“Costco is our No. 1 outlet for Yo-Yo Ma,” said Larry Germack, Sony’s director of sales. Bigger than Tower Records? A nod. Amazon.com? Another nod. Ma sells about 20,000 units a year, at $11.99 apiece retail. Who sells more? “Ricky Martin sells about 60,000,” said Costco’s Bost. “But how many years will he last?” – San Jose Mercury-News
Tag: 12.05.00
COPING WITH INFO OVERLOAD
How does one cope with the overwhelming flood of information available today? Who has time to read it all? “Who has time for old books? To be au courant now means that the only information really worth having is news that isn’t available yet.” – Feed
WHO’S THE AUTHOR?
Canada’s Governor General Awards officials have asked the publisher of this year’s winner for more information about authorship of the book. – National Post (Canada)
A DISASTER OF OPERATIC PROPORTIONS
Britain’s TV channel 4 scored one of the worst ratings in its history Saturday night with its filmed version of Glyndebourne youth opera Zoe. “The programme was watched by a mere 300,000 viewers, one of the broadcaster’s worst prime-time audiences ever.” – The Guardian
PIANO HERO
Li Yundi is only 17, but last month he won the notoriously picky Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. “Displaying what judges called virtuosic technique and a poetic style, Li beat out 97 participants to become the first gold medalist at the competition since 1985.” Now he’s a national hero back home. – Los Angeles Times
CHECKING IN WITH LORIN
Conductor Lorin Maazel is 70 and still looking for new challenges. “Not every musician has loved his tough style, but Maazel’s impact on the musical world through weighty interpretations of the classics has been undeniable.” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
BALLET SHAKEUP
The British ballet world has been turned upside down this year, with directors of three major companies announcing their departures. English National Ballet’s Derek Deane is the latest to go, citing insufficient funding and a lack of board support for his more adventurous work. – The Telegraph (London)
ART IMITATES LIFE (OR NOT)
Last year a London artist won a £1,500 grant. But rather than spend the money on supplies or even food, she invested in the dot-com stock market. The stocks trade under the ticker symbols ART and LIFE. “They’re both doing really badly. But ART is doing better than LIFE, which is a good lesson for me.” – Red Herring 12/05/00