AUDIENCE

Apple has new AI narrators. They're not great. "Jackson sounds like a pretty standard—if maddening—customer service line voice. ... Madison, on the other hand, sounds a little like a female version of Aiden Gillen playing American on The Wire." - LitHub

"Compared with 2013, the number of events has gone up by 2,000%, no doubt helped along in the past year by the COVID-driven rise in podcasting's popularity. … It seems the mark of success for a podcast or radio show now is whether or not it tours." - The Guardian

Today, roughly two-thirds of U.S. households pay for a cable, satellite or fiber TV subscription, down from 79% in 2017 and 85% in 2007. - Axios

Or at least that they'll buy the proceedings - cleaned up from PDF form, with introductions by politicians or allies - as a book. - NPR

"The environmental crisis is one of overconsumption, carbon emissions, and corporate greed. But it’s also a crisis of miscommunication." - Wired

Short for “free, ad-supported television,” FAST is a live, linear and growing area of the streaming universe that has emerged as a complement to on-demand offerings. The multibillion-dollar sector is inhabited by an eclectic range of purveyors, content owners and connected-TV players. - Deadline

A week after the cyberattack which has paralyzed its ticketing and payroll operations, the company has not missed a single performance.  And with its offer of any unsold seat for $50, fans come flocking.  The resulting scene is, despite the difficulties and necessary improvisation, rather orderly. - The New York Times

In partnership with food pantries, housing nonprofits, support organizations for ex-prisoners, and similar groups, the Ticket Bank will offer 1,000 free or pay-what-you-wish tickets each week to performances at the National Theatre, the Barbican, the Roundhouse, and four nonprofit theatres, with more to be added. - The Guardian

Maybe HBO wasn't quite ready for a show that is creators couldn't even describe. "Imagine 'Scooby-Doo' as written by Jorge Luis Borges and directed by Pedro Almodóvar and you can begin to approximate the vibe." - Los Angeles Times

"Driven by language-immersion schools and bilingual families, many stores are now specializing in bilingual books for young readers. Others serve heritage-language customers who want to practice their Spanish, as well as language learners seeking cultural immersion." - Publishers Weekly

Theatre history dreams: "The Broadway timeline itself is two floors filled with pictures and artifacts –costumes, props, documents – illustrating the history of New York theater from minstrelsy and vaudeville up to the present day." - NPR

Sure, it's become the classic holiday ballet (and moneymaker), but "if you look at some of the forces giving rise to it, and that still live within it, The Nutcracker isn’t all that sweet." - Washington Post

Unboxed (as the bundle of events is actually called) attracted a total audience of 18 million, but the vast majority of those watched online; in-person attendance was 2.8 million. The festival cost British taxpayers £120 million. - The Guardian

Prestige TV was already happening, but fantasy TV was new - and The Walking Dead was perfectly timed for "the convergence of television and fandom, all those recapping blogs," not to mention social media. - Los Angeles Times

Eco-artists aren't trying to shock, generally speaking: "The climate crisis has inspired visual artists to create works that challenge viewers—and themselves—to move beyond shock and outrage, and toward action." - The Atlantic