Between April and the end of the 2021, the VAB says, Nielsen did not count “one and a half billion impressions” in 20 top events. The group believes the true total of advertising dollars lost during the period could be more than $350 million. - Variety
"Has one of the great theater cities on the planet just suffered the kind of blow that may require a recovery time of years?" asks Chris Jones. "Certain truths seem to have revealed themselves" — and not only that one can't predict the course of a virus. - MSN (Chicago Tribune)
A digital drug for anyone with a phone, and especially young people, the TikTok app uses random reinforcement — similar to a slot machine on the Las Vegas strip — to keep users scrolling. It has changed the way Americans tell and view stories. - Salon
You know, hologram theatre in your kitchen or living room or ... wherever. "Theater makers are naturally fascinated: They’re used to working in 3-D. ... As soon as you bring a director or stage designer or choreographer into V.R., you see their brains whirring." - The New York Times
Recently, Broadway shows haven't needed to cancel because of COVID cases in cast or crew, but there are a lot of empty seats - and three shows are closing in hopes of reopening in the spring. - NPR
Some detainees at Rikers Island watched a livestream of Clyde's. "Theater artists often speak of their aspirations for social relevance, especially in work focused squarely on contemporary issues. That aim has long been close to Nottage’s heart." - Washington Post
As Sundance's virtual festival gets underway, the question hanging in the air is whether any indie film can succeed in traditional theatres. Older audiences are wary of the virus; thus, "the chances of success at the multiplex are now slimmer than ever." - Los Angeles Times
Following a full lockdown over Christmas, salons, gyms, and brothels were allowed to reopen this week while arts venues had to remain shuttered. So the Van Gogh Museum offered manicures, the Mauritshuis held fitness classes, and the Concertgebouw gave haircuts as Susanna Mälkki conducted Ives's Second Symphony. - France 24
Worldwide streaming subscriptions grew by a healthy 26.4% in the second quarter of 2021, standing at 521.3 million subscribers at the end of that period, an increase of 109.5 million from the year before. - Variety
“US adults are reading roughly two or three fewer books per year than they did between 2001 and 2016,” according to the report. - Publishing Perspectives
Streaming was supposed to be the great equalizer, for either access to content or its segmentation into competitive platforms warring for their niche and slice of IP. Yellowstone presents a fascinating rebuke to these trends. - The Guardian
"The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory prides itself (in non-pandemic times) on mounting plays where its actors speak in original pronunciation," and a cabinet-maker who recreated an entire Renaissance England theatre space there mastered it, only to see everything shuttered for the pandemic. - Baltimore Sun
Too familiar, and too grim. On the upside: "Until the pandemic, the industry had been enjoying a sustained boom, fueled by a rebound in the popularity of musicals and by New York’s gargantuan growth as a tourist destination. And this downturn might not last long." - The New York Times
The photo is a comforting image for booklovers - the shelves, the lights, the chairs - but why does it regularly, and randomly, trend on social media? Sadly, the library "doesn’t even exist anymore," at least not in the form of the image. But the picture will never die. - The New York Times
Box office and concession revenues saw significant growth across the second half of 2021. Notably, group performance was at 50% of 2019 levels in July, increasing to 90% in October and with December reaching 88%. - Deadline
