New Government stuff

Jeremy is the new Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, media and Sport, more HERE!

Ed is the new Minister of State for Culture, more HERE!

Following the Dave and Nick show, the Ed and Don show, on Hardtalk HERE.

Charlotte Higgins speculates on what kind of Culture Secretary Jeremy will be in the Granuiad, HERE and Alistair Smith in The Stage kicks off speculation about cuts, more HERE.

(Unnecessary) worry over the re-merger of the Olympics department back into DCMS and what it means for media policy. More HERE.

Election stuff

The Sinking BBC ship (although we know someone who was on it, and apparently it was fun if you were there): HERE.

General Election Adverts HERE.

The influence of television on the general election HERE.

Creative Industries

Fashion

Harold Tillman, owner of Jaeger and Aquascutum and chair of the British Fashion Council, has called for tax breaks to incentivise eco-friendly design, saying ‘we are calling on all parties to recognise the impact tax break could make by making it attractive to all business to be more ethical. If UK citizens can get tax breaks on energy-efficient cars and other sustainable products, why can’t they wear their values with pride and get tax breaks on ethical fashion?’ more HERE.

Liberty’s has reported sales up 41% in the most recent quarter, more HERE. They are also to launch a men’s wear collection – Ed will be first in the queue, more HERE.

Digital Economy Act

The Open Right Group have organised a petition against it, more HERE, no surprises there.

Music

Record sales breakdown by genre for 2009 – pop is fighting back, and an entertaining rundown of official No 1 singles on election days since 1955, HERE.

BBC Proms sales top 80,000 tickets HERE.

Social Networking

Skype is considering offering adverts in order to stay free, more HERE.

The genius of Twitter, on the one hand, HERE and the first prosecution for a menacing Twitter message, on the other, HERE, and the glitch and the fix, HERE.

Facebook fixes embarrassing security flaw HERE.

Technology and business

Apple will charge UK consumers more than US consumers, citing ‘higher business costs’ as a reason, more HERE.

Will Lewis’s exit puts big question over Telegraph’s digital strategy – Award-winning editor had differences of opinion with Murdoch MacLennan over future of Euston Partners HERE.

ITV

The Competition Commission has ruled to keep CRR today, but added that the mechanism should be dropped at some point and that the entire UK TV ad sales market needs a review, more HERE.

Radio

BBC’s 6 Music and Asian Network have won a hat-trick at the Sony radio awards, congratulations to all the winners HERE.

Audience figures for Chris Evan’s Radio 2 breakfast show are up by 1 million listeners, which is good news for Evan, though as the Guardian points out, raises further questions about the size and dominance of the BBC vis the wider radio landscape. More HERE.

Press

Johnston Press the owner of the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post expects its first revenue growth for three years in the third quarter, although cuts continue, more HERE.

Video Games

Microsoft and LG bring 3D gaming to Xbox 360, having sign a memorandum of understanding to cross-promote 3D technology more HERE.

Publishing

Google is set to join the e-book battle by launching its digital book service this summer, more HERE.

Design

Ed presented an award to Anya Hindmarch at Conde Nast Travellers Design and Innovation Awards on Monday, more HERE.

Film

As Cannes begins, concern over the lack of women directors on the Cannes list for the Palme d’Or in the Times HERE and the Guardian HERE.

Awards

The TV Bafta Nominations are out, more HERE.

Arts and Heritage

Culture

Thoughtful stuff from Grayson Perry: ‘We all care about the quality of our culture, but are the tears shed at an opera any better than those shed at a football match? Are they better quality tears? People sometimes talk as if there is a vintage type of tear that is shed only at Glyndebourne.’ HERE.

Theatre

The Theatres Trust announces the first twelve venues participation in its European Regional Development Fund back environmental sustainability project, to make a difference to the environmental performance of 48 London theatres, more HERE.

Why Enron didn’t survive on Broadway, HERE.

What do Nick Clegg and Samuel Beckett have in common? HERE.

Michael Sheen is taking on Hamlet at the Young Vic with Jerusalem director Ian Rickson HERE.

Libraries

The CIPFA’s Public Library statistics for 20008/09 were published this week and have been hailed by the Reading Agency as evidence of the success of libraries’ modernisation effort and changing role in promoting reading. Book borrowing has risen for first time in a decade and library web visits are up almost 50%.More HERE.

Opera

Baby Opera, yes really HERE.

The BBC is launching its biggest ever series on opera HERE.

Poetry

The Michael Marks awards for poetry pamphlets shortlist has been announced, more HERE.

Visual Arts

As it celebrates its 10^th Birthday the Tate is reaching across the world with works acquired from Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, more HERE.

Who needs Avatar? 3d street art: HERE.

Dance

The extraordinary Akram Khan, HERE.

Plug of the week for friend of Team Vaizey Dash Arts, which have produced Babel, a collaboration between Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Damien Jalet and Antony Gormley that premiers at Sadler’s Wells next week, more HERE.

Language

How English erased its roots to become the global tongue of the 21st century HERE.

In Parliament

We’re back, but Parliament doesn’t sit until next week.

Election Stuff

Jeremy got in the back of the Sun’s cab-inet to answer the cabbie’s questions and did well, even getting the question about Wayne Rooney’s ankle right, more HERE

Ben Bradshaw did a webchat on the Guardian’s website on Tuesday, more HERE in which he again peddled the (completely incorrect) line that we have done some kind of deal with News International.

Labour have published a hastily pulled together creative industries paper which promises to: bring in the telephone tax they failed to introduce at the last budget; create a new quango, this time focused on the internet; top slice the BBC licence fee and spend the digital TV switchover surplus to prop up the failing regional news model; proceed with the piracy measures in the digital economy bill; introduce a video games tax credit. More HERE

So, one new idea (for a quango), the recycling of several bad ideas, and one good one stolen from us. No mention there of CRR, product placement, media de-regulation in general, opening up BT local loops to competitors, how to enable sustainable local news, the film industry, the fashion industry, or sector wide issues such as skills and apprenticeships.

Creative Industries

Media

This year’s MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh International Television Festival will be delivered by BBC director general Mark Thompson, more HERE

Television

BT and Top Up TV have confirmed they will launch cut-price subscriptions to Sky Sports channels in time for the new football season. This has been made possible after BskyB reached an interim settlement to drop its fight to get the Competition Appeals Tribunal to implement a ‘stay’ to postpone the implementation of Ofcom’s ruling that it must cut the amount it charges to rival pay-TV operators to offer Sky Sports by more that 20%.

The CAT has brokered a deal under which Virgin Media, BT and Top Up TV can all take advantage of the reduced wholesale price for the two Sky Sports channels but they must place the difference between the new regulated price and Sky’s original wholesale price in a so-called ‘escrow’ account.

If Sky wins the case (likely to be held in September), then the money will be handed over to the satellite broadcaster as it will be able to put its prices up again. If Sky loses, the cash will be returned to the three companies. More HERE.

Enders Analysis have pointed out that ‘The settlement marks an important concession by Sky on the principle of enforced wholesale, and seems implicitly to reduce the Wholesale Must Offer issue to one of price’. However, Enders also highlight Sky’s Picnic project, to sit alongside Freeview and Top Up TV on Digital Terrestrial Television, which could provide an avenue to Sky to fight to regain any lost market share, noting that ‘Sky is above all fiercely competitive.’

Audiences

TV viewers are watching more than four hours of programmes every day, according to new figures from the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, more HERE with suggestions that the rise is down to both greater choice offered by digital TV and the recession causing more people to stay in.

Film

Channel 4 will boost the budget of Film4, its film financing division, by 20 per cent this year to £10m, returning Film4’s budget to is 2007 levels, more HERE

Net neutrality

The European Commission is about to being a consultation on ‘net neutrality’, the seemingly benign idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally. Advocates say that democracy itself will be at risk if this principle is not enforced; opponents that the continent’s communications infrastructure will be threatened if it is. Although, as the FT points out ‘beneath the hyperbole lies a more prosaic battle between the technology and telecom industries: how to divide the growing spoils of the smartphone revolution.’ So expect this one to run and run, more HERE

Arts and Heritage

Heritage

The owners of 20 privately owned houses which open to the public in Yorkshire have written to the Yorkshire post to point out that the Lib Dems Mansion Tax, ‘far from raising easy tax from the super rich… would hit hard those of us who struggle to maintain Britain’s heritage’ full letter HERE . The charge – one per cent of the value of properties over £2m – would leave an historic property worth £10m with a bill for an extra £100,000 every year, and would allow Britain’s heritage to fall into ‘terminal disrepair’, more HERE

Visual Art

The Turner prize shortlist was announced this, week, congratulations to nominees Dexter Dalwood, Angela de la Cruz, Susan Philipsz and the Otolith Group, more HERE we look forward to seeing the show.

Meanwhile, in the Telegraph Alistair Sooke is worried the prize is no longer shocking, more HERE

Culture

According to a new report out this week, Birmingham’s culture venues generate more than £270 million for the city every year, more HERE

Dance

According to the New York Times, dance has become an issue in this election, more HERE

Libraries

The Reading Agency has published a report in to the first five years of their Reading Partners scheme. The scheme is helping to revolutionize the way libraries and publishers work together to reach readers. Starting in 2004 with five publishers involved in a two year pilot, the scheme has grown into a real force for change in the way books are promoted; there are now 32 publishers involved more HERE.

Theatre

Congratulations to Jude Law and Catherine Zeta Jones, leading the Brit charge in the nominations for this year’s Tony awards, more HERE

Job corner

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is recruiting for their External Relations team, more HERE

Where we’ve been and who we’ve seen

Our final week on the stump; whatever you do today, please vote.

See you on the other side.

Ed Vaizey

Conservative Shadow Arts Spokesman

Jeremy Hunt

Conservative Shadow Culture Spokesman

As Jeremy settles into his new job as Culture Secretary, our favourite arts blog gives him some advice, more HERE.

Charlotte Higgins speculates on how it will go HERE, and Alistair Smith in The Stage kicks off cuts speculation, more HERE.

TV

Singapore has been accused by the pay-television industry of breaching WTO rules and damaging its future as an international media hub by moving to force broadcasters to share content. More HERE.

Press

ABC figures for April are out, with Sundays HERE and dailies HERE.

Considering the election coverage HERE.

Architecture

A question for Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, more HERE.

Following the Dave and Nick show, the Ed and Don show, on Hardtalk HERE (NB: we are still waiting for news on Ministerial posts).

Charlotte Higgins speculates on what kind of Culture Secretary Jeremy will be in the Granuiad, HERE. An excellent one, we think!

(Unnecessary) worry over the re-merger of the Olympics department back into DCMS and what it means for media policy. The Olympics civil servants were always based at DCMS and arguably Tessa Jowell’s move to the cabinet office was driven by Brown politicking. More HERE

Thoughtful, insightful stuff from Grayson Perry: ‘We all care about the quality of our culture, but are the tears shed at an opera any better than those shed at a football match? Are they better quality tears? People sometimes talk as if there is a vintage type of tear that is shed only at Glyndebourne.’ HERE

Press

The new coalition government has promised a review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech, more HERE

Fashion

At 10 Downing Street with Sam Cam HERE

Radio

Audience figures for Chris Evan’s Radio 2 breakfast show are up by 1 million listeners, which is good news for Evan, though as the Guardian points out, raises further questions about the size and dominance of the BBC vis the wider radio landscape. More HERE

Theatre

What do Nick Clegg and Samuel Beckett have in common? HERE

Michael Sheen is taking on Hamlet at the Young Vic with Jerusalem director Ian Rickson HERE

Poetry

The Michael Marks awards for poetry pamphlets shortlist has been announced, more HERE

Opera

The BBC is launching its biggest ever series on opera HERE

Film

Competition and controversy at Cannes HERE

Dance

Plug for a dance charity from Stephen Fry HERE

The Competition Commission has ruled to keep CRR today, but added that the mechanism should be dropped at some point and that the entire UK TV ad sales market needs a review, more HERE

Press

Johnston Press the owner of the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post expects its first revenue growth for three years in the third quarter, although cuts continue, more HERE.

Twitter

And the glitch and the fix, HERE.

Film

As Cannes begins, concern over the lack of women directors on the Cannes list for the Palme d’Or in the Times HERE and the Guardian HERE

Video Games

Microsoft and LG bring 3D gaming to Xbox 360, having sign a memorandum of understanding to cross-promote 3D technology more HERE

Fashion

A second showing for Liberty’s on the daily news blog this week, as they report sales up 41% in the most recent quarter, more HERE

Theatre

Why Enron didn’t survive on Broadway, HERE

And finally

Hadley Freeman on the accuracy of The Day Today and Anchorman, more HERE

General media excitement / apoplexy. We know you’re having fun chaps, but do try to keep it down to a dull roar, more HERE and a full round up in the New Yorker, who are finding this all particularly entertaining, HERE.

Publishing

Google is set to join the e-book battle by launching its digital book service this summer, more HERE.

Radio

BBC’s 6 Music and Asian Network have won a hat-trick at the Sony radio awards, congratulations to all the winners HERE.

Fashion

Liberty of London is to launch a men’s wear collection – Ed will be first in the queue, more HERE.

Design

Ed presented an award to Anya Hindmarch at Conde Nast Travellers Design and Innovation Awards last night, more HERE.

Social networking

Skype is considering offering adverts in order to stay free, more HERE.

There has been a prosecution for a menacing Twitter message HERE.

The Sinking BBC ship (though we know someone who was on it, and apparently it was fun if you were there): HERE

General Election Adverts HERE

The influence of television on the general election HERE

Music

Record sales breakdown by genre for 2009- pop is fighting back, and an entertaining rundown of official No 1 singles on election days since 1955, HERE

BBC Proms sales top 80,000 tickets HERE

Social Networking

The genius of Twitter HERE

Facebook fixes embarrassing security flaw  HERE

Technology and business

Apple will charge UK consumers more than US consumers, citing ‘higher business costs’ as a reason, more HERE

Will Lewis’s exit puts big question over Telegraph’s digital strategy – Award-winning editor had differences of opinion with Murdoch MacLennan over future of Euston Partners HERE

Opera

Baby Opera, yes really HERE

Visual Arts

3d street art: HERE

Dance

Akram khan: HERE

Film

Four Lions film boycott urged by 7/7 families HERE

Language

How English erased its roots to become the global tongue of the 21s century HERE

Awards

The TV Bafta Nominations are out, more HERE

BT and Top Up TV have confirmed they will launch cut-price subscriptions to Sky Sports channels in time for the new football season. This has been made possible after BskyB reached an interim settlement to drop its fight to get the Competition Appeals Tribunal to implement a ‘stay’ to postpone the implementation of Ofcom’s ruling that it must cut the amount it charges to rival pay-TV operators to offer Sky Sports by more that 20%.

The CAT has brokered a deal under which Virgin Media, BT and Top Up TV can all take advantage of the reduced wholesale price for the two Sky Sports channels but they must place the difference between the new regulated price and Sky’s original wholesale price in a so-called ‘escrow’ account.

If Sky wins the case (likely to be held in September), then the money will be handed over to the satellite broadcaster as it will be able to put its prices up again. If Sky loses, the cash will be returned to the three companies. More HERE.

Film

After seven years and 24 outings (the Darth Vader one was our favourite) Orange’s spoof film board executive and his sidekick Elliott has been scrapped, a sad day indeed, more HERE.

BBC

Alan Yentob explains why the license fee payer should cover him flying business class HERE.

And finally

The Guardian has compiled a helpful selection of Wire quotes that Cameron, Clegg and Brown might have used, more HERE.

Election stuff

Tory Stuff

David Cameron launched our Quality of Life Manifesto early this week, which reaffirms our commitment to the arts and free museums, more and download the full document HERE See pages 10 and 11 for our specific commitments to the arts.

David Cameron has given an interview to the Radio Times pointing out that he is the most pro BBC Tory leader ever, more HERE.

Meanwhile, a group of performers wrote to the Observer this Sunday HERE to denounce our non-existent plans to cut the licence fee and accusing us (wrongly) of a cavalier attitude towards the BBC’s independence, more HERE.  Many of the signatories are overt supporters of the Labour Party, so we do not view this letter as in any way independent. In any case, today Ben Bradshaw has confirmed that if Labour are re-elected he would top slice the licence fee and dismantle the BBC Trust, more HERE.

David Hare has interviewed Jeremy and very nearly liked him, more HERE.

Labour stuff

Labour have focused heavily on the creative industries this week.  First, they fell foul of their own (much opposed) live music licensing laws by putting on a live Elvis tribute performance without a TEN, more HERE; then they fell out with much loved children’s character Peppa Pig by withdrawing her invitation to a Labour event ‘in the interests of avoiding any controversy or misunderstanding’ more HERE (they blamed the BBC); and finally the Prime Minister re-enacted an episode of the much loved political satire, The Thick of It.

Other Stuff

Politicians fight shy of the arts, thinks Charlotte Higgins in the Guardian, and she’s not happy about it, more HERE.

A new way to look at the election – Waterstone’s is reporting that total sales of this campaign’s manifestos has already overtaken the total achieved during the 2005 general election by 160%. The Lib Dems are up 250% on five years ago, the Tory manifesto has nearly doubled sales, up 193% on 2005, and taking 38% of total sales, with the Lib Dems on 32% and Labour bottom on 30%, more HERE.

Creative Industries

Creative Industries

In a letter to The Times, CEO of UK Music Feargal Sharkey and Founder of New Deal of the Mind Martin Bright have highlighted the contribution of the creative industries to the UK economy – in excess of £50 billion a year – and called for support for creative entrepreneurs to ‘stimulate investment, employment and art’ more HERE.

Music

BPI figures show a year on year sales increase of 0.9% from 2007 to 2008, the first year on year increase in five years, more from the BPI HERE This marks the first time that the growth in income from digital services such as iTunes has outweighed the decline in sales of CDs, more in the Times HERE, and discussion on what this means from Ben Cohen on the Channel 4 News blog HERE.

Global music sales figures fell again in 2009, which means discussion about illegal downloading isn’t going to go away any time soon, especially in view of the contrasting fortunes of the market for music and Spain and Sweden, more HERE.

Spotify has announced plans to link the service with Facebook and Twitter and help to synchronise the service with users’ music collections more HERE.

We7 shows the ad-funded model can work for online music, covering its running costs for the first time while paying proper royalties to artists, more HERE.

Video Games

Congratulations to Ian Livingstone, life president of Eidos who has won a British Inspiration Award for his work in the interactive entertainment sector at the inaugural British Inspiration Awards, more HERE.

Arts and Heritage

Arts

The National Campaign for the Arts is carrying out a Cultural Workforce Survey, more HERE.

Theatre

Labour’s free theatre initiative has come under fire yet again after it emerged that the entire communications budget for the scheme has already been exhausted, despite the fact that the project has nearly a year to run and is still well short of its target of giving away in excess of 500,000 tickets. NCA Director Louise de Winter has pointed out ‘It is slightly flogging a dead horse’ while Ed said ‘We now know that in order to keep the scheme going, the arts council will have to find money from a budget that could otherwise have been used to fund arts organisations at a very difficult time. This shows how idiotic Labour’s scheme was, and what is even more amazing, is that they say in their manifesto they want to continue it.’ More in the Stage, HERE

Congratulations to John Makinson, chief executive of Penguin, who has been appointed at the chairman of the Royal National Theatre, more HERE.

Why doesn’t Broadway love Enron? HERE.

Libraries

Ed talks about what we will do for books and libraries in Book Brunch, HERE.  It would be nice if you could compare our plans to those of Labour and the Lib Dems, but in each case Book Brunch’s ‘repeated requests met with no response’.

Archives

Individual members of the Society of Archivists have voted in favour of the proposal to create a new body in partnership with the National Council on Archives (NCA), and the Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government (ACALG), to bring together the archival and records community into one new organisation, the Archives and Records Association (ARA). The new body will represent the profession and major providers and provide advice to users, more HERE. We think this is great news, and hope that other sectors with multiple bodies will follow suit.

Visual Art

Artists, critics and readers on 10 years of Tate Modern, more HERE.

BBC Four made a great two part film about fine art students as they graduate from Goldsmith’s MA programme, HERE.

Where we’ve been and who we’ve seen

Still on the stump, one week to go!

Ed Vaizey

Conservative Arts Spokesman

Jeremy Hunt

Conservative Culture Spokesman

Sky is thriving on a surge driven by HD as the take up rate exceeds expectations and the average revenue per user over £500 for the first time. More HERE.

Virgin Media’s chief executive Neil Berkett believes High-definition is the key to growth for his company too, more in the FT HERE.

Tech

The sale of Apple’s iPhone and Ipad is under threat in the US after the International Trade Commission initiated a formal investigation into the company for allegedly infringing a patent covering multi-touch technology, more HERE

Theatre

Congratulations to John Makinson, chief executive of Penguin, who has been appointed at the chairman of the Royal National Theatre, more HERE.