FEATURE
Los Angeles Fires: A Crisis Devastates the Music Community
The Pier: Jenna Shaw
The ongoing fires in Los Angeles have cast a pall over the city, impacting lives, homes, and livelihoods. Among the devastated is the local music industry, with studios, venues, and artists facing unprecedented challenges.
L.A. Music Community Galvanizes to Help Victims of Wildfires
The Hollywood Reporter: Roy Trakin
A shared spreadsheet circulating among the industry has swelled to over 100 names of people impacted by the fires, including Billie Eilish’s publicist, Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett and Sting’s son Joe Sumner.
In ‘a mass erasure of heritage,’ numerous historic landmarks lost in L.A.
LA Times: Daniel Miller
The Palisades and Eaton infernos have laid waste to more than 30 structures considered historic in what preservationists believe is the single worst loss of such properties in the region’s history.
As fires in Los Angeles rage, an already-hurting Hollywood presses pause
NPR: Mandalit del Barco
Just as the annual Hollywood awards season kicked off, the fires prompted red carpet event cancellations, delays in much-anticipated nominations announcements, and temporary halts to film production in the area.
Los Angeles Fires: Resources Available for the Music Community
Rolling Stone: Ethan Millman
Aside from the resources available to everyone in the area, those in the music industry have some music-specific resources potentially available for them as well, which are compiled in this article.
NEWS & OPINION
TikTok’s Supreme Court Challenge Is Moving Forward
Digital Music News: Dylan Smith
The last-minute Supreme Court review of the TikTok ban law is underway, and confidential documents are officially being transferred to the nation’s highest court.
On TikTok, classical music is thriving – even as it’s chopped to bits
Washington Post: Michael Andor Brodeur
If President-elect Donald Trump fails to “save the platform” — i.e. sway the Supreme Court away from the ban by way of a freshly filed brief — millions of American users will lose not only their daily diet of makeup tutorials, dance trends and tense men with giant microphones but also one of TikTok’s most unlikely delights: if not a constant stream, then certainly a reliable trickle of classical music.
Cho-Liang Lin on How Tech Is Reshaping Classical Music
The Daily Californian
Face it — technology is reshaping how musicians compose and perform, from digitally enhanced instruments to sophisticated editing software.
Is A Radio Station Fully Powered By AI On The Horizon?
Inside Radio
Lupe Fiasco’s station, “Endless LUP,” is in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It’s planning to run 24/7, “generating AI-powered music trained on the intricacies of Lupe’s distinctive style,” the report says. “Each track will be unique, never repeated, offering listeners an endless stream of fresh, Lupe-inspired music.”
How Jimmy Carter’s love of music helped launch his presidential campaign
NPR: Abby Inman
When Jimmy Carter ran for president, he was barely known outside of his home state. He had served in the Georgia State Senate and as governor of Georgia, but was far from a household name. What gave momentum to his campaign and endeared him to the youth vote was his friendships with musicians like Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and the Allman Brothers.
Gary Ginstling is hired as Houston Symphony CEO months after surprise departure from NY Philharmonic
AP: Ronald Blum
Gary Ginstling was hired Friday as CEO of the Houston Symphony, six months following his surprise departure from the New York Philharmonic after just one year in charge.
UK Music Industry Revenue Grew in 2024 Amid Continued Vinyl and Streaming Expansions
Digital Music News: Dylan Smith
Thanks in large part to continued streaming and vinyl growth, the UK music industry generated all-time-high recorded revenue during 2024, according to newly released data.
Not your grandma’s Shostakovich: How classical music is attracting younger audiences
CBC: Jackson Weaver
Programmers, musicians, technology leading the changing face of centuries-old musical tradition.
50 albums in, Herb Alpert rarely looks at the past
NPR: Stephen Kallao, Miguel Perez
Herb Alpert released his debut album, The Lonely Bull, in 1962. Forty-nine albums later, the title of his latest record marks the milestone proudly. It’s simply titled 50.
Why Bad Bunny’s ‘DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS’ is an act of political resistance
NPR: Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, Anamaria Artemisa Sayre, Felix Contreras
On Sunday, Bad Bunny released his sixth studio album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, and people are saying it’s his most “Puerto Rican” record yet. The global pop star has clearly come home to his roots in a meaningful way and given the political situation on the island, releasing an album so proudly Puerto Rican is a major act of resistance.
Grammy Songwriters Are Boycotting Spotify’s Grammy Songwriter Party
Digital Music News: Ashley King
Songwriters are protesting Spotify’s treatment of their ilk, and will not be attending the streaming service’s Songwriter of the Year Grammy party, citing Spotify’s treatment of songwriters as the reason.
The Flying Maestro: A Top Conductor Moonlights as an Air France Pilot
NY Times: Javier Hernandez
Daniel Harding scaled the heights of classical music. Then he set out to conquer the skies.
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