FEATURE
Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show Was Radically Political, if You Knew Where to Look
New York Times: Tiana Clark
More viewers tuned into watch Kendrick Lamar — 133.5 million people — than any other Super Bowl halftime show. And they witnessed a rousing concert by a 22-time Grammy-winning (as well as one Pulitzer-winning) artist. But there was much more on display, if you knew where to look for it.
RESEARCH AND OPINION
People cannot tell AI-generated from human-written poetry and they like AI poetry more
PsyPost: Vladimir Hedrih
New research has found that people are unable to determine whether a poem was written by a human or generated by AI. Despite this, they tended to give more favorable ratings for qualities such as rhythm and beauty to AI-generated poetry. The paper was published in Scientific Reports.
“Music genres have undergone a noticeable simplification”: Study concludes that modern music is not complex enough – and it’s all your fault
MusicRadar: Andy Jones
This is the first study in history where AI is telling us that we’re dumbing things down. Could this be the tipping point for humanity?
The pianos of tomorrow look different, feel different and play themselves as well as any musician, living or dead.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Jeremy Reynolds
Recent years have seen a surge in options for physical customization of the piano and an enormous leap forward in the merging of acoustic and digital technologies, with AI applications cracking open a Pandora’s box of possibilities.
Musicians Deserve Healthcare—Just Like Everyone Else
Hearing Things: Andy Cush
Chappell Roan’s Grammy acceptance speech applies to me and you, too.
How Pivoting to Choreographing Full-Time Changed 3 Former Dancers’ Lives, Creative Processes, and Work
Dance Magazine: Lauren Wingenroth
For dancers, the transition to choreography after a lifetime of dancing involves more than just hanging up their (sometimes-proverbial) shoes. It can come with a new perspective on movement, a new relationship to their bodies, and a new way of making dances. And what that shift looks like can vary widely from artist to artist.
‘Hip-hop was like dog years. You’d be over by your third album’: De La Soul on grief, Gorillaz and never giving up
The Guardian: Stevie Chick
Two years after the death of Trugoy, the remaining duo are still feeling raw. They relive the daisy age they built together – and explain how their late bandmate inspires them.
“Nutcracker” Choreography In The US Is Still Almost Entirely By Men
Dance Data Project
The findings reveal an overwhelming dominance of male choreographers, particularly in the Largest 50 ballet companies, despite some growth in opportunities for female choreographers in mid-sized and smaller companies.
NATIONAL
The N.E.A.’s New Gender and Diversity Edicts Worry Arts Groups
New York Times: Michael Paulson
As the National Endowment for the Arts adjusts to comply with President Trump’s executive orders, “gender ideology” is out and works that “honor the nation’s rich artistic heritage” are in.
Kennedy Center staff describe climate of fear as events drop from calendar
Washington Post: Travis Andrews, Manuel Roig-Franzia, Michael Andor Brodeu
The fallout from President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center’s board and purge of its leadership continued Thursday, as the center’s staff worried about the storied arts institution and shows began to disappear from its lineup.
Carnegie Hall’s New Season: What We’re Excited to Hear
NY Times
NY Times critics choose a dozen highlights from the season, which heavily features the music of Arvo Pärt and includes series by several artists.
LA Opera drops Missy Mazzoli’s ‘Lincoln in the Bardo,’ which will premiere at New York’s Met
Associated Press: Ronald Blum
Adapted from George Saunders’ 2017 novel and with a libretto by Royce Vavrek, “Lincoln” was to debut in Los Angeles in February 2026, Saunders said last October. But it was not included when the LA Opera announced its 2025-26 season on Tuesday.
Kanye West sued and dropped by talent agency over antisemitic slurs
The Guardian: Ben Beaumont-Thomas
Rapper’s fashion brand Yeezy also taken offline by Shopify after he sold T-shirt with swastika design and praised Hitler.
LAUSD misused millions in taxpayer-approved money meant for arts education
Los Angeles Times: Howard Blume
Los Angeles Unified officials repeatedly violated Proposition 28 — a state law requiring the hiring of arts teachers — misusing millions in state funds and denying promised arts instruction to students across the school system, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed Monday.
Anonymous donor gives $60 million to Sarasota Orchestra music center project
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Jay Handelman
In what is considered one of the largest financial gifts ever to an American orchestra, the Sarasota Orchestra has announced a $60 million donation toward the planning and construction of its new music center.
INTERNATIONAL
Under the Taliban, Afghanistan’s musicians have fallen silent
Index on Censorship: Sarah Dawood
A complete music ban has meant both professionals and amateurs must stop playing or risk their lives. Sarah Dawood explores the impact on those in exile and those who remain.
Manchester theatre suspends Dolly Parton musical over homophobic abuse
The Guardian: Nadeem Badshah
Actor in Here You Come Again says cast left stage because ‘a woman was so disgusted there was a gay character’.
In ‘Festen,’ a Nightmare Birthday Becomes an Opera
New York Times: Alex Marshall
The composer who put Anna Nicole Smith’s life onstage has a new piece: an adaptation of a cult movie about child abuse.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MUSIC BUSINESS
Sony’s music rights business generated over $10bn for the first ever year in 2024
Music Business Worldwide: Tim Ingham
Sony’s global music copyright business surpassed a significant financial milestone in the calendar year of 2024, according to MBW calculations.
ByteDance has been building an AI music beast… with a little help from The Beatles and Michael Jackson
Music Business Worldwide: Murray Stassen
In September, ByteDance added an AI music generation function to the Duobao app, which apparently “supports more than ten types of music styles and allows you to write lyrics and compose music with one click”. However, this isn’t the end of ByteDance’s fascination with building music AI technologies.
Thomson Reuters wins an early court battle over AI, copyright, and fair use
The Verge: Richard Lawler
A judge looked at possible copyright infringement defenses for Ross Intelligence and said, ‘I reject them all.’
MLC Asks Court to Reconsider Spotify Bundling Lawsuit Dismissal, Warns of ‘Profound Financial Consequences on an Entire Creative Industry’
Digital Music News: Dylan Smith
The Mechanical Licensing Collective is officially asking a federal court to reconsider its January dismissal of a much-publicized lawsuit targeting Spotify’s bundling craze.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
The opera singer with one of the rarest voices in the world: ‘Being on stage is not easy’
The Guardian: Kelly Burke
Samuel Mariño was bullied at school for his voice. But now the male soprano is storming the classical world – one sequin at a time.
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