The 4/15/2009 edition of The Dallas Morning News published an article by Brendan Case that reports former Dallas hedge fund manager Barrett Wissman “pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with his role in an alleged kickback scheme involving New York state’s largest pension fund.” In 2003, when talent management agency IMG decided to jettison its classical and jazz roster, Wissman stepped in as a major investor and eventual Chairman of the spinoff, IMG Artists. Those familiar with the business will recognize that IMG Artists is one of the largest artist management agencies in the US…
Month: April 2009
A New, New Media Guide
Recently, Marc Van Bree published a free eBook about orchestras and new media that serves as the latest episode in his series on the topic. Coming in at 56 pages, Marc’s book is filled with useful info but if you don’t have time to process the entire document, I strongly recommend that public relations and marketing professionals read the chapters on adapting press materials and how to measure results (pages 26-32). …
Take This Audition And Shove It
There has been some intriguing discussion as of late among some cultural bloggers about the audition process. It started off on 4/5/2009 with a post by Jeffrey Weisner at the Peabody Double Bass Blog examining the sometimes slippery process that results in a “no-hire” audition. Weisner’s post is refreshingly candid and offers a valuable glimpse into the audition process. A few days after Weisner’s post, Robert Levine posted something at Abu Bratsche based on his years of experience as principal violist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (or in his words, lead viola operator). Although each post presents offers thoughtful observations, it is difficult to avoid noticing they both acknowledge some procedural tension between audition committees and the music director…
Cultural Confidence Continues To Drift
The latest cultural confidence polling cycle indicates that positive attitudes remained somewhat unchanged and those with a negative outlook don’t feel quite as bad as the previous polling cycle. At the same time, the overall outlook on current and future economic conditions is decidedly negative…
Do We Need A New Business Model?
At least, that’s the question posed by Peter Dobrin in an article he wrote for the 4/5/2009 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The quick answer is no, but Dobrin’s article is representative of the normal sort of reservation and introspective analysis that accompanies any sort of unexpected critical event. In this case, the predicament is the economic downturn that deflated the value of orchestra endowments and in Dobrin’s article, he challenges the value of big endowments. Fortunately, that isn’t the problem…