Miami Music Project has received a $15,000 grant from the Jorge M. Perez Family foundation. They will use the grant to develop a ne website that deepens its community connections.
A study by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has found an increase in public interest in orchestral music. The study reports that 89 percent of adults are interested in attending concerts, up from 79 percent in 2018. The report also noted that the interest among those under age 25 rose from 78 percent to 92 percent in the same time period.
Arold Mittelman has created a digital archive of documents from the Coconut Grove Playhouse. Mittelman received a $100,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to create the archive, which includes documents from all 521 productions that took place at the playhouse. The playhouse opened in 1956 and closed in 2006, and Mittelman was a former director at the playhouse. The archive is located at http://coconutgroveplayhousearchive.org.
recording
Sony, Warner, and others are suing Anthropic for illegally downloading and scraping copyrighted works. Universal and Concord had previously sued Anthropic, and the courts ordered Anthropic to pay them $1.5 billion.
According to the RIAA, CD sales rose 45 percent in the first half of 2026, to 17.5 million CDs. This is after a 22 percent drop in CD sales in 2024, and is likely due to collectors purchasing special editions of K-Pop acts. CD sales amount to a small fraction of revenue compared to streaming revenue.
The box office had its highest-grossing summer ever. Sales through Labor Day were $4.76 billion, passing the previous record of $4.75 billion in 2013. for the first time, this summer also saw each month from May through August generating over $1 billion.
symphonic
Boston Ballet has received an anonymous donation of $10 million. The gift will honor artistic director Mikko Nissinen, who has led the ballet for 25 years. The gift is also part of a larger campaign to financially strengthen the Ballet and raise its endowment fund to $100 million.
Cleveland Orchestra musicians have unanimously voted to approve a strike. Their contract expired in August and one of the issues they are fighting over is more self-care for repetitive stress injuries and increased strain.
The L.A. Philharmonic will offer $10 tickets for Hollywood Bowl performances to residents with Medi-Cal or EBT cards. The orchestra also provides free tickets through a program called Community Concert Connections. Both of these programs are attempts to increase access for those of all income levels.
The San Francisco Opera Orchestra has reached agreement on a new contract after a brief strike. Their contract expired in July, and several performances were cancelled due to the strike. Management had proposed a pay cut and a reduced season despite an increase in ticket sales, donations, and subscriptions. Musicians noted that they were being asked to take a pay cut while the general director saw a 72 percent pay increase.
The San Diego Symphony has announced their first tour of Europe. They will visit Spain, France, Germany, and Ireland in 2027. Some tour performances are part of the “America 250” celebration. The orchestra has previously toured to China.
Philadelphia Orchestra musicians have reached agreement on a new, three-year contract. By the end of the contract, wages will rise to over $200,000, up from their current base salaries of $176,280. The orchestra size will also increase by one musician, and substitute and extra musicians will also receive supplemental payments for their retirement accounts.
Atlanta Ballet musicians protested the Ballet’s use of pre-recorded music for their September Passion and Pride” production. The Ballet has sharply reduced the role of the orchestra this season. In 2006, the Ballet had previously eliminated the orchestra as a cost-saving measure.