Category: music

Called stream-ripping, it accounts for 80% of copyright infringement among the biggest piracy sites, according to a recent report by the PRS. Stream-ripping websites make money from advertisers, touting a mix of legitimate products, scams and pornography. Over the past three years, the use of it has increased by 1,390%, says the report. – BBC

“If this devastating shutdown forces the Met to grapple with its role in American society and to shift the overwhelmingly traditional template of its programming, then there will have been an important upside to the crisis. The prestigious, gilded Met has hardly been a trailblazer in this regard, but it could set an example for other American opera companies and orchestras to use this time to think about — and rethink — their offerings.” – The New York Times

“In a deal announced Monday, the orchestra’s board and union musicians ratified [a two-year contract extension] outlining work rules and compensation cuts during a pandemic that has taken a financial toll, nixing live audiences through at least the fall. If, after a year, the whole orchestra returns to performing for full audiences, those pay cuts would be reversed.” – The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Ross demonstrates how the city you live in, the government you live under, the culture you consume (high and low) and the way you consume it very likely has Wagner molecules in its DNA. – Los Angeles Times

There is something incongruous about the attendance of the lavishly dressed, moneyed elite at public concerts of Beethoven symphonies or concertos, given his music’s expression of such a revolutionary, democratic, humanitarian spirit. Such are the ironies that result when the historical specificity of art is denied or forgotten and all that is left is a vague feeling of aesthetic enjoyment. Still, even the pure aesthetic enjoyment is significant. – Dissent

“We listened on car radios. Mine conked out halfway through. Someone else got a flat battery. Hearing through the window was fine. I saw the admirable second cast led by Nardus Williams and David Junghoon Kim as sympathetic and touching lovers, conducted by Martin Fitzpatrick. The event was well organised if, at £103 per car (plus congestion charge), costly. This was a brave experiment – a starting point, if not yet an arrival. The next venture will be better.” – The Guardian

For those who never manage to create an iPhone playlist that delivers the right thing at the right time, Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Ellen Reid and the New York Philharmonic have created Soundwalk, a free app that plays music through your phone, programmed for each section of the park. A built-in GPS knows right where you are and how to give the setting an extra atmospheric layer, whether earthy or ethereal, which evolves with whatever way you turn. – WQXR

“The shuttering of performances as well as furloughs of performers and stagehands helped save the Met some money and stem losses, and a boosted digital presence in the form of nightly streams, virtual galas and pay-per-view recitals has attracted 30,000 new donors, allowing the company to end the fiscal year in July with a balanced budget.But with a season clear of performances ahead, the Met is now an organization reliant on donations. It’s disconcerting to say the least, to see the world’s largest performing arts company struggle to keep its balance.” – Washington Post