“According to performers, the new legislation, which was introduced in July 2007, is causing clubs and pubs to close, creating a knock-on effect for artists who had previously been booked to perform in them. They claim opportunities for work are dropping by up to 50%.”
Tag: 05.13.08
US Book Sales Up For Fifth Straight Month
Bookstore sales rose 1.3% in March, to $1.03 billion, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales have increased every month so far in 2008 and finished the first quarter up 5.1%, to $4.46 billion.
Is The Four-Year College Degree Defunct?
“The latest trend in higher education is how many students need five and even six years to arrange four years of college. Half the nation’s twenty million college students are in two-year community colleges, with the odds of achieving a four-year degree against them.”
TS Eliot – Google’s Most Popular?
Last week the opening line of The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot’s most famous poem, became “one of most explosively googled phrases in America. Google’s aptly named Hot Trends list, a utility offered by the company that offers a glimpse of what the online nation is most furiously searching for at any given moment.” The question is why?
The Glyndebourne Anomaly
Glyndebourne, which opens its 2008 season on Sunday, is “a fascinating case study. It’s an anomaly in recent operatic history, inasmuch as it both makes a profit and presents top-quality performances without state subsidy.”
Disney Wants To Know: Why Do People Watch TV?
The entertainment giant is developing an “emerging media and advertising research lab” to try to figure out why people watch the shows they do.
Getty Cutting Staff
“James Wood, chief executive of the J. Paul Getty Trust, held extensive staff meetings Tuesday to go over a streamlining plan that has eliminated 114 jobs and some programs to yield a 25% budget increase in its core arts programs.”
Quiet Plans To Remake Harvard’s Museums
“Harvard Art Museum leaders have quietly held open houses and attended community meetings to make sure Cambridge residents approve of their latest multiyear project: reshaping the Quincy Street quarters that currently house the Fogg Art Museum and Busch-Reisinger Museum.”
Chicago City Council Considers Law That Would Restrict Music
“The ordinance as it stands requires independent promoters to apply for a license at a cost between $500 and $2,000 every two years, submit to fingerprinting and a criminal background check, secure as much as $300,000 in liability insurance and be at least 21 years old. These requirements add an additional layer of bureaucracy and expense on promoters who are working at venues that have already met Chicago’s insurance and licensing requirements, which are some of the most stringent in the United States.”
Chicago Shakespeare Theater Wins The Regional Tony
“Critics wondered whether the company could really make a go of it on Navy Pier, known for its Ferris wheel, fried food and shorts-clad tourists — not exactly an atmosphere conducive to drawing the typical theater crowd. It succeeded, however, by focusing on a varied schedule that includes everything from the bard’s classics to family-friendly fare to performances by visiting international troupes.”