A new movie-download site sponsored by chipmaker Intel is promising to allow consumers to legally download films while they are still being shown in theatres. The project was conceived as an effort to avoid the years of infighting and lawsuits faced by the music industry when consumers began illegally sharing digital music files online. Key to the service’s success will be the industry’s ability to convince consumers that it is easy to use, convenient, and preferable to the various illegal methods of obtaining bootlegged movies.
Tag: 07.07.05
Canaletto Sale Shatters Expectations
“A painting by Italian master Canaletto has set a world record for the artist after being sold for £11m – twice its expected price – at auction in London. The painting shows the Doge of Venice’s barge, the Bucintoro, with crowds on what is thought to be Ascension Day, when the Doge blessed the city. An anonymous telephone bidder bought the work, which had been owned by a Portuguese billionaire.”
A Promotion In Zurich
“Franz Welser-Möst, the music director of the Cleveland Orchestra, will become general music director of Zurich Opera in September, a spokesperson for the orchestra confirmed. The appointment is a promotion for Welser-Möst, who served as music director of the opera company from 1995 through 2002 and has been principal conductor since. He has agreed to an initial term of five years, through 2011. He will retain his position in Cleveland, where his current contract runs through 2012.”
Honolulu Looks For Internal Stability
The Honolulu Symphony is poised to announce a major overhaul of its management structure today, in an effort to turn around years of fiscal instability. Former Pittsburgh Symphony executive Gideon Toeplitz will be taking over as interim president, and a new board chair will be appointed as well. The changes were precipitated by a period of uncertainty a the orchestra, which began when a consultant criticized the performance of symphony president Stephen Bloom, who promptly resigned.
Utah Symphony & Opera Back On Track
The Utah Symphony & Opera, which has faced mounting criticism in recent months from within its musician ranks and from others in the music industry for a perceived failure of management, has announced that it is on track to implement a financial recovery plan. “The organization had achieved 90 percent of its fundraising goals as of June 6 and ticket sales as of May 31 exceeded goals by $128,000, according to the report, which emerged from a task force set up by the US&O board to ensure recovery from operating deficits that followed the 2002 merger of Utah Symphony and Utah Opera.” The success of the plan is critical – the US&O had vowed to consider layoffs if revenue projections were not met.
Dance USA (It’s Thriving)
“Dance in America is very much alive, and the competitive dance circuit – in which children as young as 6 strut their sequined stuff in jazz, hip-hop, tap and lyrical dance numbers at dozens of events across the nation – is among the most exhilarating and, some say, least artistic of its manifestations. The proliferation of competitions, which were sparse 30 years ago but now draw tens of thousands of participants, most between the ages of 10 and 16, has helped to fuel the growth of private dance studios and to raise the caliber of dance teachers and students.”
The Cover With Two Books (Uh-Oh)
“Sometimes the photographs on book covers are not just similar, but exact duplicates. Rather than pay photographers’ day rates, most book designers turn to stock-photography agencies. Top agencies charge $1,200 to $1,500 a photograph, and twice that for exclusive rights, a premium publishers are loath to pay. That’s where the trouble starts.”