“The proportion of people with an internet connection who watch TV online was 17% in 2007, compared with 8% the year before. Online advertising spend was up by almost 40% year-on-year, reaching £2.8 billion in 2007. For the first time, more money was spent on internet advertising than the combined advertising spending of ITV1, Channel 4, S4C and Five, which was £2.4 billion.”
Tag: 08.14.08
Canadian Artists Fear Deep Funding Cuts
“The country’s arts sector fears the Conservatives are prepared to slash $50-million in cultural funding after discovering new cuts to federal arts programs. It has been revealed that three programs benefiting the film, television and music industries, totalling $4.3-million, will end as of next March.”
In Praise Of The New And Unimproved
“In a society whose watchword is ‘new and improved,’ new and unimproved is a heresy. But the religion of my homeless ancestors really was richer and deeper than the religion of my housed contemporaries. And I do not see that American life will be improved by the absence from it of second-hand bookstores, or large movie screens, or patience in journalism, or privacy. The view that everything is changing for the better is marketing propaganda–Google progressivism.”
Guggenheim Bilbao Lost Money On Serra Work
“The director of the Guggenheim Bilbao, Juan Ignacio Vidarte, has admitted that the Spanish museum lost €4.2m of public money when it purchased Richard Serra’s The Matter of Time, 2005, using US dollars rather than euros to buy the work.”
Who Knew? Dance Is A Big Hit On TV
“Take your pick — there’s no shortage of dance on TV. Inspired viewers maybe even try out a move or two on the living room floor, or sign up for classes, secretly hoping that they, too, could hack it as a professional. Dancing days are here again, and the ratings are soaring.”
Citing Money Woes, Texas Ballet Theatre Cancels Much-Anticipated China Tour
“The canceled trip is a symptom of ongoing financial and managerial problems that have resulted in an operating budget deficit estimated at $400,000. Ballet officials confirmed the deficit figure Wednesday. The China trip was canceled when the ballet was not able to raise the remaining $70,000 to underwrite artistic director Ben Stevenson’s presentation of Cleopatra, which was to be performed by the troupe in Shanghai and other Chinese cities.”
The Self-Made Music Career In The Digital Age
Jonathan Coulton’s “fans are so devoted, so involved and so technologically advanced that they create videos to his mostly folk rock songs and post them on YouTube. Coulton releases all his music under Creative Commons, a license that allows for the sharing of material. “It’s great to have someone say, ‘I love your songs,’ ” he says. “It’s even better to have them say, ‘Here’s a music video I made. I spent hours and hours putting this together.’ ”
No More Love Letters To Save In The Digital Age?
“Anyone over 40 may have a secret cache of letters packed away in a biscuit tin under the bed, but lovers in the digital age are more likely to have assigned their erotic reminiscences to a memory stick. If letters have been killed off by off text and email, then love letters are the first casualties.”
Marketing Every Nook And Cranny Of A Movie
“Now that product placement has become the norm (and thus quite easy to ignore), some brands are coming up with increasingly surreptitious means of showcasing their products – even to the extent of becoming film financiers. The advantage in financing the picture is that companies have complete control over how and where their logos are used.”
Upon Further Reflection…
“Something that people seem to be talking about at this year’s festival is the way in which pieces they didn’t think they’d liked have stayed with them, sometimes far more than performances that they enjoyed sitting through, but which left no real impression.”