Category: music

Sales of “classical” music CDs were up last year in the UK. “Classical sales increased by one million copies to 14 million in 2003. New Zealand’s Hayley Westenra, 16, had the top-selling classical album of the year with her debut Pure, which has sold almost 600,000 copies in the UK. Welsh singer Bryn Terfel came in at number two, with Andrea Bocelli and Aled Jones also in the top 10.”

Why have portable music players become so popular? Yes, they’re cool. But there may be a deeper psychological reason. “Choice is the key factor. By choosing the music, you reclaim some of the world – it’s no longer dominated by messages pointed at you.”

Luciano Pavarotti began his last set of performances at the Metropolitan Opera Saturday. How’d he do? “There is an honored protocol for opera buffs and critics to give great artists a pass for their farewells, and Mr. Pavarotti has been one of the greatest vocal artists of our time. Still, he has invited comment with his sadly prolonged and hapless exit.”

The Minnesota Orchestra picked up lots of critical praise on its recent three-week European tour. But was the cost worth it? “The orchestra’s recent tour, which ended Feb. 27, was certainly a success in terms of the musicians’ bonding and finding confidence with new music director Osmo Vänskä. Whether it was worth the $1.6 million it cost is not an exact calculation.”

“As the bad news keeps befalling the music recording industry giants – downsizing, filesharing, another Britney tour – the struggling major labels are looking for help and are relying more and more on small independent labels to find and nurture new bands. “Instead of signing more baby acts, they are signing more baby labels.”

The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts will continue next year, after the Met raised money to cover the costs. But the company says help will be needed from Met fans if the broadcasts are to continue beyond that. The Met says “the search for another corporate sponsor had been difficult. ‘The corporate community looks at the radio broadcasts and doesn’t believe it’s a good media buy, that we don’t reach enough listeners. They are better off having commercials on big sporting events.’ The Met broadcasts are carried on more than 350 stations in 42 countries, reaching 11 million people, the Met says.”

Pepe Garza was looking to revive a struggling radio station in Los Angeles. Looking for music, he took to the streets, and discovered a thriving scene, which he put on the air. Now, “Garza, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, has emerged as one of the most influential figures in the Latin music industry by giving L.A.’s immigrant population something it never had before — the chance to be on the radio and become stars. Until he moved here in 1998, the music of these working-class artists was dismissed as low-brow, crude or simply awful.”

Want to know what it’s like to be a working professional musician? Chris Pasles suggests you check in on some blogs – like Pasadena violinist Laurie Niles’ online account of naking it in the orchestral world of Southen California. Or ArtsJournal’s own Sam Bergman, in his recent blog (www.artsjournal.com/roadtrip) about touring with the Minnesota Orchestra through Europe…

The head of the Recording Association of America says online piracy is killing the music business. “He told a conference in London that a 31% decline in music sales between 1999 and 2002 was primarily due to piracy. ‘More music is being consumed than at any time in history, it’s just that less of it is being paid for’.”

“The makers of Kazaa, the peer-to-peer file sharing software, failed to quash a court order Thursday that allowed the music industry to raid its Sydney-based offices, prompting a furious response from its chief executive. In February, the music industry was granted an Anton Piller order… allowing it to raid 12 sites across Australia to seize documents and data. Sites raided included the offices of Sharman Networks, the home of its chief executive, several universities and other companies that were believed to be holding information relating to Kazaa. Following the raids, Sharman cried foul. It made an application to have the order invalidated by Australia’s federal court.”