Local and Industry News
Live Nation has secured a long-term contract from the city of Miami and the Bayfront Park Management Trust to run the 6,000-seat Bayfront Park Amphitheater. Live Nation will refurbish the amphitheater with modern seating and state-of-the-art production capabilities. The renovated amphitheater will reopen in June 2009.
The Gloria Estefan Foundation has partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida to donate money for education to The Education Fund (Miami-Dade), the Broward Education Foundation, the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, and the Education Foundation of Indian River County. In addition to a sizable donation from her foundation, Estefan will donate a portion of the ticket proceeds from her concerts, including the October 24 concert at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Best Buy is opening musical instrument stores in as many as 85 of its stores. Each site will feature about 2,500 square feet of retail space, selling DJ equipment, keyboards, guitars, cases, sheet music, accessories, and more from brands such as Fender, Roland, and Gibson. Best Buy also plans to offer group music lessons. Ten music centers are already open, including 10 in California, and some of the musical offerings are now also available online.
Wal-Mart has proposed opening a supercenter next to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, on parking lots owned by the Miami Herald. The sale of the land may be consummated as early as next year.
Recording
Sony and Bertelsmann are ending their four-year partnership. Sony will buy Bertelsmann's 50 share for $900 million. The purchase is subject to regulatory approval. The new entity would be called Sony Music Entertainment, and would rival Universal Music as the largest music company.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist has directed the Office of Film and Entertainment to create a Music Recording Industry Task Force. The Task Force would be charged with identifying issues impacting Florida's recording industry and developing strategies for strengthening and expanding the industry. According to the RIAA, Florida is home to over 10,000 jobs in the core music industry and nearly 48,000 jobs directly and indirectly related to the industry.
Symphony
The Vancouver Opera has signed a five-year agreement with its musicians that creates a fully tenured 54-member orchestra. The musicians are represented by the Vancouver Musicians' Association, Local 145 AFM.
The Florida Orchestra has finished the fiscal year with a $400,000 surplus on its $10 million budget. The surplus is due to $1 million in budget cuts, including cuts in musicians' wages, and additional fundraising. This season the Orchestra has raised $11 million toward its five-year sustainability campaign goal of $30 million.
The Texas Ballet Theater, $850,000 in debt, has announced that it will use recorded music for the 2008-9 season in an effort to trim its budget. The Ballet, with an annual budget of $5.4 million, had previously engaged the Fort Worth Symphony and the Dallas Opera Orchestra to perform for its productions. The move will save the ballet at least $350,000 while idling musicians for more than seven weeks.
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