Stories

Utah Bans Alice Sebold’s Memoir “Lucky” From All Public Schools

“The ban comes amidst a lawsuit challenging these state-sanctioned bans filed in February, and it comes after banning 15 other books in 2026 alone.” - Book Riot

Study: A High Percentage Of Musicians Are Using AI In their Work

A new study from the Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music found that 33 percent of respondents  “use AI to generate initial ideas, melodies, or reference tracks that are later reworked.” About 26 percent of artists “use AI for full backing tracks in finished work.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Musicians Union Sues UMG And Warner Over License Deals For AI

“The AFM brings this lawsuit because defendants, two of the largest music companies in the world, have licensed sound recordings on which AFM-represented musicians have worked, without compensation or credit, to two AI companies,” reads the lawsuit. - Pitchfork

Universal Music Group Contemplating A $1.5B Bond Sale

Universal Music has a one euro billion bridge loan, which was arranged earlier this year, that matures in late July – as well as a 500 million euro bond due in 2027 – data compiled by Bloomberg showed. - Business Times

Museum With World’s Largest Collection Of Kahlo And Rivera Paintings Reopens After Long, Unexplained Closure

“Set in lush gardens patrolled by peacocks and ... dogs, the (Museo Dolores Olmedo in Mexico City) closed in 2020 during the coronavirus outbreak. It remained shuttered, with little explanation, long after the pandemic abated. Then on May 30, it reopened — in time, the management said, for the World Cup.” - The New York Times

The Latest Design For Rebuilding New York’s Penn Station Is Actually Very Good

Justin Davidson: “The latest version of this perpetual top priority just might dispel the curse of inertia — because it should dramatically alleviate crowds, delays, and misery, and because it comes with architecture we can treasure rather than tolerate.” - Curbed (MSN)

One Year After It Shut Down, This Bay Area Theater Company Will Attempt A Resurrection

“Aurora Theatre Company devastated generations of fans and artists when it announced last summer it was vacating its (Berkeley) space and laying off staff. Now the 34-year-old theater, beloved for its intimate, high-quality productions featuring local actors, is coming back.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Geneva’s Orchestre De La Suisse Romande Names Tugan Sokhiev Principal Conductor

“The initial three-season appointment will begin with the 2026–27 season, marking the conductor’s first major long-term leadership position since stepping down from his posts at the Bolshoi Theatre and the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse in 2022.” - Moto Perpetuo

French Superstar Patrick Bruel Detained By Police Over Multiple Sexual Assault Charges

“The singer became a major star across the French-speaking world in the 1980s and 1990s with a string of hits that became part of French popular culture. He also appeared in more than 40 film and television productions. … (He faces) allegations by at least 13 women of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault.” - AP

Wilma “Billie” Tisch, 98, One Of New York’s Leading Cultural Philanthropists

The wife of Larry Tisch, one of the brothers who made Loews into a conglomerate, she oversaw the donation of millions of dollars to Jewish and cultural organizations, notable among them the WNYC Foundation, the Tisch Children’s Zoo in Central Park, and the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. - The New York Times

Hampshire College Confirms It Will Offer Final Semester This Fall

‘Hampshire College says it has secured financing that will allow it to complete a fall 2026 semester before closing for good, reversing concerns raised last week that the school might not have enough money to carry out the process.” - Boston.com

How America Lost Control Of Its History

A nation defined by blood and soil—built around a shared religion or ethnicity—can survive divergent narratives. To a country built on an idea, though, and bound together by a shared understanding of our history, the inability to tell a common story might well prove fatal. - The Atlantic

What I Saw From Inside The Kennedy Center Meltdown

Palermo also said Trump's Truth Social post about handing control back to Congress sounded like an attempt to distance himself from an institution. He adds that he believes the Trump administration has driven the center into bankruptcy. - NPR

The Problem With Responses To AI Creations

At its core, this is a debate about values. A short story implies a human artistic act with intentional imaginative labour—the exact practice whose future is now at risk if the literary world doesn’t take a stand. - The Walrus

Will People Embrace The First AI Art Museum?

Dataland — a museum built with artificial intelligence — arrives as debates explode across socio-political lines about the impact of the advancing technology on our culture, cognition, communication, economy, environment and careers, including in the arts. - Los Angeles Times

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss