Magnus is part of a wave of smartphone apps trying to catalog the physical world as a way of providing instantaneous information about songs or clothes or plants or paintings. First came Shazam, an app that allows users to record a few seconds of a song and instantly identifies it. Shazam’s wild success — it boasts more than a billion downloads and 20 million uses daily, and was purchased by Apple for a reported $400 million last year — has spawned endless imitations. There is Shazam for plants or Shazam for clothes and now, Shazam, for art. – The New York Times
Category: AUDIENCE
This Off-Broadway Play Was So Fraught, It Hired Post-Show Counselors For The Audience. Now It’s Headed To Broadway — Can Broadway Handle It?
Jeremy O. Harris’s Slave Play “often funny and pervasively unsettling, examines that lingering wound [of American slavery] through the frustrated sex lives, and taboo sexual fantasies, of three contemporary interracial couples. … An internet-based backlash, seemingly fueled by people who had not seen the play, was threatening enough to require stepped-up security” for its Off-Broadway run. “Many of the participants still can’t quite believe this play, on Broadway, is happening.” – The New York Times
Film Festivals Cost Their Host Cities A Lot — Are They Worth It?
From Cannes to Shanghai to Park City to Toronto, these events bring in visitors, create jobs, build a city’s brand, and nurture culture. On the other hand, they can drive up prices, strain the environment (Venice), and attract interference from the authorities. On yet another hand, they can put a spotlight on important issues and provide a lifeline for minorities (as with the queer film fest in Jakarta). – The Guardian
Is American Poetry Too Snooty?
“When I asked a friend, a terrific prose writer, why she seems to have a slight disdain for poetry, she replied, ‘It’s too elitist, like walking through a beautiful forest in which I know not where to look, much less know what I am searching for. If I don’t get it as a reader, then I feel like an idiot and somehow not worthy of the form’.” – The Paris Review
Are Streaming Services Making It More Difficult For Canadians To See Canadian Films?
Subscription video on-demand services, like Netflix and Amazon Prime, operate independently of delivery networks like cable; they are literally “over-the-top.” They bypass traditional programming as they deliver content via high-speed internet. They also are exempt from the rules that govern Canadian broadcasters.
Are Galleries Finally Welcoming People With Disabilities?
After a massive online protest of the Tate Modern in the recent weeks (“It’s an older work,” the museum first protested when met with the facts that one of its 2002 – so old, who knew people used wheelchairs 17 years ago, ahem – pieces didn’t have a ramp for wheelchair users) – it’s clear that places like the Wellcome Collection stand out from the crowd, and are pushing other galleries and museums to consider their accessibility as well. – The Guardian (UK)
How To Attract Young Audiences To Theatre, And Keep Them
A case study comes via Portland Center Stage in Oregon, where the theatre had a funded chance to experiment to see what works … and what doesn’t. Turns out, exterior bus advertising and billboards really work: “All those surveyed mentioned that if they can’t avoid advertising, they tend to pay attention.” – American Theatre
Young Adults Spend Six Hours A Day On Their Phones. <1 Percent Ever Use News Apps. Why?
According to researchers, young adults, and particularly those raised as “digital natives” as part of Generation Z (ages 18 to 24), have high expectations for a “flawless, seamless, personalized online experience” that news organizations are not often able to provide. – Washington Post
Do Book Prizes Matter? Researchers Crunched The Numbers
In short, prizes matter. But more surprising is the effect of a nomination alone. With only an appearance on the Booker shortlist, a book moves from total obscurity in the classroom and the pages of literary criticism to respectable showings in both—and it gets a healthy popularity boost along the way. Of course, a win gooses the stats across the board, but the difference between utter obscurity and modest fame is arguably greater than the difference between modest and runaway success. – Public Books
Audience Members Loudly Enjoy Play, Man Shushes Them. But Why?
“I wish I could have told him that his outburst about our outbursts (if gasps and laughs are outbursts) betrayed the DNA of theater itself. Unless he plans on buying out venues to watch plays alone, he’s much better off consuming entertainment in the privacy of his own home. (Seriously, stay away from movie theaters, sir!)” – Los Angeles Times