Industry News
The Florida Youth Orchestra has been invited to participate in Jamestown, Virginia's 400th anniversary celebration.
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts adds the Miramar Cultural Arts Center to the list of venues that they manage. The Center also currently manages the Parker Playhouse and the Miniaci Performing Arts Center.
Recording
Circuit City and Napster have joined together to offer a music subscription service to compete with iTunes. In addition to the subscription service, customers will be able to download individual songs for $.99.
U.S. CD sales were down nearly 13 percent in 2006, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Overall sales were down 6.2 percent, helped by increased sales in digital formats.
EMI will begin selling songs on iTunes without copy protection. The unprotected songs will also come with a $.30 premium, selling for $1.29. Consumers have complained that the copy protection prevents purchased songs from being played on a wide range of hardware due to different types of Digital Rights Management software.
Sprint Nextel has announced that they will cut prices of digital music downloads from $2.49 to $.99, matching the prices at iTunes.
Symphony
The New York Philharmonic has launched podcasts featuring musicians, conductors, and guest artists talking about upcoming concerts. The podcasts are available for free on the orchestra's website, as well as on iTunes.
The Florida Orchestra will move its offices from Tampa to a new arts hub in St. Petersburg with St. Petersburg College, American Stage, and the Florida International Museum. The college will rent space to the orchestra for $1 a year, and the orchestra will begin developing a n educational partnership with the college.
Orlando Opera general director Robert Swedberg has resigned after 17 years with the company. According to President and CEO Jim Ireland, the general director position will probably be phased out.
Write reply
Comments must be approved before being published.
