Today's Stories

FCC Scraps Local Broadcast TV Ownership Limits

In a 2-1 vote, the FCC repealed a 22-year-old rule holding that a company cannot own stations that reach more than a combined 39% of the U.S. television audience. The ownership limit will be replaced by a case-by-case approach. - NBC

Suno Says It Will Let Users Watermark Their AI Music

Suno, the service that allows users to create AI-generated songs, today announced new tools to mark tracks made on its platform, limit downloads, and update community guidelines to prevent copycat songs. The changes come as Suno faces numerous lawsuits from labels and artist bodies. - TechCrunch

Oh My: A New Service To Put Your AI-Created Songs On Vinyl Records

The company, which raised over $400 million in a Series D round in June that valued it at $5.4 billion, has opened a waitlist for Suno Vinyl, a service that turns songs made on its platform into physical records. - MusicBusinessWorldwide

Stolen Picasso Suddenly Turns Up

The Spanish artist’s 1949 etching — “Torero,” or “Bullfighter” — was hanging in the lobby of DeLind Fine Art Appraisals in downtown Milwaukee when it vanished in February 2018. - Washington Post

As ‘Jellicle Ball’ Closes, Andrew Lloyd Webber Has Some Choice Thoughts For Broadway

On Instagram, the composer wrote, "Maybe the show’s closing just might be remembered as the moment that caused everyone involved with Broadway to come to their senses and address the unsustainable cost of producing and running any new show now.” - Variety

The Psychology Of Why We Rewatch Movies

What their interviews turned up was that people were not doing this out of habit. They were doing it with intent. They knew precisely which emotion they were shopping for, and they knew the film would hand it over. No browsing. No twenty minutes of scrolling before giving up. - Silicon Canals

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Judging Books By Their Covers

We can thank the Preraphaelite coterie for this tendency. " - LitHub

Companies Using AI To Create Writing Are Missing The Entire Point Of Books

"It speaks about the creative process as though it were something getting in the way of our creativity, slowing us down, rather than being the path that leads us to it. Then again, it’s no surprise that a capitalist venture focuses on the product and speed to market.” - Irish Times

There’s A Lot Of Sex In This Summer’s Movies

OK, not The Odyssey or Spider-Man, but the other movies. - The Guardian (UK)

A Radio Station That Erroneously Broadcast The Death Of King Charles Is In Some Trouble

Whoops: “Once the staff member who accidentally played the files realised what they had done, they stopped playing them, ‘panicked and left the premises.’” - BBC

Is Netflix Truly Doubling Down On Los Angeles, Or Planning To Move To New Jersey?

Or both, and more - in 2024, the company expanded to New Mexico as well. But right now, Netflix claims, New Jersey’s tax credits are easier to access. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Which Is More Tiring: A Christopher Nolan Movie Or The Discourse About A Christopher Nolan Movie?

“Perhaps you didn’t leave The Odyssey wondering what kind of chief executive Odysseus would be. That’s OK — Forbes has you covered.” - The New York Times

Millennials Miss Their Childhood Book Program So Much That They’ve Recreated It For Adults

Personal pan pizzas for reading? Yes: “Pizza Hut’s Book It! program is part of the lore of countless childhood readers turned adults. According to Pizza Hut, over 70 million children have participated since the program was founded in 1984, a Reagan-era initiative.” - Slate

Despite ‘Spider-Man,’ Blockbusters Aren’t Going To Save Cinema

“Hollywood is a business, and that business is successful when movies become huge hits. That’s been true since the dawn of the film industry. But the blockbuster mentality also has an irrational side, an irrational exuberance.”  - Variety

Book Prizes Judges Are Human, And In An Age Of AI, We Should Be Deeply Thankful For That

“Modern prize culture has existed for about 125 years; James F. English, in his excellent book The Economy of Prestige, dates the current craze for literary awards to the Nobel Prize, which debuted in 1901.” - The New York Times

Taking Big Swings At The Guthrie, One Of The Country’s Premiere Regional Theatres

Joseph Haj got to the Guthrie in 2015, and things were humming along for him when the pandemic hit. - American Theatre

Kansas City Repertory Theatre Is Looking For A Permanent Home

Unfortunately for KC Rep, they’re looking at the same time that there are two other major arts organizations are fundraising and searching out spots. What to do? - KC Studio

Digital Cameras And Wired Headphones Are Making A Comeback

And, of course, “iPods are ‘driving the trend’ in sales,” when everyone of a certain age wants an iPod or some other, older MP3 player, one that doesn’t send notifications or keep track of you. - BBC

The Field Museum Is Now Mixing Pokemon And Fossils

And making money hand over fist, er, phalange over … anyway, the exhibit “is drawing huge crowds by hitching its star to the Poke-verse, using fossil Pokemon to teach about hunting and collecting fossils in the real world.” - NPR

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Generative AI “music” is now available on vinyl. (Though since the environmental cost of each is not great, maybe they are like each other? Hm.) - Los Angeles Times

By Topic

There’s A Lot Of Sex In This Summer’s Movies

OK, not The Odyssey or Spider-Man, but the other movies. - The Guardian (UK)

Which Is More Tiring: A Christopher Nolan Movie Or The Discourse About A Christopher Nolan Movie?

“Perhaps you didn’t leave The Odyssey wondering what kind of chief executive Odysseus would be. That’s OK — Forbes has you covered.” - The New York Times

The Field Museum Is Now Mixing Pokemon And Fossils

And making money hand over fist, er, phalange over … anyway, the exhibit “is drawing huge crowds by hitching its star to the Poke-verse, using fossil Pokemon to teach about hunting and collecting fossils in the real world.” - NPR

This ‘Chat’ Is Fully Human-Powered, And Now Very Popular

“The experience is just very average — or maybe bad. … It's just me saying, like, ‘I don't know, maybe make a sandwich for yourself’ or whatever.” - San Francisco Chronicle

Prediction Markets Are Wrecking Civil Society

Monetizing the full gamut of reality, platforms have opened Pandora’s box. Basic tenets of liberal society—democratic integrity and respect for human life—are being corroded. Regulators need to step in. - The Walrus

As AI Overwhelms The Web: What Was The Internet?

Despite valiant efforts by activists and reformers, it’s been the dystopians’ world—or at least the realists’—for some time now: an age of techno-feudalism, digital colonialism, the new Jim Code. - Boston Review

A Radio Station That Erroneously Broadcast The Death Of King Charles Is In Some Trouble

Whoops: “Once the staff member who accidentally played the files realised what they had done, they stopped playing them, ‘panicked and left the premises.’” - BBC

Study: Arts Orgs That Got More COVID Relief Funding Are Doing Better Than Those That Didn’t

From Sacramento and Seattle to New York City and Philadelphia, the study highlights diverging trends across cities — some rebounded from the pandemic and even exceeded their 2019 numbers, while others plummeted. - Hyperallergic

Seven Smithsonian Museums Closed Due To HVAC Issue

The museums, all on the south side of the National Mall, share one of the General Service Administration’s HVAC plants; the chilled water supply at that facility was disrupted on Thursday, leaving the museums without air conditioning during a heat wave. The buildings will reopen once the issue is resolved. - Washington City Paper

Do The People Of This Slovakian Village Really Want To Lose UNESCO World Heritage Status?

That’s what all the headlines said, but the people of the well-preserved medieval village of Vlkolínec say it’s not that simple. They want to protect their small, still-living community from the pressures of overtourism, which could easily overwhelm it. - Deutsche Welle

Dallas’s Perot Museum Of Nature And Science Seems To Be Planning A Big Expansion It Hasn’t Announced

The news comes from a filing the museum made last week with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation; management has also filed with the city of Dallas for a construction permit. Work is expected to start early next year. - The Dallas Morning News (MSN)

The Problem With Super-Flexible High-Tech Performance Venues

Justin Davidson on New York’s Perelman Arts Center and The Shed: “Now the boldest experimenters can take advantage of walls that move at the touch of a button, precision lifts, rooms that shrink and expand, projected images (on) moving surfaces. … Yet the revolution, now that it’s here, feels anticlimactic and overpriced.” - Curbed...

Suno Says It Will Let Users Watermark Their AI Music

Suno, the service that allows users to create AI-generated songs, today announced new tools to mark tracks made on its platform, limit downloads, and update community guidelines to prevent copycat songs. The changes come as Suno faces numerous lawsuits from labels and artist bodies. - TechCrunch

Oh My: A New Service To Put Your AI-Created Songs On Vinyl Records

The company, which raised over $400 million in a Series D round in June that valued it at $5.4 billion, has opened a waitlist for Suno Vinyl, a service that turns songs made on its platform into physical records. - MusicBusinessWorldwide

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Generative AI “music” is now available on vinyl. (Though since the environmental cost of each is not great, maybe they are like each other? Hm.) - Los Angeles Times

Demystifying The Art Of Conducting

No, not by watching Tár. “The very act of conducting—waving a wand to summon ravishing or ethereal or earsplitting sounds—can look like either inexplicable magic or embarrassing nonsense, a kind of tuxedoed air guitar.” - The Atlantic

The Music Of New York’s Subway Trains

No, not the clanking of the wheels or that metallic screech, but the jazz of the interplay of 400+ trains running at the same time. - NPR

The Los Angeles Jazz Festival Was Going To Be Huge, With Stars Like John Legend And Janelle Monae

And then … it was canceled just before the 16-day fest was set to begin. "By Friday, the LA Jazz Fest website had been scrubbed, with only a cryptic message that said, ‘August 22-23. Updated event info coming soon.’” - Variety

Stolen Picasso Suddenly Turns Up

The Spanish artist’s 1949 etching — “Torero,” or “Bullfighter” — was hanging in the lobby of DeLind Fine Art Appraisals in downtown Milwaukee when it vanished in February 2018. - Washington Post

Was An All-Night Art Heist In Italy Some Kind Of Revenge?

“About 30 artworks belonging to Lilli Petroli owner Mauro Lilli were stolen in the unusual heist, including bas-reliefs attributed to Pablo Picasso, a bronze ballerina sculpture by Giacomo Manzù, paintings by Bruno d’Arcevia of the Italian Manner movement, and pieces by sculptor Mario Moretto.” - ARTnews

Britain Claims That Banksy Is Expensive For The British Public

"The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) says it has spent £50,000 trying to remove paint from the wall of the Grade II-listed building in Carey Street.” Er … a solution presents itself. - BBC

The Young Artist Making The Last Of The Dummies

“To some people, these are just puppets. … To me, there’s so much to them. It’s sculpture, casting, painting, sewing, mechanics, history, research, performance design — all at once. They are like kinetic art objects.” - The New York Times

The Painter Who Uses Medieval Style And Techniques To Address The 21st Century

“Today (Malo Chapuy) paints religious scenes, altarpieces, and early Renaissance-style portraits that look like museum artifacts save for the proliferation of wind turbines, water towers, astronauts, and spaceships.” - Art in America

London’s National Gallery Asked Citizens To Help Chart The Future. Some Are Angry They Asked

London’s National Gallery is facing backlash from conservative groups in the U.K. after convening a 50-citizen assembly to help shape its future planning. - Artnet

Judging Books By Their Covers

We can thank the Preraphaelite coterie for this tendency. " - LitHub

Companies Using AI To Create Writing Are Missing The Entire Point Of Books

"It speaks about the creative process as though it were something getting in the way of our creativity, slowing us down, rather than being the path that leads us to it. Then again, it’s no surprise that a capitalist venture focuses on the product and speed to market.” - Irish Times

Millennials Miss Their Childhood Book Program So Much That They’ve Recreated It For Adults

Personal pan pizzas for reading? Yes: “Pizza Hut’s Book It! program is part of the lore of countless childhood readers turned adults. According to Pizza Hut, over 70 million children have participated since the program was founded in 1984, a Reagan-era initiative.” - Slate

Book Prizes Judges Are Human, And In An Age Of AI, We Should Be Deeply Thankful For That

“Modern prize culture has existed for about 125 years; James F. English, in his excellent book The Economy of Prestige, dates the current craze for literary awards to the Nobel Prize, which debuted in 1901.” - The New York Times

Not Only Is Poetry Still Alive, But It’s Having A Hell Of A Moment

No, not just The Odyssey. “A new audience is finding poetry, particularly (though not exclusively) through social media: a new generation of poets, particularly but not exclusively performance poets, have come to prominence through Instagram, TikTok, and other short-form video formats.” - The Guardian (UK)

When Did It Become OK To Stop Reading A Book In The Middle?

Wasn’t there a compact, for a while, that if you started a book, you’d damn well finish it? “Even lifelong DNFers often feel bad about closing the book — that it’s a sign of a quitter, or that they’re too stupid.” - The New York Times

FCC Scraps Local Broadcast TV Ownership Limits

In a 2-1 vote, the FCC repealed a 22-year-old rule holding that a company cannot own stations that reach more than a combined 39% of the U.S. television audience. The ownership limit will be replaced by a case-by-case approach. - NBC

The Psychology Of Why We Rewatch Movies

What their interviews turned up was that people were not doing this out of habit. They were doing it with intent. They knew precisely which emotion they were shopping for, and they knew the film would hand it over. No browsing. No twenty minutes of scrolling before giving up. - Silicon Canals

Is Netflix Truly Doubling Down On Los Angeles, Or Planning To Move To New Jersey?

Or both, and more - in 2024, the company expanded to New Mexico as well. But right now, Netflix claims, New Jersey’s tax credits are easier to access. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Despite ‘Spider-Man,’ Blockbusters Aren’t Going To Save Cinema

“Hollywood is a business, and that business is successful when movies become huge hits. That’s been true since the dawn of the film industry. But the blockbuster mentality also has an irrational side, an irrational exuberance.”  - Variety

Digital Cameras And Wired Headphones Are Making A Comeback

And, of course, “iPods are ‘driving the trend’ in sales,” when everyone of a certain age wants an iPod or some other, older MP3 player, one that doesn’t send notifications or keep track of you. - BBC

There’s A Generation Of Filmmakers Embracing AI, And It’s Sure Not Gen-Z

“The young and upcoming filmmakers are rejecting the use of AI. It’s the established filmmakers, some of whom are legendary, who are the proponents of this soulless technology.” - Boston Globe

San Francisco Ballet Performs At Jacob’s Pillow For First Time In 70 Years

“In 1956, under the direction of Lew Christensen, SFB went to the Pillow with three programs featuring eight ballets by George Balanchine and Christensen himself. The performances were a tremendous success, and … helped propel SFB from regional significance to international renown.” Now, under Tamara Rojo, the company is back. - Pointe Magazine

A Kinetic, Slightly Goofy New Form Of Competitive Dance Develops In Côte d’Ivoire

“There is some debate over exactly when biama emerged, but it exploded in popularity after the coronavirus pandemic as young people turned to TikTok to post and respond to dance challenges that fused acrobatics with goofiness that pushed bodies to their limits.” - The Guardian

Building An AI Program To Generate K-Pop Choreography

Youngjun Choi, who has created dance routines for some of South Korea's biggest pop stars (including BTS), and Joon Jung, a choreographer-turned-tech exec, co-founded the startup MVNT to build an AI system for dance, much like Suno, the generative AI music platform. - Business Insider

English National Ballet Suffers Cyberattack

ENB said some customer email address and business contact information "may have been included in the affected data" from the cyber attack and that it was taking the matter seriously. - The Standard

Jacob’s Pillow Amid The Palms? A New Dance Festival In Florida

As co-founder Ericka Squire puts it, “Palm Beach County is ripe for a festival that feels like Jacob's Pillow” — a pitch that worked on the right funders. The first-ever Banyan Dance Festival is running this week in downtown West Palm Beach. - WLRN (Miami)

Misty Copeland Takes The Reins

“It’s about creating opportunity. It’s about creating access. It’s about continuing to not just be a voice in my time, but how are we setting up the next generation?” - The New York Times

As ‘Jellicle Ball’ Closes, Andrew Lloyd Webber Has Some Choice Thoughts For Broadway

On Instagram, the composer wrote, "Maybe the show’s closing just might be remembered as the moment that caused everyone involved with Broadway to come to their senses and address the unsustainable cost of producing and running any new show now.” - Variety

Taking Big Swings At The Guthrie, One Of The Country’s Premiere Regional Theatres

Joseph Haj got to the Guthrie in 2015, and things were humming along for him when the pandemic hit. - American Theatre

Kansas City Repertory Theatre Is Looking For A Permanent Home

Unfortunately for KC Rep, they’re looking at the same time that there are two other major arts organizations are fundraising and searching out spots. What to do? - KC Studio

How Many Broadway Shows Can Follow Hamilton And Hadestown To Success At The Movie Theatre?

“I want to see the eyes of the actors, I want to get closer to the emotion - which is what theatre can’t give you. It’s a different thing,” says the Hadestown pro-shot director. - NPR

Let’s Talk More About How Jellicle Ball Could Fill Every Seat And Still Have To Close

“There are countless reasons behind the demise of any Broadway show, each of which is essentially a start-up business taking its chances in a volatile market.” - The New York Times

New Theatrical Work Desperately Needs New Audiences

"It’s a distinct privilege to witness something being born. It’s exciting.” But developmental opportunities are disappearing from the United States theatre scene at an alarming rate. - American Theatre

Elizabeth Smith, Founding Faculty Member Of Juilliard Drama And Vocal Coach To The Stars, Has Died At 91

“The actress Laura Linney, who graduated from Juilliard in 1990, was confused when Ms. Smith stared at the floor during her entire audition. ‘She wasn’t looking, she was listening,’ to Ms. Linney’s voice, the actress said.” - The New York Times

Abbe Lane, Broadway Dancer Turned Star Vocalist, Has Died At 94

Lane, who didn’t speak Spanish when this part of her career began, "exuded a sultry Latin air as the star vocalist for the bandleader Xavier Cugat in the 1950s and ’60s, and in a successful solo career afterward.” - The New York Times

Amanda Knox Is Bringing A Solo Show To The Edinburgh Fringe (And Getting Some Pushback)

The comic monologue, titled Cartwheel, is billed as about a woman “approaching forty, juggling motherhood and finally getting around to being furious about the whole wrongful-imprisonment thing. Especially when half the world is telling her to get over it, while the other half still thinks she’s guilty.” - AP

When Superfans Go Too Far

In recent years, celebrities have attempted to set boundaries for their adoring, sometimes obsessive fans.  - The New York Times

Samantha Morton Says She’s Gotten No Acting Work Since She Finished Shooting For “The Odyssey”

A two-time Oscar nominee who’s widely expected to get another nomination for her performance as Circe, Morton said, “I’ve got really good agents and a manager, but at the end of the day, I’m 49. I do believe I’m a good actor, (but) there are other good actors out there.” - Variety

Bruno Campanella, Opera Conductor Known For Bel Canto, Is Dead At 83

After emerging internationally in the late 1970s, he established himself as one of the leading specialists in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. He guest-conducted at most of the world’s major opera houses and served as music director of the Teatro Regio in Turin for three years in the 1990s. - Moto Perpetuo

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Performing artists: share how GenAI is affecting your work

Theater, dance, and live music artists: how is generative AI affecting your work, income, and creative practices? SMU DataArts and artist Annie Dorsen want your voice in the first survey of its kind. Anonymous, open to all roles and career stages, through Sept 8, 2026. Take it here

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The Flint School of Performing Arts (FSPA) is seeking its next Director to lead this celebrated and impactful division of the Flint Institute of Music.

As ‘Jellicle Ball’ Closes, Andrew Lloyd Webber Has Some Choice Thoughts For Broadway

On Instagram, the composer wrote, "Maybe the show’s closing just might be remembered as the moment that caused everyone involved with Broadway to come to their senses and address the unsustainable cost of producing and running any new show now.” - Variety

Demystifying The Art Of Conducting

No, not by watching Tár. “The very act of conducting—waving a wand to summon ravishing or ethereal or earsplitting sounds—can look like either inexplicable magic or embarrassing nonsense, a kind of tuxedoed air guitar.” - The Atlantic

How Many Broadway Shows Can Follow Hamilton And Hadestown To Success At The Movie Theatre?

“I want to see the eyes of the actors, I want to get closer to the emotion - which is what theatre can’t give you. It’s a different thing,” says the Hadestown pro-shot director. - NPR

The Los Angeles Jazz Festival Was Going To Be Huge, With Stars Like John Legend And Janelle Monae

And then … it was canceled just before the 16-day fest was set to begin. "By Friday, the LA Jazz Fest website had been scrubbed, with only a cryptic message that said, ‘August 22-23. Updated event info coming soon.’” - Variety

The Problem With Super-Flexible High-Tech Performance Venues

Justin Davidson on New York’s Perelman Arts Center and The Shed: “Now the boldest experimenters can take advantage of walls that move at the touch of a button, precision lifts, rooms that shrink and expand, projected images (on) moving surfaces. … Yet the revolution, now that it’s here, feels anticlimactic and overpriced.” - Curbed...

Hollywood’s Open, Horrible Secrets, Such As The Whisper Network Concerning Jared Leto

“When a lot of people make a percentage off the earnings of one famous individual, the capacity for denial is vast” — and now there’s a huge, “well-oiled anti-accountability machine” that cranks up as well. - The New York Times

An Actor Who Was Slated To Star In Hadestown Has ‘Departed’ After His Hostile Comments About Trans People Emerge

For instance, in one video clip that surfaced after Geno Segers was announced as Hades, "Segers likens transgender people to people pretending they are service animals in hopes of receiving discounts on airfare.” - The New York Times

Ballet Might Help Stave Off Dementia

“When we’re learning choreography, we’re asking the brain to do so many things at once: remember sequences, process music, coordinate movement, adapt when we make mistakes, and stay present with other people in the room. It’s a perfect puzzle for keeping the mind fresh.” - Harper’s Bazaar

At Tanglewood This Summer, Things Are Feeling Pretty Tense

“During a recent week on the grounds, it felt anxious, angry, combustible. It was impossible to escape the warfare that the Boston Symphony is waging on itself: a crisis that is drowning out the music. Somebody needs to quiet things down before even more serious damage is done.” - The New York Times

Kennedy Center Stops Public Tours Three Days After NY Times Feature On Tour Guide

On Monday, The New York Times posted an article featuring a longtime volunteer tour guide who said of the currently-dormant institution, “Now it’s a black hole.” On Thursday, a Kennedy Center official sent a memo to all volunteer tour guides telling them not to come there “until further notice.” - The New York Times

The ARTnews List Of America’s 30 Best Art Museums

“For this list, we focused primarily on the breadth and distinction of each institution’s permanent collection. Additional considerations included the strength of its temporary exhibition program and the grandeur of its architecture.” - ARTnews

Interlochen Center Issues Report On History Of Sexual Misconduct By Faculty

"The 97-page report spells out some 70 instances of sexual misconduct by multiple former faculty and staff spanning seven decades. … None of the 47 people accused in the report is currently employed by Interlochen. And owing to the amount of time that has passed, about a third of those accused are now dead.” - Interlochen...

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