Faith Hahn

The story, Kelley writes, is “the tale of what happens when working-class consumption of popular culture overrides the interests or concerns of popular culture workers . . . a story about the limits of solidarity . . . [set by] consumers whose own self-interest may actually clash with the demands of laboring artists.”

We already know that by ownership independents account for nearly half of the recorded music market. The reality is that the feeding frenzy in the independent sector is a sign of the majors’ weakness rather than their strength.

Streaming has shattered the barriers to market entry the majors created in the CD age. That trend will only continue.

The... See more

I must Create a System, or be enslav'd by another Mans

I will not Reason & Compare: my business is to Create

The most prominent recent victory for organized musicians was 2018’s Music Modernization Act, which, among other things, established mechanical royalties for streaming, based on a “grand bargain” offering streaming services indemnity from infringement lawsuits in exchange for royalties. The MMA was sponsored by conservative Republicans Bob... See more

At a time when cultural homogenisation is on the rise, where generative AI is increasingly putting innovative creativity in competition with mass derivation, we risk a future where music diversity is also being actively commercially suppressed. The introduction of thresholds, especially where they de-monetise repertoire , but also where they apply... See more

We also discuss, among other things: decapitated ostriches, fatal rose petals, and Mary’s robust reappraisal of Marcus Aurelius’s ‘sub-Stoic’ maundering.

But like Bernstein, Viardot — born exactly 200 years ago, on July 18, 1821 — was far more than a Zelig. One of the supreme singers of her time, she was also a prolific composer, whose music is slowly being salvaged from obscurity; a savvy entrepreneur; a gifted visual artist; and a highly respected voice teacher.

Ashmole was born on 23 May 1617