Where’s the innovative recorded music these days? “You would think, in the age of Outkast, that there would be a lot of crazy types of innovation going on. Instead, there’s a huge vacancy in left field. Declining revenue, allegedly due to file-sharing, has record execs more risk-averse than ever, particularly where a cash cow like urban music is concerned.”
Tag: 07.14.04
Making Room For Fiction
An NEA study on how much Americans read “confirms the predilection for fiction but doesn’t explain it. We say that, even though media coverage is not the only factor, it’s a big one. That which receives media attention is more likely to be read. Any book publicist will tell you that it’s easier to get press or broadcast coverage for non-fiction books because they come with pictures and flesh-and-blood characters. Even C-SPAN’s “Book TV” steers clear of fiction. Which leaves us with the question: Do the media have some responsibility to help keep fiction and poetry alive?”
Dance Connecticut Kaput
Dance Connecticut, the producing and teaching organization that rose from the ashes of Hartford Ballet, has has gone out business because of its money problems.
A Plan To Fix Boston’s Strand
What’s to become of Boston’s troubled Strand Theatre? Financially strapped and managed for two years by novice theater operators, the Strand was booked and programmed erratically. Youth programs were canceled for lack of funds, and producers were reluctant to mount shows at the theater, which garnered a reputation for inept, if not unethical, booking, marketing, and management practices.” Boston Mayor Thomas Menino sommissioned a study and has some recommendations for how to fix things.
If You’re 20, London Is The Place To Be
London is draining the twentysomethings out of the rest of Britain. “In the City of London, Camden and Tower Hamlets, the proportion of twentysomethings has risen to 13 per cent, while it has fallen by 1.7 per cent to 6.6 per cent across Britain as a whole. In Wandsworth, 16 per cent of residents are aged 25 to 29. The influx of young people in some parts of London is up by 4.8 per cent in ten years.”
Seattle Art Student Hassled By Homeland Security
A Seattle art student goes to the Ballard locks to take photographs. Police and Homeland Security officers descend, demanding identification. They show up at his home demanding ID. Why, when dozens of others at the locks are busy snapping pictures? Could it be the way he looks?
Earliest Village In American Northwest?
Workers in western Washington state unearth one of the earliest villages ever discovered in the Pacific Northwest. “Among the artifacts to surface from the grounds of Tse-whit-zen — a likely former winter village of the Klallam peoples of the upper Olympic Peninsula that carbon dating so far shows could be as old as 1,719 years — are remnants of a longhouse and at least two other tribal houses crafted from cedar. Discovery of such structures is significant, Larson said yesterday, because they may be among the oldest remnants of homes ever found in the Northwest.”
More Arts Study Numbers
From the recent Americans for the Arts study: “Arts businesses – both for-profit and nonprofit – comprise 4.3 percent of all U.S. businesses and employ 2.99 million people. California was found to be the bellwether of the country’s arts industry, with more arts-related businesses – 89,719 – than any other state. New York ranks a distant second with 45,671.”
Recalling Old American/European Controversies
“Old controversies over the influence of the European avant-garde on American art seem almost quaint, if indeed somewhat paranoid. Yet some of those old polemics were characterized by a ferocity that is worth recalling, if only as a measure of how radically some things have changed for the better in this country, at least in the realm of high art.”
Why Was Austin Missing From Arts City Study?
When people think of arts cities in Texas, most think of Austin. So why wasn’t Austin on the recent list of best arts cities in a study by Americans for the Arts? “Austin was not on the initial list because it and other midsize urban areas such as Portland, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham were not included in the study. So the American-Statesman requested follow-up research from the advocacy group. With midsize areas counted, according to data provided Tuesday by Americans for the Arts, Austin would rank third in the country with 3.46 arts businesses per 1,000 residents. The Santa Fe and Bellingham, Wash., areas would rank Nos. 1 and 2.” [sign-in requires first name: Use “access”]