The streaming boom that lifted the music industry’s fortunes in the mid-2010s after years of decline has leveled off, — with the recorded-music industry posting just 4% growth in the first half of 2024 after many years of double-digit increases — and all three major companies have been laying off staff. - Variety
"More than 150 musicians and patrons joined the Symphony Chorus, which formed a picket … in front of Davies Symphony Hall an hour and a half before the Verdi Requiem concert was scheduled to begin. Among the signs held by strikers, one read, 'No contract = No Chorus.'" - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"The deal with Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians calls for raises of about 15% in 2024-25, and 7.5% each in 2025-26 and 2026-27. Base pay will rise to $205,000 by the deal’s final season." - AP
The symphony believes one way to attract audiences is to showcase what few cities have, a one-of-a-kind performing arts scene, which also includes the ballet, the opera, the SF Jazz Center, and the Conservatory. - ABC7
Streaming equalizes the monetization across all fans, despite the fact that superfans listen to music a few hours every day, and yet casual fans only listen to a few hours every week." - Music Business Worldwide
“Fact number one”, according to Grainge, is that “streaming has resulted in a quantum leap forward in music access and monetization and streaming will continue to propel many years of industry growth.” - Music Business Worldwide
"By using advanced brainwave measurements and neural imaging, the scientists identified that music engages a circuit connecting the auditory cortex and parts of the brain involved in reward and emotional processing, creating what the researchers call 'triple-time locking' of neural oscillations." - PsyPost
"A convoy of trucks bearing eight restored bells — the heaviest of which weighs more than 4 tons — pulled into the huge worksite Thursday. … They are being blessed in a special ceremony ... before being hoisted to hang in its twin towers for the Dec. 8 reopening (following the catastrophic 2019 fire)." - AP
The German virtuoso pianist and composer was hailed as a musical genius by critics for her powerful and inventive performances and her original and deeply expressive compositions. Why, then, is she nearly forgotten today? - The Conversation
The administration is negotiating a new contract with the musicians, who haven't had a raise since 2019. The messy sexual misconduct case involving two principal musicians has heated up. The orchestra won't have a music director for another two years, and its CEO up and quit in July. - The New York Times
"According to AGMA, 100% of the paid choristers voted in favor of the authorization, with 98% of eligible members participating. Additionally, 81% of the unpaid singers scheduled to perform pledged to honor a picket line." The announced work on the program: Verdi's Requiem - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"The resignation, on the day before the opening concert of the season, of CFO Sylvia Romo, hired by Executive Director Roberto Treviño in January, follows a string of staff resignations, terminations and nonrenewed contracts throughout Treviño’s 14-month tenure. - San Antonio Report
Research on the creativity trajectories of eminent composers has revealed a number of factors that affect productivity over a career. These include the ages at which they began studying music, began composing, and wrote their earliest acknowledged masterworks. - Psychology Today
The interesting thing is that the CD comeback seems to be largely the work of younger consumers. 43% of CD buyers are under 35. Vinyl is still rising in sales, but with prices of a vinyl album pushing £30 these days, Gen Z consumers may be turning to the CD album as a cheaper alternative. - MusicRadar
As a scholar of music’s role in American politics and patriotism, I’ve never seen music assume as much electoral importance as it has in recent months. - The Conversation
