Tag Archives: current news

Send in Your Story to Help Carnegie Hall Celebrate 125 Years

If only these walls could talk! In celebration of its 125th anniversary, performers and the public are invited to submit their favorite Carnegie Hall stories through a simple form at carnegiehall.org/stories. The website will act as a digital collage displaying how Carnegie Hall has shaped the lives of people of all different ages, cultures, and musical backgrounds and in turn, how those people have contributed to Carnegie Hall’s legacy.

Visitors to the site can share and enjoy stories in five different categories: fondest memory; first visit; most inspiring experience; most unusual experience; and favorite concert. Those contributing stories can be as creative as they like in uploading their own stories, which can include, but are not limited to, a range of original content created through YouTube and Soundcloud. Throughout this summer and the 2015-2016 season, curated stories-of-the-week will be featured on Carnegie Hall’s blog and social media channels.

Economic Recovery Hits the Tour Scene

This summer’s concert boom marks the first turnaround since the 2008 economic crash. According to Pollstar, North American concert sales were up 5.8% over 2014; Life Nation’s sales (through July) were up 7%; and AEG Live reported 26% gains at the box office. For the past few years promoters have struggled to find the right mix of price/artist for top acts though there have been higher box offices sales since 2013.

Writers Guild Accuses ITV of Violating Federal Labor Law

Almost five years after ITV’s Kirkstall Road Enterprises employees in favor of Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) representation, they still do not have a contract with the union. The WGAE states: “the company has engaged in bad-faith bargaining since that time in an effort to thwart its employees’ decision to unionize.” The National Labor Relations Board is investigation several charges against ITV. In a previous settlement with the NLRB the company agreed to provide the guild with information about the company’s health plan, as well as to advice employees that it would not interfere with their right to unionize.

“We are pleased the company has notified employees it will not violate their right to union representation,” a statement from WGAE Executive Director Lowell Peterson says. “We look forward to receiving the health benefits information we are entitled to review under the law. We remain utterly mystified that a giant multinational media corporation like ITV continues to engage in legalistic maneuvers to avoid negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.”

In the past few years, WGAE has made organizing reality TV a priority.

NBCUniversal Go to Trial Over Age Discrimination Claim

A trial is scheduled for November 2 to determine if former investigative reporter Frank Snepp was fired due to age discrimination. Snepp’s career as an investigative journalist began following a stint as a CIA analyst. However, Snepp made the news in 1980 when a landmark Supreme Court ruling upheld his confidentiality obligations with US Government over his First Amendment rights as a whistleblower in regards to his Vietnam-focused book Decent Interval. As an investigative reporter, his award-winning stories covered breaking news about the Iran Contra scandal, Monica Lewinski, SEAL Team 6, and more. In 2006 he was hired by LA’s KNBC as a field producer, two years later re-hired as a content producer, then fired in 2012, at age 69. Snepp has submitted evidence of ageist statements from NBC that he should quit or retire because of his age. NBC claims he was fired for inadequate performance.

British Songwriters Take Legal Action Against SoundCloud

According to Variety, PRS for Music, a British songwriter agency, has initiated legal action against music streaming site SoundCloud amid claims that the service is not paying royalties and securing licenses from its artists. A letter to the group’s members stated that the action follows five years of unsuccessful negotiations. A SoundCloud spokesperson told Variety that the service is “working hard to create a platform where all creators can be paid for their work, and already have deals in place with thousands of copyright owners, including record labels, publishers, and independent artists.”