MTV is fighting with independent music labels in Europe, demanding more music for less money. “MTV Networks Europe has warned independent labels, which produce 22% of the European music market, that their stars’ videos might not be shown unless they sign a deal that halves their payments for the music. MTV owns VH1 and its own branded channels and has been accused of ‘bully boy tactics’ over the dispute.”
Tag: 02.05.04
To Boldly Go Where The BBC Has Gone Before…
The UK’s National Theatre is leaping into the increasingly dangerous fray surrounding the country’s role in the invasion and occupation of Iraq. “The NT’s new season will culminate in September with a play by one of the war’s fiercest critics, Sir David Hare.” The play focuses on several “neoconservatives” within the Bush Administration, and argues that they intended to remove Saddam Hussein from power years before the 9/11 attacks which supposedly precipitated the American action. The title of the work, which is taken from a statement by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, is “Stuff Happens.”
No Place For Pirates
The Academy Awards voter who was recently charged with having passed advance copies of films on to a friend who subsequently distributed copies illegally has been expelled from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. It’s the first time that the Academy has expelled a member in its history.
American Named To Head Melbourne Festival
American Kristy Edmunds, a “38-year-old artist, playwright, curator and institution-founder from Portland, Oregon, was announced yesterday as director of the 2005 and 2006 Melbourne festivals.
Scottish Opera Facing Cuts
Scottish Opera is holding meetings with an idea of reinventing the scale and scope of the company, after it was told it must pare down to live within a budget. “Potential job losses could be as much as 80 from its staff of around 200, although the unions involved – Equity, Musicians Union, and Bectu – have not been told what losses are expected.”
Are Private Museum Collections Dead?
“The dominance of today’s attendance-driven encyclopedic museums has endangered the single-collector jewel box. The founders often unwittingly thwart their own desires, failing to create enduring plans for professional management and outside financial support. Too often, the administrators and board members entrusted with the collection’s postmortem stewardship are impelled less by the founder’s vision than by fiscal and administrative expedience.”