And here’s why: “Pulling Facebook ads in July, as they slash their ad budgets anyway, was for many a win-win of saved money and boosted image. But now? Given the response from civil rights leaders and the results of the two-year audit, how can a brand return to the platform until real, measurable change is actually made?” (Also, Zuckerberg thinks the boycott means nothing – and advertisers could change that.) – Fast Company
Blog
Brooklyn’s Greenlight Bookstore Acknowledges Black Staff And Customers Haven’t Been Treated Well
“Co-owners Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo acknowledged that Black customers and employees have felt unwelcome and disrespected, that poor training had led to racial profiling in their stores, and that the company had not succeeded in creating an anti-racist space.” They say they’ll do better, including talking with the neighbors about gentrification without getting defensive. – LitHub
The Met Is Going To Livestream Star Singer Recitals
Since the Covid-19 numbers are looking worse, not better (not by a long shot) in the US, Peter Gelb says that the Met has to push the envelope with new content, even if it mostly employs those who are already stars. “If there’s no Met to come back to, the jobs of our furloughed artists will be lost. … I have to ensure that the Met can earn revenue.” – The New York Times
Explaining That Eliza Hamilton Gasp
Thomas Kail, Hamilton director (both on stage and screen): “I remember it was important for me to have a moment at the end of the show where the music and lyrics are resolving that extended past, that reached somewhere else. Pippa is so thorough and so intelligent and so precise, that it was a really fun conversation to have.” – Los Angeles Times
MoMA Education Workers Speak Out About Contract Cuts
“What they have is the bare minimum, the scaffold of an education department,” says Shellyne Rodriguez, an educator whose contract was cancelled in March. “If you don’t have educators, you don’t have a department. It’s like closing a school but the principal still shows up every day.” – The Art Newspaper
Should We Separate What An Artist Says From The Work They Make?
Words are, in the end, only words. But writers, and prize committees, must know more than anyone that words have power. Words have consequences, and we act accordingly. – Irish Times
Return To College? It’s A Con
Most dispassionate observers now recognize that return-to-campus plans are, as Juliana Gray wrote in McSweeney’s, cooked up by your university’s “Vice President for Magical Thinking.” – Inside Higher Ed
Comedy Drive-Ins: Honking Replaces Laughter
Comedians are desperate to get back on stage, said Kai Humphries, and to hear the roar of laughter rather than car horns. He found that he had slipped into a familiar rhythm on stage, timing his gags around the honks signifying his audience’s laughter. “It was strange to adjust because the sound of a car horn usually has a negative connotation,” he laughed. “When I was driving back from the gig, another driver honked their horn at someone and I got a feeling of warmth from it.” – The Guardian
How COVID Is Impacting The Commercial Music Business
Nielsen Music/MRC Data says activity on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music began 2020 up 20.4% over 2019 — then ratcheted back to an increase of only 13.8% between March 13 and July 2 as listeners spent far less time in the car or at the gym. – Los Angeles Times
David Fisk Named New Executive Director Of The Charlotte Symphony
Fisk joined the Richmond Symphony in 2002 from the Ulster Orchestra in Northern Ireland and has led the orchestra through many ups and downs, including the closure of the Carpenter Theatre that left the Symphony essentially homeless and performing in area churches from 2004 to 2009. – Richmond Times-Dispatch