The American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund, set up for AFM's roughly 50,000 members in New York but underfunded for decades, was projected to become insolvent by 2034. The Federal funding, arranged by Sen. Schumer (D-NY), is part of President Biden's American Rescue Plan, passed in 2021. - The Hollywood Reporter
Across the musical universe, country is cool again. This year, for the first time, the country festival Stagecoach sold out before its better-known mainstream counterpart, Coachella. - The Wall Street Journal
Wearing sneakers onstage (and a Nehru jacket rather than a tux) is just one of numerous steps which the new Baltimore Symphony music director is taking to show ordinary folks that classical music does not have to be stuffy and intimidating. - The New York Times
Quebec RCMP say they seized 62.7 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the walls of a grand piano during searches in the Lanaudière and Sherbrooke areas following a tip from US Homeland Security. Four suspects have been arrested. - Canadian Press (Yahoo!)
Dozens of San Francisco Symphony Chorus members say leadership has proposed slashing their budget by up to 80%, a move they believe could further tarnish the institution’s reputation. - San Francisco Chronicle
Verizon "knowingly provides its high-speed service to a massive community of online pirates," said the complaint filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York. - Ars Technica
Music being too easy to make means too much of the same music is made, “making it harder to find really exceptional things.” Because of the creative dependency there’s likely not much exceptional to listen to, anyway. - 3 Quarks Daily
The tool lets people hum the song, sing the song or even play the song on another instrument. The feature is rolling out to YouTube music subscribers on both iOS and Android. - Engadget
Dominique Meyer, considered a good manager of the notoriously difficult Milan opera house, has been denied a second term by Italy's nationalist government, which wants Italians in such positions, and his age (69) makes him legally ineligible for similar jobs at home in France. - AP
Fast forward to 2024, one Brexit vote and a global pandemic later, and opera companies are facing relentless budget cuts and declining public popularity. The ripple effects are widespread geographically, affecting both the centre and periphery of different UK regions. - The Conversation
In the States, unions are very strong and rigorous, and they protect their members until they retire. I found the British scene to be more flexible and accommodating when it comes to artistic matters. Musicians never mind staying an extra five minutes and they never go home right away when the rehearsal is over. - Gramophone
Not if the Bury historical mavens have anything to do with it. No blue plaque for the punk rock band is their unanimous decision. One punk fan says, "It’s actually an even better response that they have said 'no' – I think anyone involved in punk would absolutely love that.” - BBC
“In its heyday, the Barton Opus was able to recreate the sounds of many instruments, including strings, flutes and tubas. ... It also contained real percussion instruments such as a piano, xylophone, glockenspiel, cymbals and drums and could produce sound effects including steamboat and bird whistles.” - AP
Most of the bells in the towers of Spain's churches had been mechanized in the 1970s and '80s, and the machinery is now deteriorating. So one master in Catalonia is teaching younger people the old chiming sequences, what each one is meant to communicate, and how to execute them. - AP
In L.A., Chan’s appearances at Walt Disney Concert Hall have already proved notable. Last year, she got her 15 minutes of unwanted viral fame from her performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony with the L.A. Phil, when a member of the audience had an audible incident that some attributed to an orgasm. - Los Angeles Times
