Concord, Massachusetts, is everything a small New England town should be, and the Concord Bookshop, an independent bookseller widely regarded as one of the best in the Northeast, is a large presence in the community. But an in-house dispute between the bookshop’s owners and its employees is tearing the store apart, and the whole town, with its sizable population of well-known writers, seems to be getting involved. Eight employees, including the bookshop’s three top managers, have resigned, with one of them saying that “the fragile alchemy that made it such a great place to work [has] died.” But the owners insist that they love the shop as much as anyone, and are only trying to survive in an increasingly difficult era for indie booksellers.
Month: December 2003
Kang Quits, DSO Left Wondering Why
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is losing its top executive, just as it is trying to find a new music director and cope with a hefty financial shortfall. Emil Kang, who had earned praise as DSO president for his consensus-building skills and efforts at sharpening the orchestra’s artistic vision, resigned abruptly on Monday, without explanation. The orchestra’s new board chair has refused to comment on whether or not Kang was forced out, but another board member says that, at least, the board “as a group” did not ask for the resignation. Kang, 35, was one of the youngest administrators of an American symphony orchestra.
Hitting ‘Em While They’re Down
“Last week’s court decision preventing the recording industry from forcing Internet service providers to identify their subscribers on peer-to-peer networks offers new hope to file traders who have been sued. But fighting the RIAA may prove costly for anyone hoping to challenge the trade group, which spends an estimated $17 million annually in legal fees. In the wake of Friday’s ruling, which found that the RIAA can’t subpoena Internet providers for subscribers’ personal information without going through the court system, experts say lawyers could feasibly argue that their clients’ information was unjustly obtained from ISPs, and therefore should not be used. But such a strategy would be unorthodox and difficult to carry out.”
Broadway 2003: More Money, Fewer People
“Fewer people saw shows on New York’s Broadway during 2003 – but takings have gone up during the past year. Theatres predict the year will end with 11.2 million people visiting Broadway’s venues, down from 11.4 million in 2002. But takings are expected to be up to $730m (£414m), compared with $707m (£401m) the previous year – helped by top ticket prices hitting $100 (£56). Broadway theatres are putting the drop in visitors down to a lack of big shows opening during the summer.”
Missing Turner Mask May Have Been Stolen
London’s Royal Academy of Arts has acknowledged that the death mask of JMW Turner, one of the Academy’s most prized possessions, may have been stolen more than 15 years ago, with no one at the museum noticing the mask’s disappearance until another institution asked to borrow it in 2002. However, it is also possible that the mask is still somewhere in the Academy’s vast collection, and staffers are hoping to turn it up during an ongoing cataloguing project.
Design For Design’s Sake – Must We Always Be Entertained?
“Highly noticeable design in itself has become an acknowledged competitive strategy, so that the public now expects to be perpetually captivated and entertained and flattered by the novelty and the variety of design in every kind of commodity, not just in the aspect of goods but in their physical ambience. Restaurants are as over-designed as the meals they serve; new boutiques selling wine or cheese or jams or cookies are fitted up like exquisite art galleries, with hushed spatial arrangements so arcane that the goods cannot readily be distinguished from the décor. Such establishments might not sit on the same street with the fake-ethnic diners, but the source of their overt allure is the same.”
Judge: Miami Beach Streets Go To Artists
Artists can perform where they want now in Miami Beach. “Miami Beach has lost a significant round in its years-long effort to regulate street performers. Last month, a judge declared unconstitutional a city ordinance limiting performers and artists to 11 locations throughout the city. Under the ordinance, only two performers are allowed at each location, chosen by lottery every three months from scores of applicants.”
American TV’s Clutter Grows
Promos, ads and other filler has proliferated on American TV. “According to a recent report in Media Life, an online magazine, the major networks now offer one minute of “clutter” for every two minutes of legitimate entertainment during prime time. Or put in another context, the Big Four (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) air about 52 minutes of commercials and promotional material during three hours of prime time. This is up 8 percent from 2000 and a whopping 36 percent since 1991.”
The Depressed Aussie Film Industry
“A soaring Australian dollar, staunch competition from Canada, eastern Europe and New Zealand, the impending US-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California have cast a dark shadow over the Australian film industry.”
The Dirt On The High-Kicking Rockettes
A former Rockette dishes up the backstage dirt about the Christmas show. Stories about “the vodka-soaked pineapple chunks the dancers pop as they come onstage, the stagehands with fake salamis down their pants, and the endless chattering on stage, about sales at Macy’s, during the Toy Soldiers number. ‘You’re 30 yards away from the audience. There’s a lot going on that nobody hears or sees.’ That would include the camel dung, regularly deposited by the animal talent during the manger scene. (What are you gonna do, fire the camel?)”