“This year, confectioners expect to generate Halloween sales of $2 billion in America alone. Last year, the country’s total confectionery sales were $24 billion—the highest anywhere. Behind all the fun, the business is fiercely competitive—and consolidating fast. Worldwide sales of confectionery and chewing gum in 2003 are estimated to reach $112 billion, according to Euromonitor. The industry is led by Nestlé, Cadbury Schweppes, M&M/Mars, and Hershey.”
Blog
US Rejoins UNESCO
After boycotting UNESCO for two decades, the US has once again joined the UN’s cultural body. “The US has been granted a seat on the executive council for its ambassador, a post for which President Bush has nominated Louise Oliver, a conservative Republican fund-raiser who must be confirmed by the Senate.”
Single-Minded – Recording Business Changing Priorities
The economics of the recording industry are changing. “The success of iTunes has made clear to the music industry an uncomfortable truth: many people want to buy single tracks, not albums. Apple’s data show that its customers bought 12 singles for every one album at iTunes. That compares with 0.02 singles per album in American stores, according to research by Sanford Bernstein. The best artists may tempt people to buy a whole album. But the industry can no longer rely on getting the price of an album as a reward for backing a band.”
The World’s Most-Desired Art (A Top 10 List)
What are the most-wanted pieces of art in private hands? ARTnews has made a list of the ten most-coveted artworks. “Yearning — the more discreet the better — makes the art world go ’round. Dealers and auction specialists at the top of their game know where the most wanted artworks are at any given moment and what price might wrest a coveted object from its owner. Museum curators keep track of the same information to court loans and gifts. Collectors, meanwhile, no matter how desired the works in their own collections, always have an eye on something else.”
Stories Of Gabriel García Márquez
Published in 1967, Gabriel García Márquez’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ became “one of those extremely rare books that affected people’s ideas about the contemporary novel and also their sense of reality. This became true not only for his readers but also for the many more who eventually received such information, diluted and dispersed into popular culture, without being aware of its source. (A recent newspaper poll in Spain found ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ ranked just after the Bible and ‘Don Quixote’ in universal historical importance – surely the voters can’t all have read it?) Indeed, it is hard to conceive what our sense of the novel, or even of Latin America itself, would be like now had the writings of Gabriel García Márquez never existed.”
Pianist Performs All Beethoven’s 32 In One Day
British pianist Julian Jacobsen performed all 32 Beethoven sonatas in one day Friady. “As the pianist began the challenge in St James’ church, Piccadilly, at 0915 GMT, he said: ‘It’s pretty crazy isn’t it?’ He told BBC Radio 4 it was a ‘self-test to see if I can get through it all and keep my concentration’, and a chance to raise money for his favourite charity.”
British Library To Save Web Pages
The British Library is going to begin archiving websites. “The archive will comprise selective ‘harvesting’ from the 2.9 million sites that have ‘co.uk’ suffixes. This new legislation will now mean that a vital part of the nation’s published heritage will be safe.”
Studying The Venice Water Gates
Venice is under threat of a major flood – not if, but when. So it’s time to get on with building gates to help control water. The controversial flood control plan has been in the works for decades. “The barriers are to be completed by 2012 at a cost of 2.5 billion euros. A prototype section of the barriers was successfully tested as long ago as the 1980s, but their execution has been delayed by objections from the Green Party, which believes, among other things, that they would cause the lagoon to become dangerously polluted if closed frequently.”
Charlotte Symphony Strike Ends
Musicians in the Charlotte Symphony ended their strike after getting close to a contract settlement. The proposed contract calls for an initial pay cut, but then increases. “The agreement leaves two key issues yet to be resolved: the management’s proposals to have players shoulder more health-care costs and to reduce the musicians’ paid time off. Those issues will be dealt with by task forces made up of players, management and staff members working with a federal mediator.”
Washington Public Radio Station Fires Director
The embattled head of Washington public radio station WAMU has been fired. Susan Clampitt, who had directed the station since June 2000, had come under fire from current and former staff members, donors and volunteers. They questioned her financial management of the station and her managerial style, which had led to widespread staff disgruntlement.” WAMU ran through more than $4 million in cash reserves in the process in the past three years as spending jumped 110 percent from 2000 to 2002.