Russians Dump Pianos

During the days of the Soviet Union, playing the piano was officially encouraged as a path to excellence and cultural superiority. But now Russians are dumping the instruments. “Pianos are being forced out by Ikea furniture and Japanese stereo systems as young professionals turn their back on their parents’ dreams of having a classical pianist in the family. The scramble to get rid of the instruments is seen as the latest blow to Russian cultural prestige in the wake of high-profile artists opting to ply their trade abroad and even taking foreign citizenship.”

Ad Money Up Front, Coverage To Follow

When Tim Mangan’s old roommate sent a review copy of his CD to Fanfare magazine, he got a curious response. “The editor of Fanfare, Joel Flegler, had sent him a letter quoting ad rates. If my roommate bought an ad, it said, his recording would be reviewed. If he bought a bigger ad or placed ads in consecutive issues, the editor would arrange for my roommate to be interviewed. The ad rates ranged from $706-$1,853. If he didn’t buy an ad, a review might be forthcoming but there was no guarantee, and his CD would not ‘be given top priority.’ My roommate asked me if he should consider the deal.”

Air-Rights Money To Benefit NYC Theatre Community? Maybe Not.

Two Manhattan theatres are finally taking advantage of a previously unused 1998 air-rights transfer law intended to benefit the theatre community through a surcharge added to the price of the development rights. “But there’s a snag. Though two developers — who are buying the air rights for more than $20 million — are ready to hand over the special payments, the city government is not prepared to accept them. It never created the fund to hold the money or the council that is supposed to oversee it. As a result, it is not clear if the theater community will ever directly benefit from the windfall.”

Hollywood Tries To Tap China

American business are looking hungrily at China and its huge market. Hollywood is right in there. “Following the remarkable worldwide success of the Ang Lee’s Chinese-language ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ in 2000, Hollywood has been anxiously trying to cultivate the Asian talent pool and market. A variety of American talent agencies and studios have recently set up outposts in China.”

Great Expectations – How Hollywood Judges Success

A Hollywood movie might make tons of money, but whether it’s seen as a success or depends on whether the project beat expectations about it. “The process is similar to evaluating a football team’s performance not on the outcome of the game but on whether it beat the point spread set by oddsmakers. An amorphous group of Hollywood executives and box-office pundits mulls over how much a film should gross. Hollywood buzz then sets a line of demarcation defining success.”

Outcry Over PBS Firing Of Kids’ Show Host

“The Public Broadcasting Service has weathered recent criticism from free-speech advocates saying that the network is being overly cautious in a new policy to censor foul language in nonfiction programs by digitally obscuring the mouths of speakers. But the outcry has been dwarfed by the thousands of complaints, mostly from parents, over the PBS Kids Sprout network’s firing of Melanie Martinez, the host of ‘The Good Night Show,’ after learning that she appeared years ago in two videos spoofing public service announcements advocating teenage sexual abstinence.”