Persepolis, “once the capital of the Persian empire, and the massive mud-brick Bam citadel are among the nine listed World Heritage Sites in Iran. Yet leading archaeologists are urging colleagues to refuse any military requests to draw up a list of Iranian sites that should be exempted from air strikes.”
Tag: 07.10.08
A Way For Unknown Musicians To Make Money
“Music website Last.fm launched a revolutionary new programme yesterday to ensure unsigned bands will receive the same royalty privileges as those signed to major labels. The site, which currently streams over 3.5m songs, is encouraging unsigned bands to join their Artist Royalty Program (ARP), allowing them to accrue royalties every time one of their tracks is played.”
Key To Popular Literary Success? Literary Tourism
“While saying what constitutes a literary novel is hard enough, identifying what makes one a big popular hit is even harder. Novelists and publishers fantasise about international success to match Ian McEwan’s Atonement, Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong, or Louis De Bernieres’ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. That trio seem to back up Martyn Goff’s belief a literary best-seller needs to transport the reader to a remote time or place.”
Outside The Concert Hall (Literally)
“The classical arts – which have safely huddled in posh theaters in all their stately, stationary dignity – are suddenly on the move, literally, in ways previously unimaginable. But let’s not start proclaiming that the future of the performing arts lies in warehouses and armories.”
Auction House/Gallery Wall Blasted Away
“The final frontier protecting contemporary art galleries from the relentless encroachment of the auction houses has been emphatically breached with the announcement that Damien Hirst is creating an exhibition of new works for display and sale at the London headquarters of Sotheby’s.”
Acropolis Museum To Display Parthenon Marble Replicas
“After years of discussions, the museum has now decided how it will present the marbles. The originals are being displayed alongside plaster casts of the pieces removed from Greece, most of which are in the British Museum in London. An earlier plan was to place gauze curtains in front of the casts, to make it obvious they are not originals. The museum has now opted for a simpler solution.”
Lincoln Center’s Biggest-Ever Gift
David H. Koch, recently “called the wealthiest resident of New York City, has agreed to contribute $100 million toward the renovation of the New York State Theater, which is home to the two companies. His gift will be the largest private capital donation in Lincoln Center’s history and a triumph in a period of growing economic uncertainty.”
Studios, Actors’ Union To Meet On “Final” Offer
“Negotiators for SAG and the studios planned to meet on Thursday to discuss the “final offer” management presented the union when contract talks broke off in stalemate last week, hours before SAG’s old labor agreement expired.”
Canadian Club (Not The Whiskey) Set For Export?
“A stone club from British Columbia dating to possibly 1800 BC could be leaving the country by the end of the year if a Canadian institution doesn’t buy it… The Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board agreed to a six-month delay on the export of the rare sculptured club to who is presumed to be an American buyer.”
Chicago Blues Singing The… Well, You Know
The blues may be one of America’s most venerated musical traditions, but there’s considerable evidence that the genre is in trouble. “Its fan base is aging, key blues haunts have shuttered, and some of its up-and-coming musicians are struggling. Nowhere is the decline more evident than in Chicago, arguably the city that made the genre famous.”