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☆ US court sentences Chinese citizen to prison for threatening person who promoted democracy in China
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Rob Frehse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Xiaolei Wu, 26, who attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, was convicted in January of one count of cyberstalking and one count of interstate transmissions of threatening communication, prosecutors said. Wu is no longer enrolled as a student at Berklee College of Music, the school told CNN Wednesday. CNN previously reported that Wu allegedly sent threatening messages to a person who posted a flier on or near the college campus supporting Chinese democracy, according to the complaint. “Post more, I will chop your bastard hands off,” Wu reportedly said on WeChat, a Chinese messaging app. Charging documents allege Wu reported the person to the Chinese government and told them its representatives would “greet” their family members.

Persons: Xiaolei Wu, Wu, ” Wu, Joshua S, Levy, Wu’s, ” Levy, “ Mr, ” Organizations: CNN, US, Berklee College of Music, Federal Public, Office, “, United, People’s, Berklee, Department, Justice Locations: China, Massachusetts, Boston, People’s Republic of China

☆ How Rick Beato struck YouTube gold with his ‘Everything Music’ channel
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

I first heard about Beato after stumbling onto his YouTube channel. During the pandemic, for example, many music fans migrated to the internet to watch various forms of music because live music was off-limits. “I still feel at 60 the same way I did when I was 14,” he said recently in a YouTube video. His face lights up when he talks about his family on his YouTube channel. “My YouTube Channel was a way to honor my parents and leave something for my kids.

Persons: Rick Beato, Instagram, Beato, ”, Pat Metheny, Sting, Jimi Hendrix, he’s, it’s, “, you’re, He’s, Rick, —, Mike Rowe, Jobs, ” Rowe, I’ve, I’m, “ Woo, Bach, Brad Mehldau, Keith Williams, Williams, ” Beato, Dick Cavett, Keith Jarrett, Jarrett, John Coltrane, Beato regaled Jarrett, awestruck, ” Jarrett, Steve Gadd, Chuck Mangione, Oscar Peterson, Music —, Nina, Dylan, Lennon, Layla, Eric Clapton, polychords, Taylor Swift’s “, Paul Allen, Everybody, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Rick Beato's, Melissa Golden, John Blake Organizations: CNN, YouTube, Costco, Twitter, Facebook, Berklee College of Music, Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, New, Conservatory, Music, Ithaca, Microsoft, Intelligence Locations: Atlanta , Georgia, London, Berlin, New Jersey, Fairport, Rochester , New York, Italian, New York, Ithaca, Atlanta, Silicon Valley

☆ What to know about 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' breakout star Sebastian Amoruso
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In the live-action, Jet is played by actor Sebastian Amoruso. AdvertisementWarning: Spoilers through episode four of the live-action "Avatar: The Last Airbender" ahead. Sebastian Amoruso and Kiawentiio as Jet and Katara in "Avatar: The Last Airbender." AdvertisementVideos of some of those performances are available on YouTube, showing that Amoruso played JD in "Heathers" and also appeared in shows like "American Idiot." Jet in the original "Avatar: The Last Airbender" cartoon.

Persons: —, Sebastian Amoruso, Robert Falconer, Amoruso, He's, Johnny, Sebastian Amoruso's, Jet, Katara, he's, Aang, Katara's Organizations: Service, Fire, Kiawentiio, Business, Netflix, Berklee College of Music, Washington D.C, Brookside Artist Management, Amazon Studios, Manor Performing Arts Training, YouTube, Jet, Nickelodeon, Fire Nation Locations: Los Angeles, Washington, New York, Omashu

☆ Why Taylor Swift might have chosen theaters for the Eras Tour film's debut, according to experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Taylor Swift’s fans know the greatest films of all time were never made, but that could be called into question come October 13, when her Eras Tour concert movie is set for release in North America. Experts say that choosing movie theaters for the Eras Tour film’s debut over the small screen is a move fitting of both Swift’s business acumen and relationship with her fans. Unlike her previous concerts, the Eras Tour has become a cultural phenomenon. Others seemed to have their own reasons for concern about the Eras Tour film release’s timing. The “Exorcist: Believer,” originally scheduled to be released on the same day as Swift’s film, moved it up a week.

Persons: New York CNN — Taylor Swift’s, Swift, “ Taylor, “ Taylor Swift, Fearless ”, ”, wouldn’t, Jonathan Kuuskoski, Ralph Jaccodine, Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, that’s, “, “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, “ Barbie, Michael O’Leary, O’Leary, “ You’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, AMC Theaters, Netflix, Disney, Apple Music, Warner Bros, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, Ticketmaster, Berklee College of Music, CNN, National Association of Theater Owners, AMC Locations: New York, North America, France

☆ ‘Swifterature:’ Belgian university launches course to analyze Taylor Swift lyrics
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Poetry, prose and now songwriting: Ghent University in Belgium is launching a new literature course dedicated to the literary merit of Taylor Swift’s discography. “Highly prolific and autobiographical in her songwriting, Swift makes frequent allusions to canonical literary texts in her music,” the class syllabus explains. “Using Swift’s work as a springboard, we will explore, among other topics, literary feminism, ecocriticism, fan studies, and tropes such as the anti-hero. In 2016, the University of Texas launched an English Literature course unpacking Beyoncé’s visual album “Lemonade” and its relationship to Black feminism. “But if anyone can teach you a lesson in how to respond to trolls, it’s Taylor Swift,” she concluded.

Persons: Taylor, Elly McCausland, McCausland, Sylvia Plath, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare —, Geoffrey Chaucer’s “, Criseyde, Charlotte Brontë’s “, Margaret Atwood, Simon Armitage, “, Swift, Taylor Swift, ” McCausland, ”, Sylvia Plath’s, —, I’ll, “ I’m, There’s, it’s Taylor Swift Organizations: CNN, Ghent University, Oxford University, University of York, University of Oslo, New York University, Arizona State University, Berklee College of Music, Rice University, University of Texas, University of Copenhagen Locations: Belgium, Charlotte Brontë’s “ Villette, ”, ’, United Kingdom, Norway, Europe, United States, Houston

☆ The Jazzy Tune You Heard on Hold? This Part-Time Musician Made It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Sal Cataldi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“When I was a kid, my family got a free piano,” Goldberg said in a phone interview from her home in Boston. “My dad wrote songs and played jazz as a hobby. “In my late 40s, my interest in jazz deepened, mainly standards and cabaret music,” she said. “I started composing songs based on the songs I loved. “She would show me her compositions and I would make suggestions to modify chord structure, melody and the like.”

Persons: ” Goldberg, “, ”, Goldberg, Billy Novick, David Bromberg, Maria Muldaur, Willie Dixon, J, “ Harriet, Novick Organizations: Beatles, Boston University, Berklee College of Music Locations: Boston, Lexington ,

☆ Cisco Swank ‘Is Black Music. All of It.’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Marcus J. Moore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“He’s sitting right in the center of a lot of points,” said the noted trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire in a telephone interview. He is Black music. (He returned to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, from the Berklee College of Music, where he studied piano performance and contemporary writing and production when the pandemic took hold.) “I try to smile through it,” Haye raps with an exhausted tone. While growing up in Flatbush, he was exposed to all of this music by his mother, Adriane, who directed the youth choir at Emmanuel, and his father, Frank, who was the director of music there.

Persons: “ He’s, ”, Ambrose Akinmusire, It’s, ” Haye, “, ’, Haye, bro, I’m, — Beethoven, Bach, Kirk Franklin, Richard Smallwood, Adriane, Emmanuel, Frank Organizations: Berklee College of Music Locations: bro, ” “, Heights , Brooklyn, Haye, Flatbush

Mr. Vines, who now works out of a storefront in Fountain, N.C., grew up on a plantation in nearby Greene County during the Jim Crow era, working alongside his mother in the fields for meager wages. When he got older, he toured for a bit as a jazz musician. But the quest to recreate that one sound proved to be the animating force of his life. “These guitars here got a character and a sound of their own,” Mr. Vines said in a video accompanying his exhibition. “You’re going to get something really special and unique, like the opposite of a guitar you just buy off the rack.”

☆ Stolen or Original? Hear Songs From 7 Landmark Copyright Cases.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Here is a guide to some of the most consequential music copyright cases in recent decades, along with excerpts from their recordings. In cases like these, the only material in question are the songs’ underlying compositions: the melodies, chords and lyrics that can be notated on paper. Juries must decide not only if one song copies another, but whether the earlier song was original and distinctive enough to be protected by copyright. “The problem with cases like this is that people ask the wrong question,” said Joe Bennett, a professor at the Berklee College of Music who works as a forensic musicologist in legal cases. “They ask the question, ‘How similar is song B to song A,’ whereas what they should be asking is how original is song A.”Got that?

☆ Baby Rose Writes Music With Intention, ‘Not to Fit Into a Box’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Jon Pareles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A bitter breakup with a longtime boyfriend was the genesis of “To Myself,” Baby Rose’s 2019 debut album, which was released through Island Records. Its title track, “All to Myself,” was a wrenching, gospel-rooted ballad she recorded on its first take. She followed it up with an EP, “Golden Hour,” in 2020, and a song on the soundtrack of the HBO series “Insecure.” But amid the isolation and upheavals of the pandemic, Island dropped her. “It’s imperative to grow.”While her debut album was a confessional outpouring, “Through and Through” is more deliberate. It’s me realizing how much we are more alike than we think we are.”During the pandemic, Baby Rose took an online songwriting course from Berklee College of Music, learning about structures and rhyme schemes and thinking about classic pop.

☆ Saadiyat: The 'island of happiness' just off Abu Dhabi
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Chris Dwyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Jon Arnold Images Ltd/Alamy Stock PhotoWhile Abu Dhabi itself is home to bombastic contemporary architecture, Saadiyat – an easy 20-minute drive from downtown and Abu Dhabi International Airport – is a natural wonderland, edged by small sand dunes. Elevated boardwalks protect them from beachgoers – part of a conservation project led by Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort and its inhouse marine biologist. Department of Culture and Tourism Abu DhabiOpen year-round, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is home to a Gary Player signature 18-hole golf course. Luc Castel/Getty ImagesInaugurated in 2017, The Louvre Abu Dhabi is France’s largest cultural project abroad. Louvre Abu Dhabi isn’t the only highbrow place on Saadiyat – behind the dunes there are two world-class educational institutions, too.

☆ Welcome to Swift City: When Taylor Swift comes to town, businesses build new bars, prepare thousands of cookies, and welcome over 150,000 Swifties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Glendale, Arizona, which hosts the first two dates, has renamed itself Swift City in her honor. Usually, it's known as Glendale, Arizona, but the city hosting the kick-off show for Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" has fully embraced Swiftsanity, renaming itself Swift City for Friday and Saturday. The Swift City logo. The Swift City proclamation. "Now, Glendale is Swift City, so we welcome them with open arms," he added.

☆ It's not just Taylor Swift. Musicians describe the 'demented struggle' of touring in a shrinking industry where one giant company sells the tickets for most major venues.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

On top of that, the Justice Department is reportedly investigating the 2010 merger of industry leaders Ticketmaster and Live Nation. Live Nation Entertainment said in a statement that it owns and operates just over 100 of the nearly 4,000 total live music venues in the United States. "Put simply, artists, venues, and consumers should no longer be at the mercy of a single seller," Sens. At the same time, Live Nation Entertainment is seeing a record year due to more shows than ever. "We always welcome the opportunity to discuss important issues facing the live entertainment industry," Live Nation said in a statement.

According to a complaint, Wu allegedly sent threatening messages to a person who posted a flier on or near the college campus supporting Chinese democracy. Charging documents allege Wu reported the person to the Chinese government and told them its representatives would “greet” their family members. A photo of Xiaolei Wu posted to his Instagram. @aldimeowu/InstagramWu has been suspended from Berklee College of Music, according to a statement from the school Wednesday night. However, the rising nationalist sentiment is by no means representative of all Chinese students overseas.

Prosecutors said Wu, through a Berklee-focused WeChat group whose 300-plus members included the activist, demanded that any fliers be torn down and said he was reporting the activist to the public security agency in China. "I already called the tip-off line in the country, the public security agency will go greet your family," Wu wrote, according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors said Wu in a later WeChat post asked for help determining where the unnamed civic activist lived. "You should wash dishes for the capitalist dogs," Wu wrote, according to the complaint. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Richard Chang and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How Taylor Swift went back to the past and turned 'Midnights' into her biggest album success yet
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kaitlin Balasaygun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Five years ago, Swift's "Reputation" achieved the biggest ever U.S. sales week by traditional album sales with 1.216 million copies sold. With "Midnights," Swift broke her own record again, reaching 185 million streams on its release day. Midyear Report for 2022," current vinyl album sales — music releases that are less than 18 months old — rose by 27.4%. On the other hand, catalog vinyl album sales — music releases that are 18 months old or older — fell by 8.4% since 2021. The demographics of vinyl buyers also help to explain the large vinyl album sales "Midnights" is seeing.

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