“By threatening to leave the state because it doesn’t want the government to enforce the law, Paramount further proves the danger of its outsized power over the industry and what that will mean for writers and the creative community." - Deadline
They reveal that even as expenses ticked downward, donations fell 25 percent short of expectations last year, and that this year’s ticket revenue is on pace to earn about half of what the orchestra budgeted. - Washington Post
One company, Inception Point AI, has “a cohort of more than 100 personas, each with its own market-friendly niche, that could be deployed to host podcasts, star in YouTube videos, converse with followers and — in the company’s loftiest vision — one day navigate the physical world in a robotic body.” - The New York Times
“The Mozarteum Foundation on July 15 unveiled 320 statuettes, barely … 20 inches high, showing Mozart with his dog. They were designed by German conceptual artist Ottmar Hörl. Within two weeks, more than 80 of the polymer figures had disappeared. By Wednesday, a total of 210 were missing.” - AP
“The past year has seen an explosion of dance on the big screen. Behind some of (the) more technical sequences are dance doubles — professional dancers who step in for the actors and execute the choreography. But what does being a dance double actually entail? And how do performers book these roles?” - Dance Magazine
“The comedians behind some thoughtful shows (this year) are exploring the vexed problem with a mixture of droll wit and intuitive wisdom." One of them created an AI replica of himself and interacts with it onstage; another recounts how he became convinced AI software was deliberately sabotaging his career. - The New York Times
This past season saw only six new musicals, the fewest in 25 years; the coming season will have at least eight, roughly the post-COVID normal. The shows have eight-figure budgets, and some have music by superstars (Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dolly Parton, Prince), while others have familiar IP (Paddington, Benjamin Button, Black Swan.) - Broadway Journal
The Strawberry Music Festival, held in the Sierra foothills near Nevada City in October, features American roots music of many types, including performances by major country stars. Co-founder Charlie Cran died suddenly in November, and his heirs, now the event’s owners, aren’t yet ready to present the festival properly. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“The San Diego Museum of Art laid off nearly a dozen employees Wednesday in what it described as an effort to stay sustainable as it contends with rising operating costs and an uncertain funding future.” - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
“When a show becomes a meme, the meme becomes the story, eclipsing the show itself. This phenomenon is here to stay. Thankfully, we’ll always have satire.” - The New York Times
Most discussions of AI and consciousness ask whether machines can experience anything. But maybe the real mystery is: If consciousness is not fundamentally related to higher cognition, then what kind of phenomenon is it? - Noema
The Royal Theatre of Rabat, which includes an 1,800-seat main auditorium, a 520-seat performance space, and a 7,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, was largely completed in 2021 but only opened this year. It’s planned as an international platform for Moroccan, Arabic and African music, dance and theater — and Western pop. - The New York Times
Looking at trends in the trade category, which includes religion books, sale rose 2.7% overall to $21.7 billion. The increase was led by religious presses, whose sales rose 9.3%, to $2.2 billion. Adult fiction sales had the second biggest sales increase, with revenue up 3.9%, to $7.1 billion. - Publishers Weekly
The renowned actor has played piano his whole life, and formally written music for at least 30 years, but it might still surprise many to learn that later this month Hopkins will release his debut album, "Life Is a Dream," on Decca Classics. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
It’s a vital, creative and adaptive evolution, a way of preserving an important cultural heritage in a world of cheap noise where the piano recital might otherwise fade from view or become hopelessly marginalized. - 3 Quarks Daily
