“To a certain extent, the methodology is fairly straightforward. You take a lot of audio from a speaker. You then cut that up into tiny little pieces. Each piece is a little sound. … In order to then produce a new sentence, you then take those sounds, you rearrange them, and you stick them back together again.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
US Rep. To NBC Exec: Why The Lily-White Programming?
“In a hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee on the proposed $30-billion marriage between cable giant Comcast and NBC Universal, [Rep. Maxine] Waters used her time to question [NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff] Zucker about why the network has not done better in creating shows that would appeal to the black community.”
Digital Music Sales Rise, But Market Seems To Be Shrinking
“Last year saw a 21% drop in the number of people in the U.S. buying music — both digital and physical — compared with 2007, according to figures released Thursday by NPD Group, a market research firm.”
US Museum Visits Were Up In 2009 (But There’s A Catch)
“[B]igger crowds didn’t necessarily mean a financial windfall for museums. About half reported a decline in total revenue in 2009, according to the survey” by the American Association of Museums. “And 18% of museums described their financial condition as ‘very severe.'”
For A Growing Number Of Playwrights, TV Pays The Bills
“In a tight economy, playwrights have emerged as key writers for episodes that feature only one or two locations–a cost-saving device known as a ‘bottle episode.’ These episodes have become increasingly necessary as producers are told to rein in costly, multiple-location shoots.”
The Touring Musician: Avoiding Jet Lag And Other Traps
German violinist Christian Tetzlaff “says he needs only six hours of sleep, doesn’t suffer from too many traveler’s bugs and hasn’t canceled a concert because of illness in 15 years. A bigger problem: He is not very organized. He lost his sheet music between Ottawa and Toronto last year….”
UK Places Temporary Bar On Export Of $47.6M Raphael
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said the culture minister halted the export “on the grounds that the drawing is of outstanding significance for the study of Raphael’s work.” Purchased at Christie’s in December, the chalk study was bound for the U.S. but will stay in the U.K. if a buyer is found there.
At NYC’s Roundabout Theatre, Things Are Looking Up
“The city’s largest nonprofit theater said in a bond disclosure yesterday that ‘single ticket sales for the fall season have been very strong,’ offsetting a decrease in annual subscription sales. … Contributions to the Roundabout ‘are showing across-the- board increases over the same time last year,’ the company said.”
In Reversal, UK’s Biggest Cinema Chain Will Show Alice
“The agreement was announced just hours before Tim Burton’s 3D movie was due to have its world premiere at Odeon’s Leicester Square flagship, in the presence of Prince Charles.” Odeon had been the sole holdout in a boycott of the film over “Disney’s plan to shorten the theatrical run by bringing forward the DVD release date.”
Is Google A Content Provider After All?
The conviction of three Google executives in an Italian court “could have sweeping implications worldwide for Internet freedom: It suggests that Google is not simply a tool for its users, as it contends, but is effectively no different from any other media company, like newspapers or television, that provides content and could be regulated.”