Tag: 05.08.20

The Global Music Business Is Extinguished. That May Be A Good thing

The global live music industry is worth some $30 billion every year. Or, rather, was. In a matter of weeks, Covid-19 shut down everything from pub gigs to festivals. And in doing so, it also made apparent the lopsided shape of the modern music industry, in which artists are paid to perform, but often barely anything for the music they record. One of the truisms of the streaming era has been that while Spotify might have gutted the income you make from records, it makes it easier for people to find your music. That grows your live audiences, which is where you make your money. Now, with live audiences at zero, that deal is looking increasingly unworkable. – Esquire

Chinese Government Bans Knockoffs Of Foreign Buildings

In recent years Chinese developers have been putting up, and opening to buyers and renters, reproductions of such attractions as an English village, a lakeside Austrian town, and a Paris neighborhood complete with Eiffel Tower. The government has now had enough: it has prohibited “plagiarising, imitating, and copycatting” foreign landmarks or historical styles, calling for “a new era [of architecture to] strengthen cultural confidence, show the city’s features, exhibit the contemporary spirit, and display the Chinese characteristics.” – BBC

The World Is Changing. So What Is Art In A Time Like This?

“In a world where we are already confronting critical interconnected challenges: climate change, the refugee crisis, food scarcity, system collapse, etc. I think it is essential that we continue asking these questions: what is the role of art at a time of social transformation? Why do we make art, for whom and does it make sense to continue using the same formats and materials? What should art be focusing on and what difference can it make?” – Medium

First Guidelines For How Full Orchestras Can Perform Under Social Distancing Rules

“Scientists at the Charité in Berlin have issued a 13-page paper, at the request of seven Berlin orchestras [including the Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle], advising the distances to be observed in rehearsal and performance for the foreseeable future, and suggesting that orchestras might be able to meet again under the following conditions.” – The Strad

The Hague’s New Art Court Nearly Septuples Its Pool Of Arbitrators And Mediators

“The specialist Court of Arbitration for Art … [was created in 2019] to adjudicate art world matters ranging from chain of title, authenticity and copyright fair use. Last year, the panel appointed around 30 specialists, with arbitrator experience, but this latest round of [170] appointments is more focused (although not exclusively) on qualified art lawyers.” – The Art Newspaper

Isolation Multiplied: Artist Retreats In The Time Of COVID

“For many artists, writers and composers who have been rewarded prestigious residencies to isolate themselves in remote places and sometimes in punishing climates, it is a coveted situation. But if, as Matisse put it, ‘creativity takes courage,’ the extra isolation during a pandemic can start to wear away at even the most stoic artists.” – The New York Times

Write About Sex? Garth Greenwell Wonders ‘Why One Would Write About Anything Else’

“Sex is an experience of intense vulnerability, and it is also where we are at our most performative, and so it’s at once as near to and as far from authenticity as we come. … Sex is a uniquely useful tool for a writer, a powerful means not just of revealing character or exploring relationships, but of asking the largest questions about human beings.” – The Guardian

How Might Classical Music Work Differently Going Forward?

What if concerts were announced one or two at a time, just a week or two in advance? The tickets would be sold per concert, not per season, and the marketing would be heavy on social media. Concert programs could be designed to attract different communities in the county, rather than the monolithic subscription crowd. What’s more, it would allow the groups to perform exactly when circumstances allowed, rather than cancel concerts when they didn’t. – Voice of Orange County

Novelist Jenny Odell Wrote About Nature And Art, And Suddenly Her Book Seems Even More Relevant

Odell’s simply considering things, not worried about producing art during the lockdown. “I have been thinking about that redirecting of attention. Our grocery store has the usual spaced-out lines with markings on the ground, and as you stand in line you just find yourself standing near this weird part of the building that you would never stand near. So now you have all this time to contemplate this wall. That seemed like a visual metaphor for everything else. The thing has always been here; now you’re like standing in a very weird relation to it and you’re looking at it.” – Vox