Volusia County has eliminated its decades-old cultural grant funding program. $611,000 was to be funded this year, but the funding was voted down because of a production of Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Deland Athens Theater and two drag pageants in Lake Helen. Notably, all of these productions were rentals produced by outside organizations and would not have received any of the cancelled arts funding.
After 98 percent of musicians voted to authorize a strike, musicians have a tentative agreement with Broadway. Musicians last went on strike in 2003, and were fighting for better wages and healthcare contributions and more job security. Actors Equity has also reached an agreement with Broadway after threatening a strike. One of their key concerns was also healthcare.
Ireland is making its pilot program for basic income for artists permanent in 2026. The pilot program began in 2022 to support artists following the pandemic. It will provide 2,000 artists a weekly payment of about $375. The program is expected to increase the artists’ productivity by 22 percent and lower the cost to consumers by 9 to 25 percent.
Heather Ossola and Lauren Birnbaum have founded the Coastal Ballet of Florida in Tampa Bay. The company of 12 dancers, 10 company members, and two apprentices gave its first performance in April and will soon begin its first full season. They hope to collaborate with the Florida Orchestra at some point in the future.
The Prebys Foundation in San Diego has announced $13.4 million in emergency arts grants. The grants are designed to keep arts organizations’ doors open and artists working. Recipients include the San Diego Symphony and La Jolla Playhouse.
The White House has fired all of the council members advising the National Endowment of the Humanities except the four appointed by President Trump. The 26 council members are appointed by the President and are supposed to serve six-year terms. Trump hopes to replace the council members with those that more closely align with his vision.
The Eastern Music Festival board of directors have voted to dissolve the 64-year-old Festival. Faculty members had voted in 2023 to be represented by the AFM and had been negotiating a first contract. The Festival’s assets will be transferred to another nonprofit.
More Broadway tours are launching from Baltimore. tours launching from Baltimore include Water for Elephants, &Juliet, The Wiz, and Life of Pi. One of the reasons my be Maryland’s Theatrical Production Tax Credit, which was established in 2022 and is set to expire in 2027 and can provide up to $2 million for a single production.
recording
WETA radio in Washington DC has eliminated 21 jobs and cancelled three TV shows as it tries to cut $4.4 million in costs. The station has a $6.7 million shortfall this year and a projected $9 million shortfall next year, in part due to the elimination of and rescission of Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding.
Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl album has set new records. The album sold four million units in its first week of release, beating the record set by Adele’s 25. Swift is also now the solo artist with the most Number 1 albums, with 15 albums at the top of the Billboard 200, just behind the Beatles, who hold the overall record at 19 albums.
Production activity in Los Angeles has dropped below the level of the 20223 strikes. The decline is due in part to a sharp drop in reality TV production. At only 2,631 location shoot days for the quarter, this is the worst quarter since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Los Angeles, however, is not alone, as production has declined worldwide.
YouTube paid $8 billion to the music industry for the year ending July 2025. The revenue is generated from ads and subscriptions, and is paid to labels, publishers, and songwriters, in addition to artists. This is an increase of $2 billion since the year ending in 2022.
President Trump has proposed a 100 percent tariff on movies made outside the US. The proposal includes no details about how the tariffs would be enforced and what would be subject to them, and there are questions over how you can apply a tariff to a service rather than a tangible good.
symphonic
The Vancouver Symphony is poised to go on strike. Their contract expired on July 1 and they have been in negotiations since April. Musicians are fighting for wages that are competitive with other large symphonies.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has raised $305 million of its $330 million goal for a stability campaign it launched in 2019. Attendance has risen to 75 percent, exceeding pre-pandemic levels, and the number of patrons under the age of 59 has risen 78 percent.
The elimination of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the clawing back of funds will have a significant effect on classical music broadcasting. About 96 percent of classical broadcasts are on public airwaves, and the loss of funding amounts to between 5 and 50 percent of many of those stations’ operating budgets. Another wrinkle in the closure of the CPB is that the Corporation negotiated music licenses and covered the cost, and now the stations will have to negotiate and pay themselves.