Local and Industry News
A report by economists indicates that not labor costs but corporate profits are driving up inflation.
Over the past few quarters, profits have been rising much faster than labor costs.
Average worker pay rose 5.1 percent in November. Unemployment is at a 53-year low of 3.7 percent, and employers are having to pay more to attract workers.
A survey by Help Musicians in the UK shows that the public appetite for music is up even as musicians are suffering. Sixty-seven percent of the public, and 83 percent of adults ages 18 to 24, say that they cannot live without music. Eighty percent of young adults listen to music daily. However, 60 percent of musicians reported that they are worse off financially than they were a year ago.
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Streaming service Peacock now has more than 18 million subscribers. That is up from 15 million subscribers at the end of last quarter, but still a far cry from the Netflix and Disney Plus subscriber numbers.
AMC Networks is cutting 20 percent of its staff as CEO Christina Spade departs. Costs of developing programs has been rising as ad revenue has been declining, and substantial cuts in every operating area are expected.
The House Judiciary Committee has approved the American Music Fairness Act. The bill would address the issue that the US is the only major country that does not pay musicians a performance royalty for radio broadcasts. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate, and the full congress would have to vote on the bill and it would have to be signed by President Biden for it to become law.
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Musicians of the Rochester Philharmonic have ratified a two-year agreement. Wages will remain the same this year but the season length will be shortened by a half week. In the second year, the season length will be restored and wages will rise three percent.
Hawaii Symphony musicians have ratified a four-year agreement. Weekly wages will remain the same but the season length will increase from 18 weeks to 21 weeks by the fourth year.
The Metropolitan Opera suffered a weeklong cyberattack. Their website, box office, call center, and Opera on Demand were all taken offline. The Opera says the attack appears to be the work of an organized criminal gang.
