The RIAA reported that U.S. recorded revenue grew to $17.7 billion, an all-time high, while vinyl sales stayed strong, growing to $1.4 billion in 2024. But this year’s report confirms that streaming growth is slowing, down to just 3 percent compared to 8 percent a year ago. - The Hollywood Reporter
The four-year extension means that the Italian conductor will remain in D.C. at least through the National Symphony’s centennial season. - The Washington Post (MSN)
“(The) eminent concert pianist, who has boycotted strongman rule in Russia and his native Hungary, said on Wednesday that he would no longer perform in the United States because of concerns about President Trump’s ‘unbelievable bullying’ on the world stage.” - The New York Times
“By connecting cables from his custom-built modular synthesizers to mushrooms, fruits, and leaves, he transforms their natural bioelectric signals into captivating sounds. During his performances, he works with focused precision, adjusting the knobs and buttons to fine-tune the rhythmic and peculiar sounds that are created.” - Atlas Obscura
Reporter Elysa Gardner looks in on some master classes designed to hone young performers’ skills in delivering song lyrics, improvisation and scat singing, assembling a program, and other ingredients of a successful cabaret performance. - The New York Times
Hertz Hall, the existing classical venue at UC-Berkeley, seats 600; it wasn’t uncommon for some concerts to attract 100 people or fewer, but there were no concert halls that size anywhere nearby. That is, until the opening on Sunday of the 100-seat Wu Performance Hall. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
This past Sunday, at the music center at Strathmore, near Washington, 22 students who had lost their chance to play tuned up with the military band veterans for the concert that was not meant to be heard. - CBSNews
"The solid bronze severed head of Melbourne’s decapitated King George V statue was reported to have briefly reappeared in public, gracing the stage during a performance by Irish rap group Kneecap.” - Irish Times
"I was conscious ... that I was part of a collectively realised beauty. And that it was as that beauty fell in plaintive harmony on those two words – wept and remember – that I felt the sweetness of living being restored to a memory.” - The Guardian (UK)
“For decades, cassette players have carried the soul-stirring poetry of Sufi saints and the mystical melodies of Kashmiri instruments like the sarangi and santoor, and it’s long been a local ritual for families to gather around the warm hum of a tape player.” - Seattle Times (AP)
But how much of that made it to the artists? “Major-label artists with massive streaming numbers can make substantial money, but for mid-level and emerging artists, streaming income is often unsustainable.” - CBC
“It has come to our attention that unsanctioned, AI-generated music purporting to contain Celine Dion’s musical performances, and name and likeness, is currently circulating online and across various Digital Service Providers,” read a Friday post on Dion’s social media. - Los Angeles Times
The pro-Canada songs currently spreading across social media, including some by Canadian celebrities, reveal a range of reactions to Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, while also contributing to the national mood. - The Conversation
On Thursday night, the Kennedy Center concert hall was awash in nearly a minute of howling, passionate booing. It started with one or two boos and caught on fast, roaring from the rows. I’ve never heard anything quite like it — let alone before a note was played. - Washington Post
