“Apparently 85 percent of music majors end up working “in the field,” although fewer than five percent are full-time professional performers. These are some pretty telling figures: Most music students will be doing something in music–teaching, administration, and so forth–but not what they went to college to do.”
Tag: 06.13.08
Study: California Has Most Artists In US
Among United States cities, greater Los Angeles ranks as the urban center with the most working artists and California is the top state by the same measure, according to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Being Smart In Dumb Times
Once upon a time, the leaders of our country were the kind of men — and, let’s face it, it was a men’s club at the time — who were learned, who valued scholarship and science. That was then. This is now:
A Long, Strange Road To Literary Stardom
The rookie novelist who captured the €100,000 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award this week isn’t even a native English speaker, yet his prose won over the judges of one of the world’s most prestigious prizes. “The unsolicited manuscript, written in Mr. Hage’s third language… was famously plucked out of a slush pile at Toronto-based publisher House of Anansi Press.”
Strife At SAG
“A controversial push by the Screen Actors Guild to defeat a recent accord negotiated by a rival union has touched off an open rebellion within Hollywood’s largest actors guild… SAG’s contract expires June 30, but talks with studios have ground to virtual halt since AFTRA announced an agreement that was modeled on one negotiated by Hollywood’s directors and writers.”
Philly’s Boyd At Center Of Preservation Controversy
“For nearly two decades, the Boyd Theater was a building that just couldn’t get any love. One former owner went all the way to Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court to reverse the theater’s historic designation. Another wanted to raze the art deco movie palace. A couple of preservationists were even heard disparaging its charms. Now, suddenly, everyone professes to love the Boyd. They just can’t agree on the best way to show it.”
Idol Producers Sued For Re-recording Soundtrack
“A musicians union has filed a federal lawsuit against the producers of ‘American Idol,’ claiming musicians were underpaid because the show’s live music was re-recorded for reruns… In 2007, the producers started cutting out the show’s soundtrack and using different musicians to re-record new music for the past-season highlights show.”
Advertising Without Shouting
“A Bay Area lawmaker is pushing a new bill that would force federal regulators to ratchet down the volume of commercials… British regulators approved similar rules last month that require broadcasters to limit the ‘maximum subjective loudness’ of TV ads after receiving complaints.”
Play For Pay?
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom “has written to instrumental and vocal ensembles that are supported by Grants for the Arts,” requesting that the groups play wedding music at City Hall next week. The wording, which implies that the groups have a duty to perform, has some in the area’s arts scene upset.
Spoiler Alert: Nothing Is Actually Being Spoiled
When did the general public begin caring so much about “spoilers” in movie reviews, sportscasts, and online columns? “Now it seems that everything is a potential spoiler… People will dive into the shrubbery to avoid hearing anything about anything.”