Category: music

For Australia’s classical music institutions and those who purport to support them, 2005 was a year of standing pat and avoiding the hard debates about the future, says Peter McCallum. Orchestras which are unedeniably artistically vibrant seem at a loss when asked to describe their future, and the federal government first proposed, then backed off a plan for combining struggling ensembles and streamlining business plans. “In music, dissent is not the primary issue but the art form needs challenging work and it is not legislation that keeps this in short supply but a mood of risk avoidance and self-censorship.”

“Exploiting online message boards, music blogs and social networks, independent music companies are making big advances at the expense of the four global music conglomerates, whose established business model of blockbuster hits promoted through radio airplay now looks increasingly outdated.”

New York’s attorney general has filed subpoenas against music recording studios in an investigation of price fixing for music downloads. “Music industry sources said the current probe appeared to center on whether the Big Four music studios — Warner, Sony Corp’s Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group and Vivendi’s Universal Music — colluded to set wholesale pricing for song downloads.”

A New York mom is standing up to the recording industry which wants to sue her for illegal downloading. She says she hasn’t. “The woman from Wappingers Falls, about 80 miles north of New York City, is among the more than 16,000 people who have been sued for allegedly pirating music through file-sharing computer networks. The industry is demanding thousands of dollars to settle the case, but Santangelo, unlike the 3,700 defendants who have already settled, says she will stand on principle and fight the lawsuit.”

“The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) report found 59% of over-50s had bought an album in the previous three months and 29% bought at least six CDs a year. Favourite artists include Il Divo, Rod Stewart, Tony Christie, Katherine Jenkins, G4 and Ronan Keating. The BPI said older music fans were driving a growth in sales. Nearly a quarter of all albums are bought by older music fans, and that percentage is set to grow as the UK population ages.”

The beloved classical recording label Hyperion has settled its dispute with a musicologist who sued over copyright. “Hyperion last week settled costs with Carter Ruck, the firm which represented Lalande, Lionel Sawkins, after receiving an invoice for £758,000. The final settlement left Hyperion with a total bill of £950,000, which included their own costs and damages to Dr Sawkins – close to what Hyperion would spend on music-making over an entire year.”

Seattle’s Northwest Chamber Orchestra has always survived on the financial edge. But, like most orchestras, in recent years it has seen its expenses rise and its income shrink. So maybe the orchestra needs to rethink its model?

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko has canceled her Carnegie Hall debut. “After much thought, I have asked Carnegie Hall for permission to postpone my recital on March 2, 2006, to a future season. I have sung very few recitals in my career, and I do not feel artistically ready yet to present a recital program on the great stage of Carnegie Hall.”

“BMI regularly compiles its list of what it calls ‘million-airs,’ those songs that have received a million or more airings or plays on radio or television in the United States; multiple versions, whether by the performer with the biggest hit or remakes, are included. BMI says the Top 10 as of March 2005, not listed in any particular order, includes…”

“Ever since America gave us rock and roll and we gave them back beat music, the ebb and flow of ideas and talent between these two great musical powers has been the creative engine of pop culture. But my recent encounter with Floetry, a British group apparently unwanted in the UK but lauded in the US, has led me to wonder if the special relationship is still special. In recent years it has all been a bit one-sided.”