Dub dot dash

Numbers.
35%. Thats the number total turnover at NZ music retail dropped between 2001 and 2005. From very informative article in NZ Herald's Business section (which has been serving up the goods over the holidays, despite the rest of the paper filling with seasonal dross). Online article is titled "Real Groovy - a company adapting to change" while the print version was called "Shops change tune to battle downloads." The three big xmas sellers at the Warehouse featured one Kiwi act - Prince Tui Teka. Classy.

$US80 million. That's how much cancellation of the Golden Globes ceremony is costing the Los Angeles region - they're holding a press conference instead. Exciting. So far the writer's strike has cost US$1.4 billion in lost wages. The Oscars organisers have said they will go ahead with the TV show (on Feb 24) regardless of the strike, even tho the Screen Actors Guild says its members will not appear. The Oscars is the second most popular TV show in the US, behind the Superbowl. Look for a resolution to the strike early Feb.

27 international acts. 15 festivals. That's the rough total for gigs and events in and around the Auckland area from Jan til late March. That's a huge number of punters out and about (even if Timeout is whining about the lack of pre-BDO shows by the big acts). There must still be a lot of folks with some dosh after Xmas to be spending up large on that many gigs.

$18.00. Last time The Police played here, it cost $18 a ticket. Of course, they earned $212 million last year from gigs. Shame they came out number one in a recent poll of bands with large carbon footprints - not very green of ya, Sting!