That’s what worked — shockingly well — when Dutch public broadcaster NPO tried it: when it eliminated cookies, and thus the means to target ads to particular users, revenue soared. Here’s why contextual advertising (what NPO sold instead) brought in more money than targeted advertising — and why, says one American ad pro, this would not (yet) work in the United States. – Wired
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Color-Blind Casting Is Not The Solution — We Need Color-Conscious Casting
That’s the argument being made by a growing number of nonwhite actors and observers such as critic Diep Tran: “Color-blind casting is dangerous in the same way the phrase: ‘I don’t see race’ is dangerous. It negates the very real structural hindrances that block actors of color from the same opportunities as white actors — like low pay in the theatre industry, a lack of roles that are ethnically specific that actors of color can play, and unconscious bias on the part of white theatres and casting directors.” – The Guardian
Kent Nagano At The Montreal Symphony: A Final Assessment
Arthur Kaptainis: “[He] managed to forge an entente with an orchestra still reeling from the public resignation of Charles Dutoit and a provincial government that took culture more seriously than most. Not to mention a public that was quite prepared to be mesmerized by his mix of Japanese ancestry, Californian upbringing and European credentials. … As the right conductor at the right time, Nagano was in a much better position than most music directors to do whatever he wanted … [including] programming that few other North American orchestras would hazard.” (Not to mention opening a brand-new concert hall.) – La Scena Musicale (Montreal)
World’s First Entirely Virtual, Entirely Interactive Art Museum Opens Aug. 14
The Virtual Online Museum of Art (VOMA) …, curated by London-based art dealer Lee Cavaliere, will feature masterpieces on loan from international institutions such as Musée d’Orsay, Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. … Additionally, VOMA will present commissioned artworks by international contemporary artists as part of its newly-launched Digital Firsts Commission Programme.” – Yahoo! (AFP)
General Manager Out At DC’s WAMU After No-Good, Very Bad Summer
“J.J. Yore … presided over big increases in revenue and membership since the Marketplace co-creator arrived at the public radio station in 2014, but the end of his tenure began with a public debate over the station’s ability to retain Black journalists and blossomed into a full-on staff revolt that followed an investigation into one editor and revelations about how WAMU treated allegations of harassment by former reporter Martin Di Caro.” – Washingtonian
Play About Afghan Dancing Boys Withdrawn By Authors After Anger From Many Sides
“In 2017 [sic], two Americans attempted something unconventional … a musical about a subject even Afghans would consider too sensitive and unsettling — ‘bacha bazi‘ or ‘boy play’.” Turns out it was. When Diversionary Theatre, an LGBTQ company in San Diego, presented The Boy Who Danced on Air onstage, the play was well-received; when the company posted video of it online this summer and people from all over could see it, the response was not so warm. – BBC
British Authors Raised £1 Million To Help Fellow Writers Through The Pandemic. That Money’s Almost Gone.
“Almost £1m has been given out to nearly 700 authors since the end of March, to help those facing financial crisis through the coronavirus pandemic. But the Society of Authors has warned that funds are now running low, and that losses for writers are set to continue into next year.” – The Guardian
A Brief History Of Music Shaped By Technology
Music has been around as long as there have been people. Longer if you count music made by animals. It’s safe to say that music will be a part of this world as long as there is life. So what happens when new technology encounters an eternal constant for humans? – 3 Quarks Daily
Those Ubiquitous Ads For MasterClass? Here’s What You Actually Get
MasterClass launched in 2015 with just three classes: Dustin Hoffman on acting, Serena Williams on tennis, and Patterson on writing. Since then the company has grown exponentially, raising $135 million in venture capital from 2012 to 2018. It now has more than 85 classes across nine categories. (Last year it added 25 new classes, and this year it intends to add even more.) After the pandemic hit, as people started spending more time at home, its subscriptions surged, some weeks increasing tenfold over the average in 2019. – The Atlantic
How Music Is Gaining A Bigger Role In Sleep
To combat sleeplessness, people are turning to all sorts of techniques, iWhile sleep music used to be confined to the fringes of culture—whether at avant-garde all-night concerts or New Age meditation sessions—the field has crept into the mainstream over the past decade. Ambient artists are collaborating with music therapists; apps are churning out hours of new content; sleep streams have surged in popularity on YouTube and Spotify. – Time