RIAA Exec: Copyright Serves Us All An executive of the Recording Industry Association of America is tired of copyright bashing. Strong copyright protection, he writes, is in the public interest. "Folks like Larry Lessig and EFF would have you believe, because it suits their analysis, that copyright protection and the public interest are diametrically opposed. This is merely a rhetorical device, and is a complete fallacy. The public's interest is represented by the copyright law." Cultural Commons 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 5:14 pm
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Subito Piano - Our New "It" Architect Renzo Piano is currently the architect of the day, with numerous high-profile projects underway. "How has Piano landed so much work in New York? The same way he's done it all over the world—with designs that are beautifully precise but never radical. Depending on your point of view, Piano is either the most corporate avant-garde architect in the world or the most avant-garde corporate one. Increasingly, his firm is the one museums and big companies call on when they want to bridge the gap between iconic, eye-catching architecture and a quieter, more pragmatic—and more affordable—approach." Slate 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 7:55 am
Prado Doubles Entry Fee Madrid's Prado Museum is doubling its entry fee - to 8 Euros. Sixty-five percent of the museum's visitors are foreigners. "Under young director Miguel Zugaza, the museum became a public entity last year and as such has to increase its revenue to cover costs." Expatica 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 6:39 am
Turkey Gets A MoMA Turkey opens its first museum of modern art in Istanbul. "Warehouse No. 4 was turned into a museum by frantic construction work, which went on until the last moment and cost about $5 million. The building features two stories of 4,000 square meters (1-acre) each. On the upper floor, the permanent collection consisting of about 4,000 pieces -- all by Turkish artists -- will be exhibited on a rotational basis." Bloomberg 12/14/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 6:17 am
Budget Cuts Threaten UK's Historic Buildings English Heritage says that announced cuts in budget will be disastrous to the preservation of important buildings. "For the first time the report attempts to assess the state of Grade II-listed buildings - the town halls, corner shops, small country houses and terraces which are the historic environment most familiar to people - and finds a dismal situation. An estimated 17,000 Grade II buildings are regarded as at risk, and although many are in some form of public ownership, thousands are boarded up and many are in danger of collapse." The Guardian (UK) 12/16/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 10:07 pm
Royal Academy Appoints New President Nicholas Grimshaw has named president of the troubled Royal Academy in London. The RA has been rocked by a series of high-profile resignations... BBC 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 5:32 pm
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Chicago Lyric Opera Says Goodbye To Epstein Matthew Epstein, for 24 years associated with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (the last six as artistic director), won't have his contract renewed at the end of this season. "While few dispute Epstein's gifts, his blunt manner can ruffle feathers. His lusty "bravos'' regularly punctuate Lyric's performances, but he can make his displeasure known with equal force. "He's a genius,'' said one opera world insider, "but he's an abrasive genius." Chicago Sun-Times 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 6:52 am
Scottish Culture Minister: We Should Help Scottish Opera The new Scottish minister of culture says she supports helping the beleaguered Scottish Opera. But as to what exactly that help might be, she's vague. Still, she has attended the company's first two operas of the season and claims to love opera... The Scotsman 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 5:54 pm
Lebrecht: I Was Banned By The Met Norman Lebrecht was asked recently to appear on the Metropolitan Opera broadcast as a commentator. Then he was disinvited. "The Met's curse is unlikely to blight my life, as it did the careers of many artists. My only surprise was that it hadn't happened before. In a quarter of a century of reporting musical affairs and commenting on them polemically, I have never been censored. I have been threatened with legal writs and, once, with a fist in my face, but no arts organisation until now has ever felt it necessary to shut me up." La Scena Musicale 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 5:20 pm
Virtual Orchestra Demo Canceled In NY A demonstration of the "virtual orchestra" by the Brooklyn Opera was canceled at CAMI Hall in New York Tuesday after CAMI withdrew use of the hall. The New York musicians' union, which is bitterly opposed to the use of the machine to replace live musicians, had planned protests outside CAMI Hall. The New York Times 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 3:48 pm
Chicago Lyric Sheds Artistic Director Chicago Lyric Opera has decided not to renew artistic director Matthew Epstein's contract. General director William Mason: “Matthew and I have enjoyed an excellent relationship for many years, but our visions for the company diverged. I thank him for his many valuable contributions to Lyric and wish him the best with his future endeavors.” PlaybillArts 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 3:02 pm
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Theatres Vs. Cell Phones Theatres and concert halls are going to greater and great lengths to try to get audiences to turn off their cell phones during performances. How about this pitch in a San Francisco theatre: "Dinner for two before the show: $60. Parking for the evening: $18. Ninety minutes of live entertainment without the annoyance of ringing cell phones, beeping pagers or chatty neighbors: priceless. Thank you and enjoy the show." San Francisco Chronicle 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 9:25 am
Jowell: Arts Funding Freeze Won't Hurt Arts British culture minister Tessa Jowell says that it is untrue that arts funding will suffer because of a budget freeze over the next few years. "According to Ms Jowell, £53m will be freed up through running existing arts programmes more smoothly, and through efficiencies at the council." The Guardian (UK) 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 6:25 am
In Canada: Young Audiences At More Performances Statistics Canada reports that young people are a large proportion of the country's arts audiences. "Young people attended a total of 13,500 performances in theatre, dance, music and opera in 2003, accounting for about one-quarter of the attendance figures, according to a new study from the government agency. In all, 3.8 million young people attended performances in 2003. That compares with 3.6 million in 2001 and 3.4 million in 1999." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 4:45 pm
Will Barnes Ruling Hinder Bequests? The ruling in the Barnes Foundation case, breaking the founder's trust and moving the institution to downtown Philadelphia may bode ill for philanthropy in Pennsylvania. What donor won't be afraid that a bequest might later be broken? "It cannot help but encourage courts to act more assertively to alter donations that trustees or political officials, such as state attorneys general, regard as antiquated or problematic." OpinionJournal 12/16/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 4:41 pm
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Artist Agnes Martin, 92 Agnes Martin died this morning (Dec. 16) at approximately 6 a.m. at her home in Taos. Details about her death have not been released. "Martin apparently wished to have no obituary written about her, nor any memorial services." The Taos News 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 10:02 am
At Home With Paul Taylor Paul Taylor's company is clebrating 50 years this season. But Paul Taylor the man is happy to stay at home at his house on Long Island. "I had a very physical life while I was dancing, and the minute I stopped I was so glad to just be still and not hurt. I found barres and exercising extremely boring. You think I'm going to jog? Have you ever seen a jogger that looks like he's not in pain? No, sir, not me. I don't exercise. I do a little outdoor work, gardening, cleaning up the woods, playing with my chain saw, that kind of thing. But I'm very happy not to move anymore." Washington Post 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 8:05 am
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Funding Cuts Endanger UK Regional Theatre Over the past few years, regional theatre in the UK has flourished, bringing quality theatre outside London. But the government's funding freeze for the next few years could endanger the development of regional theatre. The country's regional theatre managers protest... The Guardian (UK) 12/16/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 10:28 pm
American Musical, An (Over-The-Top) History Ethan Mordden's "The Happiest Corpse I've Ever Seen" is a new highly-opinionated histry of the American musical. "Just when you think you're reading a hip encyclopedia, you find yourself immersed in a flagrant gossip column; just when you feel you are getting essential insights, you are submerged in the most esoteric lore or most intimate revelations." Washington Post 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 5:02 pm
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Book-Buying - Am I Blue? (Or Red?) Do you care what the political persuasion of the bookstore you buy from is? "Does it make the decision easier for you to know that 98% of B&N's corporate political donations went to the Democrats, while 61% of Amazon's went to the Republicans? Or maybe you'll be encouraged to get offline entirely and shop at an old–fashioned brick and mortar store upon hearing the news that Borders gave 100% or its donations to Democrats?" MobyLives 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 10:19 am
Random House Considers Selling Online Publishing giant Random House says it is considering selling its wares directly to the public online. This would put the publisher in competition with e-tailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. "Among factors driving such talk are sluggish sales in the industry overall and a role reversal at Barnes & Noble, which publishes more and more books under its own name. B&N has released literary classics, histories and novelty books, vying with traditional publishers for reader dollars." New York Daily News 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 10:10 am
US Reverses Embargo On Publishing Cubans, Iranians The US has changed a policy that had banned American publishers from working with dissident authors in certain counries. "The rule change by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control comes after Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi sued the United States because its economic embargo on Iran blocked U.S. publication of her memoirs. The new rule allows U.S. publishers to engage in 'most ordinary publishing activities' with people in Cuba, Iran and Sudan, while maintaining restrictions on interactions with government officials and agents of those countries." Philadelphia Inquirer (Reuters) 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 9:59 am
The OutSourced Editor "Alas, the era when the old-school Scribner editor Maxwell Perkins turned F. Scott Fitzgerald’s sheaf of scribbles into This Side of Paradise appears to be well and truly over, with many publishing houses appearing to be not much more than glorified Kinko’s that acquire, bind, print and ship out." Editors who acquire books at big publishing houses rarely actually edit anymore; the job is outsourced to freelancers... New York Observer 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 5:41 pm
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Minorities Still Underrepresented On American TV American TV networks are still bad at presenting minority characters on TV says a new study. "Among the 16 shows set in New York, Hispanics and Asian- Americans made up a combined 9 percent of regular characters, researchers found - while the city's population is 27 percent Hispanic and nearly 10 percent Asian-American." The Plain Dealer (AP) 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 9:46 am
FCC's Making Us Look Like Boobs So why isn't the FCC investigating some of the truly wretched TV fare out there, asks Tim Goodman. Ifr they have to investigate, go after stuff that's just plain bad. But the Olympics? Really? We'll be a laughing stock... "The Greeks did something, um, "arty" in the Opening Ceremonies to annoy prudish "guns-not-boobs" America. That's how it'll read to the rest of the world as the story gets media play. Of course, it does provide you with more fodder for counter-intelligence. Yes, you can rise up again, or for the first time even. Because you don't need a lusty interpretive dance to tell you this nonsense is nowhere near over." San Francisco Chronicle 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 9:18 am
Le Guinn: Sci-fi Channel Ruined My Books Ursula Le Guinn hoped for the best when she sold the rights to her Earthsea books for a mini-series. But the deal quickly went bad. "When I looked over the script, I realized the producers had no understanding of what the books are about and no interest in finding out. All they intended was to use the name Earthsea, and some of the scenes from the books, in a generic McMagic movie with a meaningless plot based on sex and violence." Slate 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 7:51 am
Composers Fight UK Broadcasters Over Royalties British composers are complaining that UK broadcasters are taking royalties away from them. "Composers receive a single fee for their music to be used on television but they currently also have to sign a contract with a music publisher, representing the broadcaster, agreeing that a percentage of the royalties will go back to the channel commissioning the piece. Artists can lose as much as 35% of their royalties. The practice, dubbed ‘coercion’ in the music industry, can mean that if a composer does not sign the agreement they may find it difficult to secure future work." Stage Online 12/16/04
Posted: 12/16/2004 6:42 am
Film Festivals Everywhere "In the last 10 years, film festivals have spread across the country. According to the Web site filmfestivals.com, there are roughly 2,500 worldwide. Withoutabox, a Los Angeles-based company that helps filmmakers apply to film festivals, estimates that there are 950 festivals in the United States alone, with 300 more in Canada; in North America, there are 100 Jewish film festivals, 30 gay and lesbian film festivals, and 279 festivals that either focus on animation or have animation categories." The New York Times 12/16/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 11:25 pm
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Pacifica Ballet Snags Star, Trains Eye On Big League Ballet Pacifica, a small professional company in Orange County, California, is making a big step up. American Ballet Theatre star Ethan Stiefel has been chosen to lead the company. "He comes to Orange County with a mandate to remake Ballet Pacifica - which has struggled to survive - into a high-caliber dance troupe with a national and international reputation." Orange County Register 12/15/04
Posted: 12/15/2004 2:11 pm
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