Investment Opportunity - Industry body Creative UK has launched a general election manifesto urging the next government to treat the arts as an "investment opportunity, not a cost".
The Royal Shakespeare Company, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and London’s National Theatre are among the organisations quoted in the manifesto, which is entitled Our Creative Future. New funding models, advocacy for freelancers, intellectual property protection and protections for UK creatives in international trade deals are among the hallmarks of the manifesto’s "vision for the future" ahead of a general election later this year.
The manifesto calls for "radical new action" towards these aims, including greater access to creative education and the upholding of the UK’s "gold standard" IP protections for the cultural and creative industries "in the age of artificial intelligence". A new Cultural Touring Agreement with the EU is also suggested in order to allow enhanced freedom of movement for UK creatives.
Creative UK chief executive Caroline Norbury said: "This is a decisive moment for the UK’s cultural and creative industries. This sector is driving real growth for the economy, while creating jobs and meaningful work at an extraordinary pace. However, creatives are also struggling with issues such as widespread cuts to creative education, reducing levels of funding and financial models that are no longer fit for purpose, as well as difficult trading concerns."
Arts Funding - Leaders from across the theatre sector have outlined their vision for a reformed Arts Council England, warning that an unchanged funding body could stoke competition for cash in its current "binary system of extremes". Arts bosses including Battersea Arts Centre’s Tarek Iskander, Papatango’s Chris Foxon and the Royal Opera House’s Alex Beard are among those sharing ambitions for the national funding agency as it undergoes a government review, which is the first such review of ACE since 2017.
The review is a routine assessment carried out on all publicly funded organisations, but with arts organisations and buildings battling Covid’s legacy on ticket sales, the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, the industry will be watching closely to see what the review finds. Its conclusions are expected to be delivered sometime this summer, with part of its remit including that the team leading the review identify how ACE can implement 5% of cost savings.
ROH chief executive Beard, who has been at the helm of the ACE-supported organisation since 2013, said: “We must have a strong and confident Arts Council that truly embraces the value of arts and culture in the UK. Opera, ballet, classical music and theatre more generally are huge contributors to our society and wider economy.”
Tortured Poets - Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, has broken the record for Spotify's most-streamed in a single day, the platform said. The pop star also became the most-streamed artist in a single day. Her hotly anticipated album was released on Friday, sending Swifties around the world into a frenzy. It contains 31 tracks in which the megastar lays bare her heartbreak and appears to direct anger at former partners.
The first 16 tracks dropped as scheduled at 5am UK time, but just a few hours later, an additional 15 tracks were released, giving her fans plenty to dive into - as well as sending music journalists into a tailspin. Swift said the album was an anthology of new works reflecting "events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time - one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure".
Farewell - Dickey Betts, a member of The Allman Brothers Band, one of the most popular and influential US rock groups of the 1970s, has died at the age of 80. The guitarist and vocalist also wrote their biggest hit, 1973's Ramblin' Man and the Seventies’ festival anthem, Jessica which won a Grammy Award and was used as the theme for BBC TV series Top Gear.
A band statement noted, "His extraordinary guitar playing alongside guitarist Duane Allman created a unique dual guitar signature sound that became the signature sound of the genre known as Southern Rock. He was passionate in life, be it music, songwriting, fishing, hunting, boating, golf, karate or boxing. Dickey was all in on and excelled at anything that caught his attention." A tribute on Betts' social media accounts said: "Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt world-wide." RIP
(Jim Evans)
22 April 2024
