The report also notes that consumer spending on the arts rose ten percent annually during the same period, and US arts and culture has run a trade surplus that has grown every year, largely due to movie, TV, and software publishing exports.
The Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta has reached a new agreement with Live Nation to operate the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Under the 20-year agreement, Live Nation will be responsible for operating the theatre as well as booking, scheduling, and marketing events in the 12,000-seat theatre in exchange for fixed payments which will support the Atlanta Symphony.
Catalogue albums outsold new releases for the first time in 2015. Albums released more than 18 months earlier outsold new releases by 4.3 million copies.
Warner Music and Sony Music have announced that they will share any cash windfall if services that they hold ownership stakes in, such as Spotify, go public. Record labels have often made deals to reduce royalty rates in exchange for equity in streaming services. Spotify is expected to go public within the next year.
NBC Universal Telemundo is building a $250 million headquarters in Miami-Dade. The 450,000-square-foot facility will be located near the Dolphin Mall and will include state-of-the-art TV production sound stages. The facility is expected to open in early 2018, in time for the FIFA World Cup.
Florida Opera Theatre has changed its name to Opera Orlando and hired Gabriel Preisser as executive and artistic director. Florida Opera Theatre was formed after the collapse of Orlando Opera in 2009. Preisser hopes to expand the audience by performing in unconventional spaces, re-imagining works, and developing programs for children and young adults.
Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony have agreed to extend the terms of their contract until July 31. Musicians and management have been in negotiations for some time, with musicians voting to authorize a strike and management threatening to implement an eight percent pay cut. The extension will give them additional time to negotiate a new agreement and will ensure that the Symphony will continue to perform through the summer.
The Cleveland Orchestra has ratified a new 3-year agreement. The agreement calls for wage increases of 2.6 percent, 2.1 percent, and 3.8 percent, as well as changes to touring conditions.