Local and Industry News
A new study by researchers at the University of Exeter finds that playing a musical instrument can give you better brain health as you age.
The study found that practicing and reading music can help with memory and solving complex tasks, and those that read music regularly have better numerical memory. Those that continue to play later in life showed additional benefits.
A rule change to the Fair Labor Standards Act takes place March 11 that should curb misclassification as independent contractors. The economic realities test will now consider six items when determining if someone should be classified as an employee: opportunity for profit or loss, investments by the worker and employer, permanence of the relationship, nature and degree of control, whether the work is an integral part of the business, and skill and initiative. According to MBO Partners, about 45 percent of the U.S. workforce is made up of independent contractors, and nearly ten percent of them make less than the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
Carlos Frias has filed a discrimination complaint against WLRN. Frias was the host of the program "Sundial" on WLRN. Months ago he had been told that the program was sounding "very Latino." After filing the complaint, Frias and the program's two Latina producers were fired. Frias now plans to sue for wrongful termination.
Broadway had a bumper President's Day weekend. The 23 productions saw revenue rise 27 percent over the previous week. Attendance rose seven percent and the shows averaged 94 percent capacity.
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Media Mogul Byron Allen has offered $14.3 billion to buy Paramount. The Allen media group would also assume Paramount's $15 billion in debt. Allen Media Group currently owns The Weather Channel and a number of local TV stations.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Peacock owner Comcast and Paramount are in talks to merge. Offering the two smaller streaming services as a package would reduce costs for the struggling streamers and help them compete with their larger competition.
Hulu and Disney Plus begin cracking down on password sharing on March 14. Following the lead of Netflix, they have updated their terms of service so that they can scrutinize logins on devices located outside of a subscriber's residence.
According to research firm Muso, music piracy is on the rise. After seven years of declines, there were 17 billion visits to music piracy websites in 2023, and increase of thirteen percent. Some 40 percent of the piracy was from websites that rip audio from YouTube videos for download.
Spotify has narrowed its losses to $75 million in the last quarter of 2023, down from about $275 million the previous year. Subscription revenue grew 17 percent, largely due to price increases, and ad revenue grew 12 percent. The number of paid subscribers also grew 15 percent, to 236 million.
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The Columbus Symphony is planning a $275 million music and performance hall on the Scioto River. The 1,600-seat hall would be built on 6.7 acres of land being donated by the city. The agreement requires the Symphony to break ground in 2025 and complete construction by 2028.
Musicians of the Oregon Symphony have ratified a three-year agreement. Wages will rise six percent in the first year and 3.5 percent in each of the final years. There will also be increases in seniority pay for those who have been with the Symphony for more than 25 years, and break times will be increased by five minutes.
