Yes, that little-known songwriter Eminem … er. But it’s actually far bigger than the potential millions or billions Eight Mile Style claims Spotify owes. “Eminem’s publisher is doing more than merely questioning Spotify’s compliance with copyright law. The lawsuit also makes a pretty bold argument regarding a new law’s constitutionality.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Blog
What Is The Legal Difference Between An ‘Audiobook Caption’ And, Well, A Book?
Audible – the Amazon-owned audiobook giant – is being sued by the big 5 publishers. Why? A new feature that automatically generates “captions” for its audiobooks. Captions that … well, one might be forgiven for thinking we already have “captions” for books, which are books. The argument: “Audible didn’t seek a license, doesn’t plan to compensate publishers and won’t allow them to decide which titles are made available as so-called distributed text. [The lawyer] also says Audible’s Immersion Reading feature, which requires a user to purchase both the audiobook and eBook, meets the goal of Captions without infringing publishers’ rights.” – Wired
Dear Good Morning America: Ballet Is For Boys
When host Lara Spencer of Good Morning America decided to go after six-year-old Prince George for his studies, she made especial fun of his ballet classes. Her apology Instagram post (after the predictable outcry) didn’t go well either. “The dancer Barton Cowperthwaite said in a comment: ‘No one wants to see a hiking picture from deep in your photo library. We want to see you make an apology, on air, for publicly dragging a child and an entire art form through the mud.'” (This rather ugly episode has spawned a hashtag: #ballet4boys) – The New York Times
A Class War In Cornwall Gives Rise To A Dark Movie
Like a lot of coastal areas in a whole lot of countries, Cornwall isn’t all sweetness and ocean and light. There’s a “tension between tradition and progress,” and 20 years ago, a filmmaker wanted to write about a civil war – but now, it’s less civil war than “a question of who gets to belong in a county defined as much by its poverty as by tourists and second-home owners.” – The Guardian (UK)
Getting The Cultural Details Right
When it came to making the new Dora the Explorer movie, the production company worked hard to get things right for indigenous representation. Did it pay off? “Live-action still-pan-Latina Dora, who also speaks Quechua, was created with the help of a consultant to help ensure that the indigenous language and elements were accurate.” (And the lead actor recorded and re-recorded her lines in Quechua to make sure they were correct.) – The New York Times
Women At Edinburgh Fringe This Year Report That Sexual Harassment Was Common
The reports are to the BBC and other media, and to an actors’ union as well, but not to police. A lot of the harassment takes place on the Royal Mile as women flyer for their or their companies’ shows. And this is just disgusting on the reviewers’ part: “Another woman said many like her felt pressured into putting up with the unacceptable behaviour of show reviewers – who can make a great difference in getting more people to watch their performances.” – BBC
CEO Exit Interview: A Model That No Longer Works
Arti Prashar: “We operate in a climate where we have been asked to grow and grow, following a business model that just doesn’t work for the arts – of seeking bigger turnover and bigger and wider audiences. We need a mixed economy – always have, always will. I hear of many venues and organisations running huge deficits – how are they going to plug those holes?” – Arts Professional
UK Study: Businesses Are Not Investing In The Arts
Fewer than one-third of businesses do. “Most individuals surveyed by the funder wanted more cultural opportunities where they live (55%), but businesses were less enthusiastic: they prioritised other spending, felt local arts groups were “not business minded enough”, and didn’t see how investing in arts and culture would benefit them.” – Arts Professional
The Increasingly Oh-So-Complicated Politics Of The Politics Of Arts Organization Donors
“You don’t want to have either Fox or MSNBC after you. Those are huge distractions of the time of individual board members and senior management.” – The New York Times
Russian Literature And The Meaning Of Truth
“We usually assume that literature exists to depict life, but Russians often speak as if life exists to provide material for literature. Russians, of course, excel in ballet, chess, theater, and mathematics. They invented the periodic table and non-Euclidian geometry. Nevertheless, for Russians literature is in a class by itself. The very phrase “Russian literature” carries a sacramental aura.” – New Criterion