True Art Should Be About the Music, Not the Brand
Is it only about getting paid? That's what the business people in the music industry want. They're envious of their rich friends, they want to maintain their lifestyles, and the only entities that…
Voices
Woody Allen’s Amazon Deal Shows Willingness, But Change Creates Risk
Did Woody Allen suffer an attack of angst? Or was he merely feeling it was time for a change? With his 80th birthday approaching, Woody had been shooting movies (and raising financing) in just about…
Awards Season Sees Studio Films Do a Vanishing Act
This is the time of year when filmgoers addicted to awards shows find themselves asking, "What happened to the movies I saw last year?" Box office hits like "Interstellar," "Guardians of the Galaxy"…
Recent Attacks Could Blow a Fiscal Chill Across Satire
Read enough First Amendment cases and you become familiar with the concept of a "chilling effect," which refers to how placing restrictions on speech can lead to self-censorship. In the wake of…
Music Business Lessons of 2014 Meet Predictions for 2015
With the new year already upon us and the old one in the review, here are some of the lessons 2014 taught us, along with a few fearless predictions for 2015. First the lessons: 1. Steve Barnett is a…
Are Screenwriters Becoming Obsolete in Hollywood?
We have plunged into the season of back-to-back awards and acceptance speeches, when every winner reminds us that filmmaking is a collaborative endeavor. In these recitations of all the…
Technological Advances Might Just Save Broadcast TV
The death watch has begun for broadcast TV. At least, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings thinks so. Hastings says that by 2030 or so, linear broadcast channels will go the way of the horse-drawn carriage. I…
Fans Feeling a Sense of Entitlement as Entertainment Costs Rise
Among winter traditions, the annual firing of coaches following the NFL and college football seasons has become one of the more reliable. Then again, as Los Angeles Times sports columnist Chris…
Hollywood Doesn’t Change Its Course Well in Digital Atmosphere
This is the moment on the calendar when dire year-end analyses start appearing in the media — data-driven reports that are both portentous and ominous. The message is usually the same: The ground is…
Billboard Tries to Save Old Platforms, While U.S. Music Needs Some Old-Fashioned Training
Keep it simple stupid. That's what nobody at Billboard seems to understand. Don't give me formulas, give me reality. The Billboard 200 albums chart in the magazine dated Dec. 13 was the first to…
