Author: Douglas McLennan

Musician Crowdfunding Site Heads To Bankruptcy And Musicians Scramble To Recover

The UK-Based PledgeMusic owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to artists and labels, many of them independents operating on small margins. An untold number of fans have also been shortchanged, because the projects they invested in remain unfinished, or caught in limbo. “There have been no good outcomes here,” Benji Rogers, a co-founder and former CEO of PledgeMusic, wrote last week in an open letter, “and I cannot bear that something that I created to benefit artists and fans has caused so much pain to so many people.” – NPR

Art-Washing: Museums Face The Taint Of Donor Money

“Gifts that are not in the public interest.” It is a pregnant, important phrase. Coming on the heels of similar decisions by the Tate Modern in London and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the spurning of Oxy-cash seems to reflect a growing awareness that gifts to the arts and other good causes are not only a way for ultra-wealthy people to scrub their consciences and reputations. Philanthropy can also be central to purchasing the immunity needed to profiteer at the expense of the common welfare. – The New York Times

The Growing Wealth Inequality Gap Is Being Mirrored In The Contemporary Visual Art World

“Art that cost more than $1 million accounted for 40 percent of the market but just 3 percent of transactions. The disparity is most severe in the contemporary market, where living artists’ work is sold out of art galleries. In 2018, sales from the top 20 living artists accounted for 64 percent of the market. Bigger galleries, the top 5 percent in terms of turnover, accounted for more than 50 percent of sales. Sales at smaller galleries declined over the past few years.” – The New York Times

From YouTube To Hollywood: Short Is The New Thing

“Once the purview of DIY YouTubers and aspiring creatives looking for a big break, short-form now commands a deep well of resources – the backing of major studios, streaming-service budgets and top talent. And as the slate of original content continues to expand, scripted short-form TV may become the most contested battleground for heavyweight tech and content companies, as everyone from Snap to YouTube to Sundance TV compete for a quarter-hour snippet of attention.” – The Guardian

Noise-Canceling The World: What Happens When You Always Wear Headphones

“To those who lived before headphones, it might seem as though I want to exist in the world without actually being part of it. And to some extent, that’s true. Urban Millennials like me don’t inhabit a world that allows for much privacy. We’ve been squeezed into closely packed offices, closely packed subway cars, and closely packed apartments. Everyone else’s noises are constantly everywhere, so your head is the only personal space you can get. Granted, I share it with Brian Eno and Twin Shadow, but at least the choice is mine.” – The Atlantic

Does A City’s Beauty Translate Into A “Better” City? This Study Takes Up The Question

The study by Gerald A. Carlino of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Albert Saiz of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines the connection between a city’s beauty and key growth indicators. A raft of previous studies have found a connection between economic and population growth and urban amenities (a broad category ranging from parks to restaurants, art galleries, and museums). But this study takes a much closer look at the effects of beauty itself. – CityLab