The idea that copyright protection must evolve to encompass the new digital media seems like a reasonable one on the surface. After all, no one ever really denied that Napster users were stealing music, right? But David Weinberger says that, as usual, politicians and corporate America have taken a legitimate issue and wildly overreacted, proposing a scheme with no consumer leeway and no ability to make changes later. “There are times when rules need to be imposed within [the] marketplace, whether they’re international laws against bootleg CDs or the right of someone to sue for libel. But the fact that sometimes we resort to rules shouldn’t lead us to think that they are the norm.”
Tag: 05.28.03
Blogging For Freedom
The blogging phenomenon continues to expand worldwide, and new reports out of the Middle East indicate that Iran, a theocracy with no free press, has become a blogging hotbed. One leader of the movement predicts that “until there is a free press in Iran again, weblogs will flourish. In the last few years about 90 (pro-democracy) newspapers in Iran have been shut down. So people have turned to the Internet to get news.”
Finally, A Download Price War!
“Facing competition from Apple Computer’s iTunes service, Listen.com will lower the price to download songs from its Rhapsody music service by 20 cents to 79 cents, marking the latest move by paid music services to attract and retain new ears. For the price, listeners can download and burn from among more than 200,000 songs. Unlike users of Apple’s iTunes, who only pay 99 cents per song, Listen.com customers also pay a $10 a month subscription fee.” The news is significant, because it indicates that the public is interested enough in legal download services to make the price war necessary.
Philly Orch Exec: Kreizberg Chat Was Routine
Last week, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Peter Dobrin reported that the members of the Philadelphia Orchestra had taken aside conductor Yakov Kreizberg, who had been called in at the last minute to replace Wolfgang Sawallisch on a major international tour, and asked him to cut down on the podium histrionics and stick with Sawallisch’s tempos. The orchestra’s top artistic executive agrees that the meeting took place, but insists that Dobrin overplayed the drama. “In our view, conversations between the concertmaster and conductor are a normal part of healthy music collaboration.”
Guthrie’s Expansion Money Hits A Snag
Despite multiple earlier reports that the Minnesota state legislature had a deal in place to partially fund construction of a new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis through a bonding bill, the measure became badly stalled yesterday when House Republicans balked at the inclusion of the theater funding. In response, the Democrat-controlled state Senate is refusing to honor agreements to pass a Republican budget-balancing bill until the House passes the bonding bill. If legislative history is any indication, the Guthrie will probably get its money in the end, but no one dares say so just yet, with cranky legislators stretched to the breaking point in what has been a particularly contentious session.
A City Celebrates As It Works To Recover A Glorious Past
It’s the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, Russia’s cultural jewel and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The city is trying to shake off the indignities of its Soviet past, when it was forced to change its name and its culture was pressed into service of the Lenin crowd. “The race to restore its imperial luster and secure its crown as the cultural capital of Russia has been helped significantly by being, in a sense, Putingrad — the hometown of the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin. Anniversary events today included a wreath laying at the Bronze Horseman and the opening of a grand entrance to the Hermitage from the Palace Square.”
Should Melbourne Theatre And Concert Hall Merge Projects?
Should the Melbourne Theatre Company combine its planned 500-seat theatre with a proposed 1000-seat recital hall planned for across the street? The local state government thinks a marriage may be in order…
Is ABT Pulling Ahead Of Its Lincoln Center Rival?
New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, America’s top two ballet troupes, have been “playing rival spring seasons at Lincoln Center for more than two decades. Time was, the most profound and thrilling art lay with NYCB. Little by little, without Balanchine’s galvanizing presence as chief choreographer and—this should not be underestimated—chief coach, the power of attraction has shifted to ABT, with its warmer performing style, its growing complement of male virtuosi, its recent cultivation of tall, fresh, and athletic ‘American Girl’ ballerinas (Gillian Murphy, Michele Wiles), and the occasional dazzling guest star.”
Luciano Berio, 77
Luciano Berio has died in Rome. He “was regarded as one of the most important contemporary avant-garde composers, with major influence as a teacher and conductor as well as a composer.” He was “an outstanding orchestral and vocal composer who was perhaps most remarked upon for his works with solo voice.”
Why Picasso Stayed A Spaniard
Picasso lived in France for 40 years but never became a citizen. Why? “When he sought French nationality in 1940, he was turned down on the ground that he was an anarchist with communist tendencies. The extent of French misgivings about Picasso’s politics have just become known with the discovery of the artist’s police files from 1901 to 1940. They were among millions of French documents seized by German occupation forces in 1940 and transferred to Berlin. After the defeat of Germany in 1945, they were taken to Moscow. Only since the collapse of the Soviet Union have they been gradually returned to France.”