March 26, 2019 – 11:41 PM
There was an an article in The Observer by Mark Lawson “How will our museums survive if they subject every donor to to an ethical audit?” (24th March 2019) that drew attention to the ethical angst, dichotomy and perhaps hypocritical nature of arts patronage amongst established institutions. The industrialist Sir Henry Tate was the early benefactor […]
March 26, 2019 – 11:38 PM
I read the article promoting Schloss Elmau by Harriet Green in the Observer on Sunday 17th March 2019. A raft of musicians were mentioned and regrettably jazz was sidelined by the fact that the author admitted to having a “deaf ear to jazz” – what ever that means – and the jazz musicians calling themselves […]
January 8, 2019 – 4:17 PM
Will Hutton’s analysis “Labour’s leadership is at rock bottom” in the Observer on the 23rd December 2018 whilst correct, failed to address the problems that are at the heart of the sorry mess the UK is in. At the last referendum the British public were egregiously misinformed, misled and lied to. The next referendum to […]
September 23, 2018 – 4:59 PM
The owners of the freehold of the India Club are at it again and have resubmitted another planning application for a “Boutique Hotel” Wikipedia sums up “Boutique” as: A boutique is “a small store that sells stylish clothing, jewelry, or other usually luxury goods. The term “boutique” and also “designer” refer (with some differences) to […]
September 21, 2018 – 9:37 PM
The Richard Wilding Supporting the Arts: Review of the Structure of Arts Funding in 1989, drew attention to the basic structural weaknesses and the need for the Arts Council to take on a more strategic approach. On the 16th October 1990 the Arts Council announced at a consultative seminar on the reform of the arts funding […]
September 21, 2018 – 9:03 PM
In 1992 the Arts Council published a National Arts and Media Strategy. The whole process was flawed from the start as the Arts Council had restructured first and then tried to concoct a policy to fit the structure. Regrettably life does not work like that strategy comes first and structure to expedite the strategy comes […]
August 27, 2018 – 10:40 PM
Stuart Nicholson in his book “Jazz and Culture in a Global Age” stated: “But if adequate remuneration had become one problem facing American jazz musicians, then falling audience numbers was another. Yet those who attempted to highlight issues such as these often found their words unwelcome, un- American even, and likely to be shouted down […]
There was an article in the G2 section of the Guardian on the 25th April 2018 saying music streaming saved the music industry. Streaming may have saved some parts of the music industry but it carries problems for under-represented music such as jazz. The nub of the problem with streaming for the jazz musician is […]
A friend of mine sent me a statement of earnings from streaming their music. Set out below is their redacted email and my observations: From: Redacted Date: 17 April 2018 at 09:29 Subject: Streaming To: “Chris Hodgkins Esq.” <chrishodgkins3@gmail.com> Chris, Woke up this morning to find my latest quarterly commission statement, 1st January to 1st April […]
April 22, 2018 – 12:48 AM
The Guardian’s coverage of the past few weeks has exposed the present Government, with its disgraceful actions towards the migrants and their children who arrived in 1947 to help a tired nation drag itself up by its bootstraps. The Government’s policies and actions demonstrate all the hallmarks and stock in trade of the far-right. The […]