National Public Radio ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin has a problem with NPR’s music reviews. “NPR regularly reviews new music. This is good, since it takes NPR listeners out of what is familiar and exposes them to what is happening in other parts of the culture. problem, according to some listeners, is that NPR’s reviews are too hip to be good journalism. In short, some musical commentary, especially on All Things Consdered, is incomprehensible to some listeners, and I confess, to me.”
Blog
Court: Canadian ISP’s Not Liable For Pirate Royalties
Canadian internet providers aren’t liable for royalties for music downloaded by their customers, rules the Supreme Court. “In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the court ruled that although ISPs provide the hardware and technology, they aren’t responsible for what people download. The court ruled that companies providing wide access to the web are “intermediaries” who are not bound by federal copyright legislation.”
UK Report: Dance Needs New Strategy
A new study of dance in the UK says that dance companies have become too reliant on public funding, and need a new strategy to survive. According to the study, “about 12% of the population went to a live dance event in 2003, with overall attendance at ballet and contemporary dance events reaching 5.1 million. More than a quarter of all adults in 2001 took part in some form of dance, ranging from tap dancing to nights out ‘clubbing’.”
Report: UK Science Funding Impoverishes Arts
The British Academy has issued a report that charges that “government enthusiasm for scientific research has left the arts and humanities underfunded and neglected.”
Anderson – Fiddling On Mars?
Laurie Anderson is NASA’s artist-in-residence. Didn’t know NASA had an artist? Yup – the program was started in 1963. But previous a-i-r haven’t been performance artists. “The idea of an avant-garde electronic fiddler hanging out with rocket geeks at NASA’s research centers may seem like an odd collaboration. The researchers’ reaction to their visitor was mixed, according to a NASA newsletter. One confessed to being a huge fan; another doubted the partnership of art and science. ‘What’s she going to do, write a poem?”
Rethinking Aussie Arts Funding
The Australian government is undertaking a review of arts funding, and the country’s major arts groups are weighing in with opinions on the current system’s shortcomings (shortfundings?).
Venice Police Arrest Hammer Man
A man has been arrested in Venice for damaging dozens of statues in the city with a hammer. “Antonio Benacchio, 38, an engineer living in the city, was detained when a priest became suspicious of his behaviour in a church on Monday. Because of his eccentric gestures, Mr Benacchio was already known to Venetians as the ‘engineer who measures the air’.”
American Ballet Theatre’s New Executive Diva
Rachel Moore is a former ABT dancer. Now she’s taken on running the company as its new executive direcctor. “Moore’s performing role now is to bring stability to a premier company that has seen tumult in recent years, with questions raised by former trustees about the company’s financial health, and a high turnover of executive directors. She is the fourth executive director in four years.
The Tale Of The Failed Lit Prize
Zoo Press decided to stage a fiction prize patterned on its successful annual poetry prize. But a year after the prizes were announced, both contests were canceled — no winners were chosen, and no entry fees were refunded. The storm of protest was predictable…
Did Reviewers Actually Read Clinton Book? (Was It Even Physically Possible?)
Bill Clinton’s 957-page book wasn’t released to reviewers until 24-48 hours before it was published. “The 24- to 48-hour turnaround of these reviews poses the question of whether a barge-size book like My Life can be read in its entirety in such short order—let alone reviewed. How long might it take to read My Life? Slate assigned one-third of My Life to three staffers and they recorded 27 man-hours of reading and note-taking. Surely a full-fledged review of My Life by one person would require somewhere in the neighborhood of 27 hours for reading, plus sleep breaks, and maybe another couple of hours for composition…”