– says it will offer free MP3 downloads of its entire music catalogue online. – Wired
- And: Online music sales expected to reach $5.2 billion by 2005. – Variety 11/24/99
Blog
L.A. PHILHARMONIC CUTS STAFF
Orchestra, facing budget deficit and dwindling audiences, has cut employees to save money. – Orange County Register
PITCHMART
And then there’s the one about … The art of pitching movie/TV projects. San Francisco Chronicle
BUNGLING ART FUNDING
Trying to save face in a last minute move, England’s Arts Council announces £10 million in grants for touring. But it’s too late to help this winter, and it can’t disguise the embarrassing shortage of productions available for the three major new theatres opening with British Lottery proceeds. London Telegraph
BUSTER KEATON’S PANTS, Charlie Chaplin’s overalls.
Trove of some 15,000 items of movie memorabilia found in LA after being in storage 70 years. BBC
ANTI-AUSSIE
Australian-made movies only account for four percent of movies on commercial movie screens. Yet Australians figure prominently in American movie projects. What’s the bias against home-grown? Sydney Morning Herald
INDIGENOUS COPYRIGHT
Australia attempts to allow copyright of indigenous cultural art forms. Not so easy to accomplish though, say those at the National Aboriginal Dance Conference, held at the Powerhouse Museum last week. Sydney Morning Herald
CO-PRODUCTION LIFELINE
More and more regional theaters are turning to co-productions. It’s a bit of a dance, with each theater trying to be collegial as it works with a partner to create something artistic without stepping on each other’s toes. Hartford Courant
ABSTRACT FAILURE
At Toronto auction last week, the Emily Carrs went flying out the door. The more abstract contemporary work failed to sell. “The value of good art is supposed to soar as time goes by, but with work by a contemporary Canadian artist, it’s more like buying a car: You’re likely to lose as soon as you take it home.” Toronto Globe and Mail
CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE
In the wake of the Brooklyn Museum dustup, it behooves we who write about contemporary art for a living to ask ourselves: What is it that holds contemporary art back from the popularity it so richly deserves? Toronto Globe and Mail