“Online services account for just a small fraction of overall music sales, but they’re growing rapidly. And the new choices they give consumers threaten to remix the recording industry’s traditional revenue streams, pumping up the volume of singles and subscriptions and turning down album sales. The shift to online shopping could be lucrative for the music industry if the flexibility and convenience lead people to spend more on tunes than they do today. But some industry executives and analysts fear the opposite result, with music lovers buying a few 99-cent singles instead of $15 CDs.”
Tag: 04.30.04
Some Museums Suffer With UK’s Free Admissions Policy
British museums that previously charged entrance fees have seen a 72% increase in attendancesince December 2001. That’s 11 million extra visitors. “But the organisation behind May’s Museum and Galleries Month says many of England’s 1,500 museums and galleries have not reaped the benefit.”
Politico To Direct Harlem Boys Choir
The Boys Choir of Harlem has named Ernie Hart, chief of staff to New York City Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott as its new director. The choir’s founder was asked to step down earlier this year for failing to report allegations that a counselor was abusing a student.”
California Arts Economic Engine
“California’s nonprofit arts groups pump $5.4 billion annually into the state’s economy, according to an economic impact study released Thursday by the California Arts Council. This represents a 152 percent increase since the last study was done in 1994.”
Report: Arts Council Should Move From London
A new report suggests that Arts Council England should consider moving out of London. “The institute’s report suggested museum attendance outside London was half that of the capital’s. The report said there had to be more effort to encourage arts participation. The report said London was so much higher than the rest of the country because there were many more artistic venues in the capital.”
The Color Of Bollywood
The much-hyped $14 million Bombay Dreams finally opens on Broadway. Ben Brantley finds it colorful but familiar: “Such is the perverse spell cast by this friendly, flat and finally unengaging tale of glamorous movie folk and lovable untouchables that everything seems to melt into one neutral blur before your eyes, like a monochromatic symphony in the key of beige. Advertisements for the show may tout it as a voyage to “somewhere you’ve never been before.” But even theatergoers who have never seen a sari or eaten papadum are likely to find “Bombay Dreams” as familiar as this morning’s breakfast. It takes more than color, evidently, to be colorful.”
WTC To Get Smaller Insurance Payout – Some Rebuilding Projects In Doubt
A jury has limited the payout of insurance to the developer rebuilding on the World Trade Center site, cutting $1 billion from the expected total. “The decision cast doubt on his financing for four office towers planned for the ambitious project designed for ground zero. Still, money seems assured for the $1.5 billion, 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, while federal funds will be available for a $2 billion transit center. A combination of private and federal money will pay for the planned memorial and a museum and performing arts center.”
Wicked Cops Drama Desk Noms
“Wicked,” the Broadway musical inspired by “The Wizard of Oz,” has swept the 49th annual Drama Desk Award nominations today with 11 nominations. Two shows about politics and betrayal, Steven Sondheim’s “Assassins” and the Lincoln Center Theater production of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” tied for second place with seven.
Is BBC 1 Irrelevant?
BBC 1 Radio is about to announce this year’s ratings, and it might not be pretty. “Last year, the station shed nearly half a million listeners, falling to its third consecutive all-time low. While the station may like to claim they are a casualty of greater choice, the growth of their rivals hints at something more obvious – Radio 1 is totally misjudging on a daily basis what its listeners actually want to hear.”
Strong Short List For Australia’s Top Lit Prize
“Australia’s premier prize for writing, the Miles Franklin Literary Award, has arguably its strongest shortlist in recent history and its most lucrative prizemoney. The six novelists on the list include a Nobel Prize winner, a Booker Prize winner and a US National Book Award winner”.