“All the evidence is that millions of people listen to classical music, on Classic FM or downloaded from the internet. Quite a few listen to CDs too. But classical concerts are clearly a turn-off, especially for the young. This is worrying when so many other forms of live entertainment – comedy, theatre, pop – are doing so well. In just a few generations, the spectacle of a classical concert seems to have lost all its appeal. There are many reasons for this.”
Blog
Rand Corp: Stop Quantifying, Focus On Quality
“After wading through stacks of economic and educational studies used to drum up arts funding, Rand Corp. researchers say the numbers don’t make a persuasive case and that arts advocates should emphasize intrinsic benefits that make people cherish the arts.” Education and economic return have been proven selling points with politicians who are otherwise reluctant to fund the arts at all, but the Rand study says that “trumpeting the most quantifiable and utilitarian benefits doesn’t address the biggest long-term challenge facing arts organizations: cultivating an arts-savvy public that wants what museums and performing groups offer.”
Can Jazz FM Be Jazz?
Is there hope for the UK’s Jazz FM? “Given the rude health of the jazz scene, many of us thought that one day someone would take a cool look at Jazz FM and transform the station into the real thing. Instead, it was announced last Monday that the London radio station (owned by the Guardian Media Group) is to be ‘rebranded’ later this year as Smooth FM. What a blow.”
The Rise Of Clear Channel
It’s accepted as gospel these days that Clear Channel Communications is the 800-lb. gorilla of the media world, controlling blocks of radio stations, billboards, and concert venues in nearly every large metro area in the country. But it wasn’t too long ago that Clear Channel was nothing more than a struggling radio group, competing with countless other station owners in a relatively competitive marketplace. Then, back in 1996, Congress passed a Telecommunications Act which legislators swore would increase competition and serve consumers better. As everyone now knows, the opposite happened, and Clear Channel became the face of America’s new corporate media.
Making Sure There’s Always Something Good On TV
“Those sleek flat screens popping up on people’s walls may just look like fancy televisions. A new generation of artists and gallery owners wants you to think of them as something else: an empty picture frame… Digital works, the latest genre of new media art, usually are sold in limited edition DVDs. But this spring, Steven Sacks, the director of New York City’s bit-forms gallery, plans to start selling lower-priced original works of software art at software ART space. Prices will range from $100 for unlimited-edition works to $1,000 for numbered pieces. Buyers will get a sleekly packaged disc; limited editions will be signed by the artist.”
Caetani Named Music Director Of ENO
Oleg Caetani, 47, has been named music director of the English National Opera. He conducts three months a year in Melbourne, and has only conducted ENO once. “A source close to the selection process said the appointment of Caetani over his nearest rival, the American conductor Andrew Litton, came down to a choice between something safe and homely against someone who in performance really excited people – you can’t run an arts organisation with something safe and homely.”
FilmFest Wars Claim Two In Montreal
Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinema is in danger of folding in the wake of the resignations of its president and executive director. Montreal has three major film festivals, and city officials have been working with the film industry to try to cut that number by two. The result has been open warfare between festival organizers, which culminated last week when the newest entry, the Montreal International Film Festival, was seen as encroaching on the Nouveau’s territory with its decision to schedule its inaugural season directly opposite Nouveau’s.
Legendary NY Clubs In Danger Of Folding
“In the latest round of real estate brush fires to hit the [New York] rock scene, several clubs in the East Village and on the Lower East Side are facing their demise, including CBGB, the Bowery dungeon that was the birthplace of punk in the 1970’s. Besides CBGB, the clubs in danger include the Luna Lounge, Fez and Tonic… Owners of endangered clubs complain that rents and insurance charges have skyrocketed and that city officials show little interest in helping them survive.”
A Stripped-Down Approach To Filmmaking
Documentarians can be scrappy and persistent, but Canadian filmmaker Eva Ziemsen might take the prize for most innovative baiting of her subject. Desperate to conduct a face-to-face interview with iconoclastic filmmaker Lars von Trier, Ziemsen, traveled across Europe with nothing more than the vaguest hope of success, barged into von Trier’s studio with the camera rolling, and then, with the ultimate rejection at hand, offered to conduct the interview naked. Two hours later, von Trier was sitting across from her (and no, she didn’t have to remove any clothing).
Protecting PBS From Those Nasty Cabinet Secretaries
PBS is asking the U.S. Congress to create a dedicated endowment which would fund the public broadcaster in perpetuity, protecting it from the political whims of politicians who object to one program or another. PBS has frequently been accused by conservatives of tilting to the left (as has nearly every broadcast network in the U.S.), and a recent flap over an episode of a children’s program which featured a family with two mothers has renewed the right’s vitriol, even though PBS has recently launched several high-profile shows featuring conservative commentators. The idea of funding PBS through a permanent trust comes as the network prepares to begin a search for a new president.