Local and Industry News

Despite the economy, Broadway is doing well. Broadway theaters are reporting minimal dropoffs at the box office this season, and more shows will open this season than in either of the past two seasons.

Recording

SoundExchange and the National Association of Broadcasters have reached an agreement on fees paid to artists and labels when their music is streamed over the Internet. The agreement covers streaming by local radio stations or stand-alone Internet stations created by local radio stations, and sets rates through 2015.

The AFM and recording artists have kicked off a campaign in support of the Performance Rights Act. The Act would close a loophole that allows terrestrial radio stations to broadcast music without compensation to the performers. Performers are already compensated when their music is broadcast over satellite radio, cable, or the Internet. Other countries already have provisions for collecting performance royalties when music is broadcast over radio, but cannot distribute those funds to American musicians because the United States lacks a reciprocal performance royalty.

Symphony

The inter-generational Boynton Beach Regional Symphony has performed its final concert. The orchestra, which has had a three-concert season for the past four years, has become the latest victim of the economy.

The Orlando Opera may have performed its last opera. The 51-year old organization, which performs three operas per season and has a $2.7 million budget, must raise $500,000 or be forced to combine forces with another organization or reinvent itself as an opera training company. The Opera, which had been recovering from prior seasons' deficits, has seen its endowment disappear due to the economy.

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced broad cuts to reduce its deficit. Senior management, including Music Director Franz Wesler-Most and Executive Director Gary Hansen, will take pay cuts of ten to twenty percent. The orchestra's endowment has declined by $34 million, or over twenty-five percent, due to the economy, and the Orchestra's pension fund is underfunded by $20 million.