“Singing, like most social activities in France, is driven by the whims of fashion. Suddenly, it has become le dernier cri de tout Paris. There is talk of young execs switching their gym cards for lunchtime choir practice. Parents are reported to be moving children to schools with better sol-fa teaching. The French Institute of Choral Art, with some 280,000 choir members, has been swamped with new applications. Choir practice is becoming to bourgeois Paris what the book group is in suburban London. The cause of the singing craze is a low-budget local film which, to industry astonishment, out-grossed Harry Potter, Spiderman and Shrek 2 across France, selling nine million tickets and 1.2 million soundtrack CDs.”
Tag: 02.18.05
Cahners In Decline
Time was when Cahners Publishing was the king of trade publications, owning such titles as Publishers Weekly and Variety. No more. The company has been piecemealed to death into a shadow of its former self.
St. Louis Symphony Musicians To Vote On Contract Proposal
After 14 hours of negotiations Thursday, the St. Louis Symphony and its musicians emerged with a proposed contract. Musicians will vote on the contract today, but a union representative isn’t hopeful it will pass…
PBS Warns Stations About Profanity In Documentary
“PBS has warned its member stations that it cannot protect them against federal indecency sanctions if they broadcast an unedited, profanity-laced version of a documentary about a United States Army regiment in Baghdad as it faced insurgent attacks leading up to the Iraqi elections, producers of the documentary said yesterday.”
CBC: Upping The Home-Produced Drama
A CBC executive has predicted that “by 2008, CBC-TV’s prime-time schedule will have doubled the amount of prime-time Canadian dramatic series, 10-per-cent more hours of Canadian comedy, and 50-per-cent more hours of indigenous miniseries.”
Chicago Symphony Searches For Barenboim Replacement
It’s been a year since Daniel Barenboim announced he would leave the music directorship of the Chicago Symphony. So where is the orchestra with its search for a successor?
Broadway: Better As A Business?
Is the business of Broadway getting better? Some producers say yes. The new corporate investments in Broadway, the road and Las Vegas are making it more attractive financially. Not plays, of course. But those big musicals…
Who Owns Images Of Christo “Gates”? (Report: Street Artists Threatened With Prosecution?)
“A representative of Christo’s German publisher has informed street artists, photographers and art vendors around Central Park that they would be subject to arrest for selling any images of The Gates. Christo’s publisher claims a vast new degree of copyright and trademark protection. They claim they will prosecute anyone who sells their own original photos of The Gates; who makes and sells a drawing of The Gates or who even uses the words, The Gates, without their permission.”
US Arts Advocates Merge
Americans for the Arts and the Arts and Business Council have decided to merge operations. “Both realized that the advancement of support for the arts, public and private sector would be better served if we joined forces and pooled our resources,”
Edinburgh Gets More Cash
Scottish governments have agreed to give the Edinburgh Festival an extra £600,000 after the festival said it might have to cut programming this year. The festival said that “while ticket prices had increased in line with inflation, the price of staging productions had risen much faster in recent years.”