Changi in Singapore, which has long striven to enthral and entertain its users, outdid itself with its new “Jewel” extension to its existing terminals, essentially a shopping mall and nature-based theme park. From a great oculus in its glass roof descends the “rain vortex”, a funnel of falling water described as the “world’s tallest indoor waterfall”. It has a “butterfly garden”. It has the Shiseido Forest Valley, a 900-tree, 60,000-shrub indoor landscape named after the Japanese-based personal care company Shiseido. The forest concept is, in marketing terms, a good fit with its corporate mission: “Beauty innovations for a better world.” – The Guardian
Category: AUDIENCE
The #ListenWider Challenge
Want to break out of your algorithmically-determined musical taste? How about being more intentional about what you listen to? Musicology Duck has set up a listening challenge for 2020 that prompts us to listen more outside our usual pathways. There are 30 challenges encouraging you to seek out music you wouldn’t normally encounter. – Musicology Duck
What Caused The Death Of iTunes
By the time the software was euthanized earlier this year, it had become an embarrassment, a mess of greasy preference panes and grayed-out, unreliable content. We were glad to see it go. – The Atlantic
Now In The Public Domain: These Works Came Out Of Copyright This Week
“These works include George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, silent films by Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, and books such as Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India, and A. A. Milne’s When We Were Very Young. These works were supposed to go into the public domain in 2000, after being copyrighted for 75 years. But before this could happen, Congress hit a 20-year pause button and extended their copyright term to 95 years.” – Public Domain Day
Why Singing In Choirs Has Become Cool Again
For all of the people running them, a choir is often not just a choir, but also a social club, a community and a charity. For me, it has become a refuge; I can’t check my phone when I am hollering and humming, and holding a note distracts me from the usual clutter of my mind. – The Guardian
Epic Bomb: “Cats” Could Lose $100 Million
Tom Hooper’s big-screen adaptation has clawed its way to $38 million globally after two weeks in theaters, a dismal figure that could result in $100 million in theatrical losses, according to rival studio executives. – Variety
Which Nights Sell Best For Dance And Classical Music?
In Pittsburgh, at least, it seems not to be nights at all: it’s weekend matinees, across the genres. Sara Bauknecht and Jeremy Reynolds get into the details. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Asia Gets Its First-Ever LGBTQ-Focused Streaming Service
“GagaOOLala brings more than 1,000 feature films, shorts, web series, and documentaries to people across Asia, where censorship and traditional attitudes mean there has been little in the way of gay content in the mainstream media. After launching in 2017 in Taiwan, a beacon for gay rights since becoming the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, it has expanded to 21 territories including several that still criminalise homosexuality.” – Yahoo! (AFP)
Even With Mega-Franchise Movies In 2019, Box Office Declined. Now What?
“The slide in revenues is still disappointing because it occurred at a time when Walt Disney Studios put nearly all of its major franchises on the field — a show of firepower that enabled the company to pulverize records, racking up more than $11 billion at the global box office. With an arsenal that includes Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, and — thanks to its $71 billion acquisition of much of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire — 20th Century Fox, Disney was able to control roughly 40% of the domestic marketplace.” – Variety
A Decade Ago E-Books Were Going To Take Over Publishing. They Didn’t
Instead, at the other end of the decade, ebook sales seem to have stabilized at around 20 percent of total book sales, with print sales making up the remaining 80 percent. – Vox