The researchers found, based on comparing figures for the original star of a production and the first replacement, that casting a theatre star helps ticket sales but casting a movie star or “celebrity” makes no difference. Howard Sherman, noting that this is “contrary to conventional wisdom and anecdotal evidence,” points out the study’s big flaw: who was put in which category. – The Stage
Category: AUDIENCE
Will Audio Books And Podcasts Eventually Merge Into One?
Will these different digital audio worlds continue to exist separate, parallel, and mostly unintrusive of each other? Or will they, over the medium to long term, end up colliding in direct competition? – NiemanLab (3rd item)
How Independent Bookstores Are Becoming Hip Again
Across Britain and Ireland indies are doing what they do best: hosting readings and signings, cooking up literary lunches and generally feeding curiosity. Bookshop crawls are quite the thing now and you can join one locally or engage in literary tourism farther afield. – The Observer
First Time: More Millennials Are Paying For Video Games Than For TV
About 53% of people born between 1983 and 1996 now pay for gaming services, versus 51% who pay for television, according to a survey from the accounting and professional services firm Deloitte. That is compared with Deloitte’s survey last year, in which paid subscriptions among millennials were 44% for video games and 52% for television. – New York Post
YouTube’s Content Problem Can’t Be Fixed With An Algorithm Tweak
YouTube’s recommendation engine can lead you astray pretty quickly, jumping down rabbit holes of unsafe or misleading content. Figuring out an algorithmic fix is more difficult than it seems. – The New York Times
The Mainstream U.S. Theater World Is Finally Starting To Diversify — Do We Still Need Culturally Specific Theater Companies?
In a word, yes. As one such producer puts it, “There’s layers of conversation of what diversity really means in a cultural arts landscape. … We have the opportunity to go deep within multiple layers and not just check off the box.” Reporter Makeda Easter talks to members of African-American, Asian-American, and Latinx companies about that difference. – Los Angeles Times
Rise Of The Fake Festivals
Over the past five years, ticket sales for Glastonbudget, Tribfest and The Big Fake Festival have seen a healthy increase, according to The Entertainment Agents’ Association, and there are now more than 30 outdoor music festivals in the UK showcasing tribute acts, such as Coldplace, Antarctic Monkeys, Guns2Roses, Stereotonics and Blondied. – BBC
Big Mood Machine: How Spotify Gathers And Sells Its Customers’ Emotional Profiles
“Spotify is currently running a campaign centered on moods [and its mood playlists] — the company’s Twitter tagline is currently ‘Music for every mood’ — complete with its own influencer campaign. But a more careful look into Spotify’s history shows that the decision to define audiences by their moods was part of a strategic push to grow Spotify’s advertising business in the years leading up to its IPO — and today, Spotify’s enormous access to mood-based data is a pillar of its value to brands and advertisers.” – The Baffler
Ready For The Meritocracy Wars?
Much resentment focuses on the way in which the meritocracy is selected, through the education process, and on the winnowing effect of extensive standardized assessments that seek to measure and validate cognitive skills. – The New York Times
Streaming TV Is Racing To Its Next Phase
The siloed age of television has arrived, a time when people will be paying six or seven different monthly fees, if not more, to keep abreast of pop culture—and the cost will end up approximating the hefty cable bill that every cord cutter has sought to avoid. – The Atlantic