Is the internet helping to increase the popularity of classical music? The music download site MP3 reported last month that “classical music was the fourth most popular music genre at its site, adding that its popularity is fueled by the fact that classic musicians are offering their music for free at the site.” – Digitrends
Author: Douglas McLennan
HOLY COMIC-BOOK LOVERS, BATMAN!
“Only seven years ago, the comic-book industry was a $1 billion business; today, it’s half that, with numbers decreasing each year.” But that doesn’t seem to matter to the 45,000 people who attended the world’s largest comic-book convention in San Diego last week – the numbers may not look good, but those on the inside say comic-books are just getting better and more creative all the time. – Dallas Observer
POETIC INJUSTICE
Chinese poet Bei Ling, a U.S. resident since 1988 and editor of the literary magazine “Tendency,” has been arrested by the Chinese government in Hong Kong. The Communist Party has recently stepped up its effort to crack down on dissident publications, and Lei is likely to be charged with “subverting state power,” which carries a severe sentence. – China Times (AFP)
WEB OF SUPPORT
The Academy of Motion Pictures says any internet film not seen in theatres before its web release will not be eligible for Academy awards. So an AMC Theatre in LA opens a new i-film series. The deal is “only one example of the growing relationship between the Internet and Hollywood. Industry insiders like talent agencies, managers, studios and theater owners are trying to help Hollywood translate traditional ways of doing business to the Internet.” – Los Angeles Times
ACADEMY AWARDS OFFICIALS —
— are protesting California Governor Gray Davis awarding a fake Oscar to Bill Clinton Monday. “The motion picture industry’s highest accolade can be awarded only by the artists who make up the academy, and only for accomplishments relating to motion pictures.” – BBC
ACADEMIA’S INDENTURED SERVANTS
Last April, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that graduate assistants at NYU had the right to unionize. The university subsequently appealed the decision and now, just as school is about to begin, the notoriously overworked and underpaid GAs are awaiting the Board’s decision. – Village Voice
A MATTER OF PRIORITIES
Arts education programs by more than a dozen Boston area arts groups that work with more than 30 schools may have to be curtailed after the Massachusetts governor vetoes $5.2 million in spending slated for Boston schools. “This is the single largest act of destruction for arts education in Boston.” – Boston Herald
DOT-COM DETENTE
“Clearly, if San Francisco is becoming too expensive for some folks to live in, it’s also becoming too expensive for others to create in. While the booming dot-com economy may have something to do with squeezing artists out, dot-communists themselves are not necessarily the enemy. At least that’s what the Institute for Unpopular Culture will set out to prove tomorrow night.” – San Francisco Chronicle
LEAVING LAGUNA
Laguna Beach’s colorful 70-year-old Pageant of the Masters arts festival is leaving town. “The five-member Festival of Arts board voted unanimously Tuesday night to move the prestigious pageant and the festival art show to a $30 million complex in San Clemente after next year. Festival officials expect to clear $2 million annually – instead of the current $75,000 – to donate to the arts community.” – Orange County Register 08/16/00
THE NEW R&D DEPARTMENT
New York’s fourth annual International Fringe Festival kicks off this week, and phenomenal growth and diversity in its programming (175 productions from 17 states and 12 countries) reflect a boom in alternative theatre’s popularity. The role of a fringe festival? “To rebuild the infrastructure of off-off Broadway theatre, which has replaced off-Broadway as the center for theatrical research and development. After all, off-Broadway now plays host to star-playwrights because Broadway is so expensive.” – Backstage