Look at publishing industry statistics and you’d think this was a Golden Age for he book trade. “If, on this evidence, you were tempted to call this a golden age of publishing, you should first talk to the publishers. To them, the IT revolution cuts both ways. It has inspired a boom, but it also threatens to turn the book world upside down.”
Tag: 01.15.06
The Compositional Catch-22
Musicians and orchestras love to pay lip service to the concept of promoting new music, but increasingly, composers are facing a world in which their services are viewed as optional. “Something fundamental has changed in the music marketplace: Where once patrons consisted of people outside the music business – church leaders, emperors, members of the bourgeoisie, impresarios – today they are almost always from within. The world of classical music is becoming self-absorbed, for it is the musician himself who commissions new music with the flickering hope of selling it as a commodity to consumers. Consumers, in turn, are becoming too obsessed with iPods, the Internet and video-on-demand to bother with live concert performances.”
Shelley Winters, 85
“Actress Shelley Winters, who went from blonde siren to respected double-Oscar winner during a distinguished Hollywood career, died yesterday at the age of 85.”
The Music Vending Machines
Is this the year music kiosks take off with the public? Lots of big players are getting in to them. But there is also a great deal of skepticism as to whether kiosks actually fulfill any consumer demand.
Barnes Move Is Years Away
When will the Barnes Collection move from its current home in to Philadelphia? Well, not even the foundation knows for certain, but it would seem that the transplant won’t happen until mid-to-late 2009, or perhaps even early 2010.