FEATURE
Al Singer Xania Monet Just Charted On Billboard, Signed $3M Deal. Is This The Future Of Music?
Forbes: Doug Melvills
Seventeen million streams in two months. A multimillion-dollar record deal. A Billboard-charting single. These are the kinds of stats that typically belong to breakout human stars. But today they belong to Xania Monet — an AI-powered R&B singer who doesn’t exist in human form.
RESEARCH AND OPINION
A Glorious Place for Music: Carved by Nature, Threatened by Climate Change
NY Times: David Allen
The Moab Music Festival offers some of the purest, most intense listening experiences around. But what happens when its signature river dries up?
Starting on The Right Note: Advice for Success from Jazz Students
Downbeat: Kimberly Kapela
For many students, the transition into a collegiate jazz program can feel overwhelming — new peers, unfamiliar ensembles, high-pressure performances and packed schedules. But for those who’ve navigated the early years, the biggest lessons go beyond the classroom.
NATIONAL
Log Cabin Republicans Disrupted Yasmin Williams’s Kennedy Center Performance
Whasingtonian: Rebecca Ritzel
Kennedy Center staffers called security last week after DC’s Log Cabin Republicans chapter disrupted a performance by a musician they called “a vocal opponent of President Trump.”
The Philadelphia Orchestra, now backed by $305 million and counting, might be the city’s biggest comeback kid
Philadelphia Inquirer: Peter Dobrin
The city’s flagship arts group has notched a major milestone in a remarkable turnaround: Quietly over the last several years, the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts has raised $305 million toward a $330 million goal, with almost another year to go in the campaign, the group announced Thursday.
Wyoming Symphony Announces 2025-26 Season, First with Music Director Jerry Hou
Symphony
In Thursday’s (9/18) Wake Up, Wyoming (Casper, Wyoming), Kolby Fedore writes, “The Wyoming Symphony Orchestra proudly announces its 76th season, United Through Music, a celebration of the ideals that connect us all: Love, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Keeping the Detroit Jazz Festival Free for Everyone
Downbeat: Frank Alkyer
Spin ahead 60-plus years and scores of stylistic changes since, and head to Detroit over a Labor Day weekend. There, at the Detroit Jazz Festival, the jazz is absolutely, unabashedly free — as in doesn’t cost a dime — giving listeners of all ages, colors and creeds the opportunity to enjoy live music by just showing up.
Houston Symphony Extends Music Director’s Contract
OperaWire: Francisco Salazar
Valčuha was first appointed to the position in 2022, and with the new extension through 2028, Valčuha and the Houston Symphony will continue building on the artistic momentum, bringing visionary programs and transformative performances to Houston and beyond.
The New Piano Professor at Curtis Institute of Music, Yuja Wang
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music today announced the appointment of internationally acclaimed pianist and distinguished alumna Yuja Wang (’08) as Artist Collaborator, Piano. This appointment, effective in the 2026–27 school year, comes on the heels of Curtis’ centennial and signals a bold commitment to the school’s next century of visionary education for exceptionally gifted young musicians.
INTERNATIONAL
Eurovision Members to Vote on Whether to Exclude Israel
NY Times: Alex Marshall
The event’s organizer has called an extraordinary general meeting for November, with countries like Spain and Ireland saying they will not take part in the contest if Israel does.
‘No Music for Genocide’ boycott launches on Spotify
Music Ally: Stuart Dredge
More than 400 artists and labels have launched a ‘cultural boycott’ of Israel that includes geo-blocking and removing their music from digital services in the country.
Canada has banned an Irish rap group. Who is Kneecap?
CBC: Kevin Maimann
Kneecap has been at the center of a whirlwind of controversy in recent months, partly over public comments made at major music festivals, where the group used its platform to support Palestinians and criticize Israel’s military actions in Gaza. But who is Kneecap, and how did they get here?
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra musicians on strike, concerts cancelled
Vancouver Sun
Unionized Vancouver Symphony Orchestra musicians have walked off the job, resulting in several show cancellations this weekend.
Wiener Staatsoper ‘Tosca’ Performance Interrupted by Technical Issues
OperaWire: Francisco Salazar
According to reports, after a long first intermission of more than 45 minutes, director Bogdan Roščić announced that the stage machinery was failing. As a result, Act two, which is originally set at the Palazzo Farnese, was performed on the ramp with the curtain closed.
Fondazione Accademia di Musica Partners With Fondazione Luciano Pavarotti For Postgraduate Specialist Course
OperaWire: Afton Markay
This two-year Postgraduate Specialist Course in Opera Singing is designed specifically for singers who have completed a second level two-year postgraduate degree, or equivalent. It is intended for those who wish to develop their talent, hone their skills, and to mature as artists as they prepare for a career performing or teaching opera singing.
Venice’s Opera House Appoints New Music Director; Musicians And Staff Revolt
ANSA English Desk
Workers at Venice’s la Fence opera house on Friday announced a permanent strike against this week’s appointment of young conductor Beatrice Venez.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & BUSINESS
Trump-Backed TikTok Deal To See Oracle ‘Retrain’ And ‘Monitor’ Recommendation Algorithm For US Users
Music Business Worldwide: Mandy Dalugdug
TikTok’s 170 million US users will continue to gain access to the video-sharing platform under a new ownership structure that puts Oracle in charge of monitoring and retraining the powerful recommendation engine that determines what content appears on their feeds.
Universal And Sony Music Partner With New Platform To Detect AI Music Copyright Theft Using ‘Groundbreaking Neural Fingerprinting’ Technology
Music Business Worldwide: Daniel Tencer
Universal Music Group and Sony Music plan to use what they call “groundbreaking neural fingerprinting technologies” to detect copyright infringement in AI-generated music. The two major music companies have each partnered with a research lab called SoundPatrol, which has developed a patent-pending method to analyze music.
Inspired By Anthropic’s $1.5b Book Piracy Payout, Record Labels Accuse Suno Of Illegally ‘Stream Ripping’ Music From YouTube
Music Business Worldwide: Tim Ingham
The major music companies have escalated their copyright infringement lawsuit against AI music generation company Suno, filing an amended complaint that alleges the startup illegally “stream ripped” copyrighted recordings from YouTube to train its AI models.
Internet Archive’s big battle with music publishers ends in settlement
arsTechnica: Ashley Belanger
No details of the settlement have so far been released, but a court filing on Monday confirmed that the Internet Archive and UMG Recordings, Capitol Records, Sony Music Entertainment, and other record labels “have settled this matter.”
Can you be sued for defaming virtual K-pop stars? South Korea court says yes
BBC: Koh Ewe
A court in South Korea has ordered a social media user to pay 500,000 won ($360; £265) for defaming a K-pop boyband – whose members are virtual characters.
OFF THE BEATEN TRAIL
The oldest pipe organ in the Christian world sounds after 800 years of silence
AP: Julia Frankel
Composed of original pipes from the 11th century, the instrument emitted a full, hearty sound as musician David Catalunya played a liturgical chant called Benedicamus Domino Flos Filius. The swell of music inside Saint Saviour’s Monastery mingled with church bells tolling in the distance.
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