An analysis by The Wrap reports that Hollywood executive compensation rose 51 percent last year. The top 18 executives earned $746 million last year.
The Department of Education has proposed the Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability rule. The rule would judge higher education programs by graduates’ earnings, comparing them to median salaries of workers age 25 to 35 with bachelor’s degrees. Students in programs whose graduates fail to meet earnings benchmarks in two of three years could lose eligibility for federal student loans and Pell grants. Preliminary reviews by the New York Times and others indicate that most arts and music programs would likely fail, including all culinary programs, most religious studies programs, and music programs at the Juilliard School of Music.
The New World Symphony has extended its contract with Stephane Deneve by five years. Deneve succeeded Michael Tilson Thomas as artistic director in 2022 and his new contract now runs through the 2031-32 season.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper has ordered Trump’s name be removed from the Kennedy Center, and has also issued a preliminary injunction blocking closure of the Center. Cooper stated that only Congress can change the name of the Center. He also noted that closing the Center for two years would cause irreparable harm.
The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts has restored arts funding for smaller organizations. Last year the Council made groups with budgets under $100,000 ineligible for grants. This year, they have introduced Spotlight, which restores funding for groups with budgets of $10,000 to $100,000.
recording
YouTube now has more daily viewing than Netflix. Average daily global usage per YouTube account rose to 99.1 minutes in 2025, while Netflix usage dropped to 93.4 minutes internationally. The two platforms have been competing for viewers, with YouTube having exclusive rights to stream the Oscars and showing its first NFL game, while Netflix has launched video podcasts.
Suno has raised an additional $400 million. The AI music generation platform with the ability to generate songs in seconds is now worth $5.4 billion. It now has more than two million paying subscribers.
The AFM is suing Universal Music and Warner over licensing training with Suno and Udio. The AFM claims that use of their music to train the AI programs is a breach of their collective bargaining agreement and constitutes a “new use.”
The Directors Guild of America has secured a new four-year agreement with the studios and streaming services. The previous contract expired on June 30 and the new agreement is subject to ratification by members.
California Assembly Bill 2319 would establish a $100 million budget for post production work. Productions that do post-production work in the state would be eligible for a tax writeoff of 45 percent of eligible spending. If the post production work is music scoring, that figure would rise to 50 percent of eligible spending.
Japan has revised its Copyright Act to include a record performance and communication right. This right will require that performers and record companies would be paid when their recordings are played in public spaces. With this passage, the United States is the final holdout as every other country now pays performers for public performance of their recordings.
symphonic
The Kennedy Center still has not approved a budget for the National Symphony. The $40 million budget is now three months late and is putting the Symphony’s season in jeopardy. Without a budget, the Symphony cannot secure venues, hire soloists, announce their season, or start selling subscriptions.
The Washington National Opera is suing the Kennedy Center for the return of $17 million in donations. The Opera has performed at the Center for the past 50 years, and the Center has managed all donations for the past fifteen years. The Opera recently split from the Center and claims the Center is holding millions in donations earmarked for the Opera.
The Cincinnati Opera is launching the first of its Black Opera Projects, a $6 million endeavor to produce three new works that tell Black American stories. The Afrofuturist opera Lalovavi by Kevin Day and Tifara Brown will premiere in July.