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
After having performances cancelled over and over (and if they're not, performers and programming changing last-minute) — especially in Australia, which has had some of the world's strictest lockdowns — some groups are trying options beyond the rigid pre-packaged subscription. Here's a look at some experiments. - Arts Hub (Australia)
Is it a good or an ethical idea to go to a concert in the vortex of this unprecedented surge, what with local hospitals overwhelmed and understaffed and worse certain to come in the next weeks? Like so many questions during the last two years, we don’t have easy answers. - MSN (LATimes)
The company announced today it will use data from iSpot.tv, a Bellevue, Wash.-based company that measures audiences across linear TV and streaming platforms to provide viewing information on the two major events next month. - Los Angeles Times
"The recorded music industry may no longer be laser-focused on the compact disc, but the format's sales grew in 2021 for the first time in 17 years, driven by superstar product boosted by retailer-exclusive collectibles, as well as by older catalog titles." - Inside Radio
Even before omicron hit, "the red flags were flying low back in 2021. The monstrous success of Spider-Man helped paper over the cracks of what was an underwhelming final quarter at the box office." - The Guardian (UK)
We can't watch them - for very good reason, as the organization that put them on is ... problematic, to say the least - and publicists have been avoiding them. Do they matter to Hollywood? - Vulture
In its second week on the streaming platform, the disaster movie has recorded 152,290,000 hours streamed between Dec. 27 and Jan 2, putting it right at the top of its leaderboard of globally viewed English-language films. - Variety
