Are Britain’s publishers failing their public? “The director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival has accused Britain’s publishing industry of being parochial and leaving readers largely ignorant of intellectual debate in the rest of the world.”
Month: August 2003
Cleveland Orchestra Principal To Retire
Cellist Stephen Geber has been principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra for 30 years, “the longest tenure for a principal cellist in the orchestra’s history. It’s a seat he will relinquish next week, when he retires at the end of the ensemble’s season at Blossom Music Center.”
New York Classical Station Fires Longtime Announcer
WQXR radio announcer Gregg Whiteside, whose voice was “synonymous with classical music in New York for 25 years” was fired by the station without notice or severance this week. “The station said the firing was ‘because of inappropriate comments which he admitted making’. Neither Whiteside nor the station would say exactly what those comments were.”
Protesting The Disposable DVD
Environmentalists are protesting Disney’s plans to begin producing disposable DVDs. “The DVDs are designed for those who find renting inconvenient. Sealed in an airtight package, the DVD is usable for two days once opened. A customer can watch the flick as often as they want during that time period. When the time expires, bonding resin on the DVD reacts with the air around it, making the DVD unreadable.”
Releasing Books Into The Wild
“Bookcrossing has hit Manchester. On Saturday, hundreds of books will be released on to the streets of the city. Books by Martin Amis and Alex Garland will be distributed along with cookbooks and others on the history of steam locomotives in an event organised by Urbis, Manchester’s museum of the city. It is an American phenomenon that began in April 2001 and has taken off throughout the world. Almost half a million books have been “released” and there are more than 146,000 members worldwide. Books are left behind (or released into the wild). They contain a unique identity number which is registered on the website (bookcrossing.com). When someone finds one, they can register on the site and track the journey it has taken before it reached them.”
All Your Music, All Online
Microsoft announces a new deal that will allow computer users to download music from all five major recording companies. “The new venture will be accessed through Microsoft’s Windows Media Player software and will allow users to download songs from a choice of more than 200,000 by major artists.”
Indian Music Scores – But Can It Keep Its Soul?
This summer music from rural India is scoring big audiences in Britain. “The buzz in the music industry is that bhangra and indeed other forms of Asian music are hot, and, at last, record executives and non-Asian music fans are waking up to the potential of the music.” But as the music transfers to the West, can it keep its soul?
Music Giants To Merge?
Two of the big five music recording companies – Warner and BMG – are in final negotiations to merge. “The industry heavyweights are negotiating the nuts and bolts of combining their recorded music empires but are closing in on an agreement that would create the world’s second-biggest music company, the sources said.”
See The Concert, Buy The Music
“Throughout this event-heavy summer, live concerts are being recorded onto discs and sold shortly after the performances. Post-concert CDs are typically two- or three-disc sets that sell for about $20 each. Few major acts have agreed to participate in this new concert merchandising segment, and most of the activity is taking place at small venues. Revenue has been modest. Still, two high-profile concert-CD startup companies believe they can eventually win the faith of the industry’s biggest names.”
Burnout On Creativity
This summer Canada lost its “most inviting art magazine and interesting cinema.” Why? “Burnout. Principal founders hit the wall following years of pouring staggering amounts of energy into cultural projects that offered poverty-level financial returns. ‘We got exhausted and infuriated. Any one factor would not be enough to close down the magazine, but if you add it all together’…”