Unfortunately, it’s not only large-scale music festivals that are copping severe losses, as many other vital players within the performing arts are battling rising costs in a funding environment that is simply not keeping pace with the price hikes associated with presenting arts events. - ArtsHub
"On average, organizations retained their full-time staff through pandemic shutdowns. Average staff size has grown over the last two years (2022 to 2023) through the addition of permanent part-time positions. Payroll has also increased over the period analyzed, outpacing inflation by 11%." - SMU DataArts
Last year, 125 grassroots music venues closed permanently and 1,293 pubs shut their doors across Britain. According to the Night Time Industries Association, more than 3,000 pubs, clubs and venues have closed down in London alone since the pandemic began in March 2020. - The Guardian
I don’t know whether the Sphere is the future of live music—it’s very expensive, both to build and attend, and the venue’s path to profitability isn’t clear at all. But I do know this: The Sphere is a mountain. - The Atlantic
"Many are wondering what the revenue landscape for arts and culture will look like after (governmental relief funds run out). Is there a revenue engine emerging that might fill this gap? To answer this question and others we analyzed data from FY 2019 to 2023 collected from 233 organizations." - SMU DataArts
That new name is The Royal Ballet and Opera. "'The Royal Opera House', as the company was previously known, did not make clear that the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera companies were part of the same organisation, (CEO Alex) Beard said." - The Guardian
We have some indications of how the arts and culture will fare under each president because, for the first time, we have two candidates who have already been president. - Berkshire Eagle
C. Pam Zhang and Safiya Noble, who were scheduled to speak at the USC Rossier ceremony, have withdrawn. "Zhang and Noble condemned the college administration for refusing to engage in meaningful dialogue with a group of peaceful student protestors … and for censoring valedictorian Asna Tabassu.” - LitHub
"Can an organization that sees itself as above politics, that sees itself straightforwardly as a support system for an open society, be allowed to exist anymore? For the protesting writers, this lofty mission represents an unforgivable moral abdication at a moment of crisis." - The Atlantic
It’s going fine, just fine: "Meta’s automated ad platform has been blowing through budgets and failing to deliver sales. Small businesses have seen their ad dollars get wiped out and wasted as a result, and some have said the bouts of overspending are driving them from Meta’s platforms." - The Verge
One curator says, "If this project has taught me anything it is about the need to educate and to introduce learning around how to preserve and protect archival materials. … On a community level there needs to be more of an awareness about preservation and archiving our stories.” - The Guardian (UK)
One creator: “I don’t think that banning an app that many people have used to raise funds for each other, bring awareness to different issues, and hold people accountable ... can even be argued as remotely an action that is being taken to care for the greater needs of the people.” - Time
"What made this (latest) meeting different from most during the past year or so was that it came a month after Disney and DeSantis’s board appointees reached a deal to end their state court lawsuits over DeSantis’s takeover of the district." - AP
Leaders from across the theatre sector have outlined their vision for a reformed Arts Council England, warning that an unchanged funding body could stoke competition for cash in its current "binary system of extremes". - The Stage
Among the encouraging stats, participation in the arts has reached its highest level since the survey began in 2005, up to 54%. Young people, deaf and disabled, Māori and Pacific peoples participate in the arts most frequently. Engagement in the arts has had a bump too, up three per cent from the last survey at 78%. - Big Idea
