EU recorded music revenue reaches €6 billion
IFPI’s September report puts 2025 growth at 5.1%.
The cover story · Stage
The art behind
the applause.
Before the room erupts, a thousand quiet decisions have already shaped the moment. Step into the craft behind the spectacle.
Read the cover storyOn the record
The latest dispatches.
Sundance’s Boulder chapter takes shape
The 2027 festival is scheduled for January 21–31 in its new Colorado home.
The Academy sets dates for its next two ceremonies
The 99th Oscars are scheduled for March 14, 2027, followed by the centenary ceremony on March 5, 2028.
Venice 2026: looking beyond the competition
The festival’s programme offers several different routes into contemporary cinema.
The listening room · Music
The art of
leaving things out.
Why the space around a sound can be as expressive as the sound itself. A closer listen to restraint, contrast and the choices that let a melody breathe.
Inside the arrangement ↗The screening room
Through the lens.
Why the close-up still holds us
A face can carry a scene without explaining a single thing.
The cut you don’t notice
Film editing shapes feeling through decisions that often disappear into the story.
What a costume tells us before dialogue
Clothes can suggest a history, a habit or a version of the self someone hopes to become.
Rooms that tell stories
Production design makes a film’s world feel inhabited, even at the edge of the frame.
The listening room
Stay for the sound.
The art of leaving things out
Why the space around a sound can be as expressive as the sound itself.
The pleasure of listening in order
An album’s sequence offers a different experience from a collection of isolated tracks.
The hidden drama of backing vocals
The voices around a lead can change the meaning of a song.
A music video can build a whole world
A recurring visual idea can give a song a second life on screen.
Behind the curtain
Built for the moment.
The art behind the applause
Before the room erupts, a thousand quiet decisions have already shaped the moment.
When light becomes the storyteller
Colour, shadow and direction can give a performance an emotional architecture.
The power of leaving the room quiet
A pause can hold an audience as firmly as the loudest chorus.
A set list is a story in disguise
The order of songs can turn a collection of favourites into a shared journey.
The creative business
Beyond the headline.
Stay for the credits
The names at the end offer another way to understand the work you have just seen.
A clearer introduction to an artist
A useful press kit makes the work easy to understand without burying it in superlatives.
What happens after a festival selection?
Recognition is a moment. Reaching an audience is a longer process.
Give an audience a reason to return
A creative release becomes more inviting when people can follow the thinking behind it.