There’s been a rush to tout economic benefits to New York because of the Christo Central Park Gates. “Such governmental attempts to spin artistic value into financial value are calculated to persuade taxpayers and politicians of ‘the value of the arts to our communities, our states, and our nation’.” But what do these benefits really amount to? And what about the aesthetic value of the work itself?
Blog
Satellite Radio Raises Subscription Rates
In a sign that satellite radio is gaining a foothold, XM says it will raise its monthly subscription fee. “XM said it would raise the price of its basic service to $12.95 per month from $9.99 beginning April 2, matching Sirius’ monthly fee.” The company is trying to recoup some of the massive investments in programming it has made.
Clear Channel Hopes To Boost Its Ailing Concert Business
When Clear Channel Communications Inc. dropped $4.5 billion five years ago for SFX, the giant concert promoter, the idea was to boost growth in fast-growing entertainment while the company’s core radio audience matured. Instead, the once-promising acquisition has become Clear Channel’s problem child, with consumers expressing dismay — and staying away — because of high ticket prices and poor service.” Now the company hopes it has found its turn-around artist…
Oscar TV Audience Down From Last Year
The numbers are in, and this year’s Academy Awards broadcast scored lower with viewers than last year. “Like the Golden Globes and Grammys before it, this year’s Academy Awards broadcast, on ABC, was down in total viewers from a year ago. The program drew an average audience of 41.5 million viewers, versus the 43.5 million who watched last year. That was better than in 2003, when the start of the Iraq war a few days before the ceremony helped push Oscar ratings to their lowest in nearly 30 years. This year’s show drew almost 8.5 million more viewers than that broadcast.”
Today’s Museums – Stepping Away From The Bilbao Effect?
For a while now, museums have built flashy new homes intended to impress. “But eight years after Bilbao, a reaction is setting in. While art museums in the United States are expanding at a breathtaking pace, the desire to emulate Gehry’s Spanish miracle looks increasingly like the exception, not the rule. And while museum directors continue to justify large expansion projects in terms of the tourism and attention they attract, they’re talking less and less about spectacular architecture as a primary goal. Instead, they emphasize the importance of showcasing collections, creating larger spaces suitable for the demands of contemporary art, and serving local audiences rather than attracting tourists.”
A Shostakovich Premiere – 74 Years Late
Seventy-four years after it was written, a Shostakovich ballet received its world premiere in Moscow last weekend. “For the first time in 74 years his 1931 score The Bolt rang out from a theatre pit, and its story was told in ballet on the stage above, in a new production by the Bolshoi Ballet.”
Is Ancient German Star Map A Modern Fake?
“One of Germany’s most acclaimed archaeological finds – a 3,600-year-old disc depicting the stars and the planets – is at the centre of a dispute following claims that it is a modern forgery.”
Philly Concert Hall Struggles With Budget
Only three years after it opened, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center is struggling to make ends meet. “Hobbled by a paltry endowment, the Kimmel still is not operating with a balanced budget. The last fiscal year ended with a $2.5 million deficit on a $32 million budget, and Kimmel leaders, after predicting that the current season would be their first in the black, now say their hopes of that happening are dimming.”
Thousands Of Items Missing From British Library
More than 8,000 items have disappeared from the British Library since it moved to new premises. “Some disappearances were thefts, with collectors using razors to cut rare maps out of books. But the biggest theft is believed to have been carried out by a contractor who stole £17,000 worth of comics from a storage area. These included the first issue of the Beano to contain its iconic character, Dennis the Menace, dated March 17, 1951, and rare copies of the Dandy and Eagle.”
Copyright Kills The TV DVD
Wondering why you can’t buy DVDs of your favorite TV series? “For many TV shows, costs to license the original music for DVD are prohibitively high, so rights owners replace the music with cheaper tunes, much to the irritation of avid fans. And some shows, like WKRP, which is full of music, will probably never make it to DVD because of high licensing costs.”