Author: Douglas McLennan

Washington Attorney General Is Investigating Brown Paper Tickets

Until recently, BPT had enjoyed a good reputation, sometimes called the David to Ticketmaster’s Goliath. One unpaid client, the Taste of Philadelphia Food Tour, had been doing business with the company for 10 years, but is now waiting on $2,782 in bounced checks from events as far back as December 2019 (the checks weren’t deposited until March 16), plus $207 for March events canceled by coronavirus lockdowns. – Seattle Times

Remembering Cellist Lynn Harrell

Mark Swed: “I’ve never heard a cellist make the instrument sing quite the way Harrell did. Despite his impressive physical presence — he had been an athlete in his youth and traded football for music — his sound was not particularly loud and never penetrating. He was anything but pushy when it came to the limelight. Rather, his way was to rely on the sheer persuasion of song and personality.” – Los Angeles Times

Behold The Live-Streaming Fundraising Machine

During the COVID-19 shutdown, live-streamed concerts have grown from a novelty born of necessity into a fixture of cultural life. D-Nice’s dance parties (known to include a presidential candidate or two), Instagram Live’s R&B/hip-hop battles and Fortnite and Minecraft’s virtual festivals have remade live music. Global Citizen’s “One World: Together at Home” event was a veritable live-streamed Live-Aid. Likewise, the Weitz family’s Zooms have become a notable hub for big-dollar fundraising and pop-star appearances. – Los Angeles Times

Where (And Why) Science Is Failing Us

The average scientist’s acquaintance with philosophy tends to be of the passing variety. This is a great pity. Deep-rooted, seemingly intractable problems in foundational theoretical physics – the physics of matter and radiation, space, time and the Universe – have now frustrated progress for 50 years or more. We’re living through a period in the history of foundational physics in which ideas about nature are cheap, but gathering the empirical facts needed to show that these ideas have anything at all to do with the real world has become extraordinarily expensive, protracted and time-consuming, and without guarantee of success. – Aeon

Will Audiences Really Pay For Online Content?

The rationale is clear enough. With families trapped inside by COVID-19, and children out of school and starting to climb the walls, a hyperactive new movie ought to be just the ticket. Also, twenty bucks is less than you’d pay at the cinema for yourself, your kids, and your silo-size Cokes. Yet the sum feels extortionate when you’re shelling out at home, perhaps because it carries a sweaty whiff of boxing bouts on pay-per-view. – The New Yorker

Can This Live-Streaming Platform In Europe Help Save Night Life?

Called United We Stream, the combined live-streaming and fundraising platform hosts live music, DJ sets, performances and other live experiences from a growing roster of venues across Europe. Patrons are invited to drop into daily events staged for the platform, and invited via on-screen buttons to donate money if they can, either by buying merchandise or by splashing out on a “virtual drink.” These donations are plowed back into keeping music and nightlife scenes alive. – CityLab