Local and Industry News
The city of Coral Springs will now be running the Coral Springs Center for the Arts.
The city had previously hired Professional Facilities Management to the run the Center, which it has done for the past thirty years. The Center will now be staffed by city employees, including Meera Hammad, who was promoted from marketing director to general manager. The city hopes this change will expand entertainment activities at the Center.
According to the Wall Street Journal and Credit Karma, 60 percent of Americans have cut back on live entertainment due to rising costs. A full 26 percent stated that they do not spend any money on live entertainment, up from sixteen percent prior to the pandemic. Americans will spend $95 billion this year on live entertainment, up more than twelve percent since before the pandemic. However, that is largely due to ticket prices, which are up seven percent from last year and 27 percent since before the pandemic.
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Hollywood writers have reached an agreement with studios after a nearly five month strike. Pay and future residual earnings will rise between 3.5 and five percent. Writers will now receive residual payment bonuses for popular streaming shows. Staffing levels were also addressed, with six writers required for shows of at least thirteen episodes, and a guarantee of ten weeks employment for initial development of a show. There are also new restrictions on artificial intelligence: AI-generated storylines will not be regarded as literary material, and companies cannot request that writers use AI.
SAG-AFTRA members have voted to authorize a strike against video game companies. The union is bargaining a new Interactive Media Agreement and is asking for an eleven percent retroactive pay increase and four percent increases in the second and third years. They also want to require companies to obtain consent before using AI to reproduce their voice or likeness, and compensate actors for such use. Safety issues such as rest breaks and on-set medics are also part of the proposal.
Universal Music has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the artificial intelligence company Anthropic. Universal claims Anthopic scrapes copyrighted songs and uses them to generate identical copies via Claude. Record companies are currently dealing with the rise of AI producing deepfake songs that mimic real musicians.
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The New York City Ballet has cancelled "See the Music" performances because musicians are insisting on wearing "Fair Contract" shirts on stage. The performances elevate the orchestra to stage level where they can be seen. Musicians have voted to authorize a strike as they fight to restore pay which is now nine percent below their pre-pandemic level. The Ballet is also demanding significant health care concessions.
Musicians of the Cleveland Symphony have ratified a new three-year agreement. Wages will rise 4.8 percent in the first year and three percent in each of the final years. There were also changes to the hiring process: screens will remain up for all rounds of auditions, and the music director cannot hire a musician without first having them play an audition.
Chicago Symphony musicians have ratified a new three-year agreement. Wages will rise three percent in each year, and there will be new limits on travel-and-play days while on tour.
Musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra have ratified a new three year agreement after voting to authorize a strike. Wages will rise nearly sixteen percent over the three years, with a six percent raise in the first year. By the end of the agreement all 105 positions are to be filled, and substitute and extra musicians will finally have wage parity with the full-time musicians.
