of permanence. … Here was a world void of dread, danger, and anxiety, a place in which work and play were indistinguishable, in which jobs just meant different aesthetics attached to the same basic glee.” Exhibit A: Just Shoot Me.

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MEDIA Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Atlantic Published: 07.17.14

Johnny Winter, 70, Blues Guitarist

PEOPLE Posted: July 17, 2014 11:40 pm

“He harnessed those two sounds – old blues and new rock – into something forceful and his own, a gritty music notable for a raw-nerved intensity.”

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PEOPLE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Houston Chronicle Published: 07.17.14

Is This Young Man The Next Leonard Bernstein?

MUSIC Posted: July 17, 2014 11:35 pm

“Now 24, Matthew Aucoin has become one of the most sought-after young voices in classical music. He also is one of the most ambitious, setting himself the goal of transforming opera into something other than musical spinach for a new generation. He is as close as the art form comes to a triple threat, racking up accomplishments as a composer, conductor and pianist.”

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MUSIC Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Wall Street Journal Published: 07.17.14

Aspen Art Museum Set To Move Into A New Home And (Perhaps) A New League

VISUAL Posted: July 17, 2014 11:22 pm

“After three decades of shoehorning contemporary-art exhibits into a former power plant on the outskirts of this wealthy Rocky Mountain enclave, the museum plans to triple its footprint. It will relocate in August to a new home designed by Pritzker prize winner Shigeru Ban in the center of town – a move that illustrates the growing clout and ambition of Aspen’s stewards.”

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VISUAL Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Wall Street Journal Published: 07.17.14

Former Theatre Mogul Garth Drabinsky Disbarred

PEOPLE Posted: July 17, 2014 11:19 pm

After presiding over the rise and collapse of theatrical giant Livent (Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime), falling deep into debt and serving a prison sentence for fraud, Drabinsky has had his license to practice law revoked by the Law Society of Upper Canada [Ontario].

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PEOPLE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Globe and Mail (Canada) Published: 07.17.14

Top Posts From AJBlogs 07.17.14

AJBlogs Posted: July 17, 2014 10:30 pm

News Flash: D.C. Attorney General Supports Corcoran Merger
AJBlog: CultureGrrl | Published 2014-07-17

Will Amazon Crush Publishing?
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-07-17

Ives the Primitive as Straw Man
AJBlog: PostClassic | Published 2014-07-17

Let’s All Help Save Syria’s Treasures: A Plan
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-07-18

Summer books: Brad Stone’s ‘The Everything Store’
AJBlog: For What it’s Worth | Published 2014-07-18

[ssba_hide]

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AJBlogs Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in AJBlogs Published: 07.17.14

How Electronic Dance Music Has Taken Over Vegas (And America)

DANCE Posted: July 17, 2014 2:24 pm

“If you were looking for evidence of how EDM has taken over America, and Las Vegas in particular, you wouldn’t necessarily need to go to Hakkasan. You could just drive from the airport to the strip and look at how many of the giant billboards now advertise not legendary singers or magicians or entertainers, but DJs.”

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DANCE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Guardian (UK) Published: 07.17.14

The American Who’s Dancing With The Bolshoi

DANCE Posted: July 17, 2014 1:57 pm

“For the past three years, since he made headlines by becoming the first American — and first foreigner — to be named a principal dancer at the storied Bolshoi Ballet, Hallberg, a blond, elegant dancer from the American heartland, has lived what he calls two separate lives — his American life, in New York, and his Russian life, in Moscow.”

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DANCE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in Yahoo! (AP) Published: 07.17.14

Canadian Customs Threatens To Destroy Filmmaker’s Work

MEDIA Posted: July 17, 2014 1:24 pm

“A Montreal filmmaker fears that she could lose the centrepiece of a federally subsidized art installation after Canadian customs officers intercepted her material and deemed that it contravened the country’s trade sanctions against Iran.”

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MEDIA Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Globe and Mail (Canada) Published: 07.17.14

Actress Elaine Stritch, 89

PEOPLE Posted: July 17, 2014 12:59 pm

“Ms. Stritch’s career began in the 1940s and spanned almost 70 years. She made her fair share of appearances in movies, including Woody Allen’s “September” (1987) and “Small Time Crooks” (2000), and on television; well into her 80s, she had a recurring role on the NBC comedy “30 Rock” as the domineering mother of the television executive played by Alec Baldwin.”

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PEOPLE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The New York Times Published: 07.17.14

Actress Elaine Stritch, 89

PEOPLE Posted: July 17, 2014 12:47 pm

“Once, when she went to the Actors Studio for a tune-up, [Lee Strasberg] just waved her away with ‘Elaine, you were born with The Method’.”

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PEOPLE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in Playbill Published: 07.17.14

Philadelphia Theatre Co. Hangs On And Hopes

THEATRE Posted: July 17, 2014 1:15 am

“Its finances are precarious, the mortgage is in foreclosure. Real estate agents are busily showing its home to potential buyers. A possible savior – Philadelphia’s Roberts family – might offer a helping hand, but not yet. As the Philadelphia Theatre Company hangs on by a thread, theater leaders say its loss would be a blow – artistically, and to the city.”

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THEATRE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The Philadelphia Inquirer Published: 07.17.14

Architect Randall Stout, 56

PEOPLE Posted: July 17, 2014 12:17 am

“Mr. Stout, an associate in Frank Gehry’s office before establishing his own firm in 1996 in Los Angeles, explored the relationship between architecture and energy in holistic designs that were no less sculptural and humane for being ecologically responsible. Sustainability helped shape form.”

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PEOPLE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The New York Times Published: 07.17.14

What If 21st Century Fox Really Had Bought Time Warner?

MEDIA Posted: July 16, 2014 11:29 pm

The mega-conglomerate would certainly have been Hollywood’s heaviest hitter, but the risks of meshing the two studios would have been risky for everyone involved, including the entire Los Angeles area.

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MEDIA Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The New York Times Published: 07.17.14

Leaders Of Defunct San Jose Rep Pour Hopes Into Fairy-Tale Musical

THEATRE Posted: July 16, 2014 11:14 pm

“[The Snow Queen‘s] themes of persistence and determination are fitting. Two of its creators, Rick Lombardo and Kirsten Brandt, lost their jobs last month as artistic director and associate artistic director of the San Jose Repertory Theater, when it closed and filed for bankruptcy.”

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THEATRE Published: 07.17.14

Read the story in The New York Times Published: 07.17.14

  • The Literary Roots Of The Movie Die Hard
    The screenwriter had to turn the author’s “dense first-person prose, which featured its hero monologuing at length on CB radio and offering long sections of exposition about Klaxon Oil’s sideline in arms... Read more
    AJBlog: Seeing Things Published on: 2023-06-09
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    Philip Kennicott: “They are accidentally beautiful, rather like an 80-degree day in January is accidentally pleasurable. To some, they may suggest the science-fiction scenography of a dystopian film; to others, they render... Read more
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    “Rivers, who wrote gags at all hours, paid close attention to setups and punchlines, typing them up and cross-referencing them by categories like ‘Parents hated me’ or ‘Las Vegas’ or ‘No sex... Read more
    AJBlog: Seeing Things Published on: 2023-06-09
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    The institution in question is the Mütter Museum, which is focused on anatomy. The actions by new leaders, “mostly centered on concerns about displaying human remains, include taking down much of the... Read more
    AJBlog: Seeing Things Published on: 2023-06-09
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    “Despite his success in the United States, … Millepied says it is easier to work in France. … But French society can feel less inclusive. It is something which his newly-formed Paris... Read more
    AJBlog: Seeing Things Published on: 2023-06-09
  • Why The Public Theater Dropped The Under The Radar Festival (And What Happens Next)
    Oskar Eustis, the Public’s artistic director, said proudly that bringing Under the Radar to the theater was “the first artistic choice I made” in his then-new job. Yet the pressures that led... Read more
    AJBlog: Seeing Things Published on: 2023-06-09
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    “Mark Walters, who hosts the Salem Radio Networks-distributed ‘Armed American Radio’ program, is suing OpenAI after its ChatGPT program accused him of embezzling funds from the Second Amendment Foundation. Walters says he... Read more
    AJBlog: Seeing Things Published on: 2023-06-09
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    “The Daily and Sunday Telegraph are to be put up for sale in a deal that promises to reshape the media landscape after the Barclay family lost control of their crown jewel... Read more
    AJBlog: Seeing Things Published on: 2023-06-09
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    The dismissal comes after “an independent investigation (into sexual harassment allegations) found ‘credible evidence’ that he had ‘engaged in conduct which interfered with individuals’ academic work,’ Juilliard also said that similar allegations... Read more
    AJBlog: Seeing Things Published on: 2023-06-09
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    Writers discover quickly that their books – any books – have no fixed meanings. They will read differently to different readers. And their printed words never precisely convey an author’s  thoughts and stories.... Read more
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    The journal Cultural Trends (for which I serve on the Editorial Board) is hosting a wonderful event: The Cultural Trends journal team are hosting their first ‘Global Dialogue’ conference event in Santiago... Read more
    AJBlog: For What it's Worth Published on: 2023-06-08
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    Nicole’s recent book A Living Remedy explores loss and family as well as sharp observations about American health-care. Nicole Chung has written two memoirs in five years—both about loss and family.  The... Read more
    AJBlog: Measure for Measure Published on: 2023-06-08
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    If the opening of Ernst Pawel's biographical study of the 19th-century German poet Heinrich Heine doesn't grab you, don't bother to read on. But it if does, treat yourself to a great... Read more
    AJBlog: Straight|Up Published on: 2023-06-03
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    Holly Bass, National Director for Turnaround Arts at the Kennedy Center, talks about the important role that the arts can play in our schools.... Read more
    AJBlog: Aaron Dworkin Published on: 2023-06-03
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    I could say that I told you so, but in this case, I take no delight in being right. By now you’ve probably heard the (heart)breaking news: “Sotheby’s said that it has... Read more
    AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published on: 2023-06-02
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    With all the attempts to put COVID firmly behind us, it can be tempting to lapse into a pre-pandemic view of the arts landscape in America. To do so would be a... Read more
    AJBlog: Measure for Measure Published on: 2023-06-01
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    'A man is looking into his past. Let's see what he finds there.' — William Cody Maher, poet / writer / performance artist... Read more
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