According to the figures, bookstore sales jumped 8.0% in April, to $1.0 billion, while sales for the entire retail segment increased 3.6%.
Month: June 2008
A Live Survey Of American Dance In One Week
“The Kennedy Center’s “Ballet Across America” survey over the past week proved that the country has dancing talent to burn. Yet though the companies were culled from coast to coast, they are part of a small world. More than one company director referred to the gathering as Old Home Week; members of all nine of the companies have various intertwined histories and professional connections.”
The Changing Colors Of Broadway
One thing is clear: Broadway is taking on a distinctly multiculti hue. Nowhere is this more evident than with some of this season’s dominant shows: “In the Heights” and “Passing Strange,” which have 13 and seven nominations, respectively; both are up for best musical.”
Why We’re Fascinated With Stonehenge
“Stonehenge simply looks like nothing else: no other ancient structure in Europe has its trademark form, of a freestanding pattern of door-jamb-and-lintel settings composed of megaliths. It is clearly the work of human hands, but has an unusually primordial and organic appearance, of mighty boulders smoothed, shaped and fitted together in such a way as to enhance their natural power as well as to create a building. As such, it has attracted curiosity and admiration ever since the twelfth century, and probably for much longer.”
Weak Dollar Boosts Tourist Dollars On Broadway
“A weaker dollar encourages international tourism in the U.S., with foreign travelers lured by the new buying power their stronger currencies now afford. And increased New York tourism means more traffic on Broadway.”
Three Things We Know About Music
Here’s One: “The pitches in musical scales are likely derived from language. Turns out, aspects of spoken English and Mandarin correlate to the intervals between notes in a chromatic scale (the black and white piano keys in an octave). Is it music we love or the sound of our own voices?”
Movie Ad Spending Increases
“On- and offscreen ad revenue in 2007 rose 18.5 percent each to $494.6 million and $45.3 million, respectively.”
South Pacific Cleans Up At Tonys
“The lavish production of “South Pacific” picked up seven prizes — more than any other show — including musical revival, actor-musical for leading man Paulo Szot, director-musical and four design awards: sets, costumes, lighting, sound. (The show won nine Tonys in 1950.)”
Study: California Has Most Artists In US
Among United States cities, greater Los Angeles ranks as the urban center with the most working artists and California is the top state by the same measure, according to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Music Performance Fund Hits Hard Times
For 60 years, the Music Performance Fund, an unsung charity financed by a small fraction of record company sales, has “helped to bankroll thousands of free concerts annually all over North America.Now, though, the popularity of music downloads and file-sharing via the Internet has eaten away at record company revenues. And as the industry has dwindled, so has the performance fund’s ability to underwrite pro bono shows.”