“Executives and advocates for the indies say they are vulnerable to strong-arm tactics by Internet giants like YouTube, which has recently threatened to block some labels’ videos unless they sign new licensing deals. Like the standoff between Amazon and the book publisher Hachette, the dispute has crystallized a fear that access to the online marketplace controlled by a few has become a privilege affordable only by the biggest and richest players.”
Tag: 06.24.14
Hachette Buys Perseus Book Group
“The Perseus Books Group, founded by the late Frank Pearl in 1996, is being sold to the Hachette Book Group. Through the deal, Hachette will then sell Perseus’ distribution business to Ingram [Publisher Services].”
Monet Water Lilies Sells For $54M, Leading Mega-Rich Sotheby’s Auction
At £31.7 million, the 1906 Nymphéas was the highest-selling item in a £122 million ($208 million) London auction that also included works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Chagall, and Mondrian, as well as two other Monets.
OK, Guys, Musical Skill Really Does Help You Land Hot Babes (It’s Evolutionary Science!)
As with male birds and their songs or courting dances, “when you’re able to display that you have the time and resources to perfect your ability, then that ends up being attractive to a potential mate … If you can take care of yourself and learn a skill like music, then you can likely take care of a mate.”
‘Sorry’ No Longer Seems To Be The Hardest Word
“As a word, ‘sorry’ has entered that puckish pantheon of Terms That Seem to Say a Lot but Actually Say Very Little. … Our assumptions about What Apologies Mean are often completely misaligned with the way we actually use apologies in our day-to-day lives.”
How Weird Is This Summer’s Serpentine Pavilion?
“Is it a giant cocoon? The site of a pagan ritual? Or a 60-tonne pebble? Chilean architect Smiljan Radic breaks new ground with his creation for the annual experimental commission” in London’s Kensington Gardens.
They’re Going To Build A Garden Spanning The Thames
“Bursting out of the river in the form of two conjoined mushrooms, it would create a floating forest between Temple and the South Bank, held aloft on a shimmering copper canopy. It is scarcely less improbable than the heroic failures that have gone before – and yet it seems very likely to happen.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.24.14
“The Disruption Machine” and the Arts
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-06-24
Aging, as in Fine Wine
AJBlog: Dancebeat | Published 2014-06-24
Koons: One Big Show In More Ways Than One
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-06-25
What art does
AJBlog: About Last Night | Published 2014-06-24
From Jeffrey Nytch: Entrepreneurial transformation (2)
AJBlog: Sandow | Published 2014-06-25
[ssba_hide]
Wikipedia Has Been Ensnared By Bureaucracy
“Currently, the English Wikipedia has more than 50 official policies with a word count close to 150,000 (enough for a thick book). But that’s just the tip of the administrative iceberg. In addition to the policies, there are guidelines and essays—more than 450 devoted solely to proper conduct. You will also find more than 1,200 essays containing comments on the policies and guidelines, advisory notes, and analyses of the community.”
Do Artists Need More Control Of Their Work?
“What’s needed is a rebalancing of resources to give artists more autonomy and control over how they work and what they make. Why? Because it’s under these conditions that some of today’s most interesting artistic experiences are being created and new connections with audiences made.”