Kennedy Center Drops Tessitura for Ticketmaster as Grenell Collected $260,205 From Live Nation

Live Nation paid Richard Grenell $260,205 last year while the Kennedy Center, where he serves as president, negotiated a ticketing deal with the company's subsidiary, NPR reports. The Kennedy Center paid him nothing. The venue is dropping Tessitura, the nonprofit ticketing system it has used for decades, in favor of Ticketmaster. Grenell, Trump's choice to lead the institution, sat on the board of Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent, during the negotiations. The takeaway: the person running America's flagship cultural institution was on the payroll of the company winning its ticketing contract.

What did Canada's new budget give artists?

Canada's new budget lets artists earn up to $45,000 a year from creative work tax-free through a new Canada Creative Credit, CBC reports. The budget also raises the Canada Book Fund for the first time since 2001, according to Publishers Weekly. In plain terms, a working writer or musician could keep the first $45,000 of annual creative income untouched by tax.

How is the UK expanding theatre access?

The UK has committed up to £15 million to National Theatre Nationwide, WhatsOnStage reports. The initiative will send shows to 400 schools and sell thousands of £10 tickets to young people. The program targets more than 100,000 young people with access to live theatre and training.

What is happening with fake art portfolios in London?

London firms are selling fake art portfolios to wealthy migrants applying for the UK's Global Talent visa, ARTnews reports. The packages include artwork made in China and forged reviews. The full package costs more than £100,000, roughly $132,000. The scheme trades on a visa route meant to certify genuine creative talent.

Why are art-market watchers criticizing Artnet's new deal?

Artnet, the auction-data company, became the official art partner of Kalshi, a betting platform, ARTnews reports. Artnet will supply the sale results that decide which bets pay out. The arrangement has drawn backlash in the art world, where the same data provider now underwrites gambling outcomes tied to the market it documents.

Who won the Booker Prize?

M. John Harrison, 81, won the Booker Prize for The End of Everything, The Guardian reports. He is the first winner to come out of science fiction. The award, at 81, marks Harrison as one of the oldest recipients in the prize's history and a watershed for a genre long excluded from the shortlist's top honor.

Where can viewers see the Met's new opera free?

The Metropolitan Opera's sold-out Lincoln in the Bardo streams free on YouTube through Wednesday, TheaterMania reports. The production is Missy Mazzoli's opera of George Saunders's novel. It is the company's first free YouTube broadcast, extending a sold-out run to a global audience at no cost.

The Kennedy Center ticketing switch and the Grenell payment disclosure will invite the closest scrutiny, as conflict-of-interest questions around Live Nation's contracts already draw regulatory attention on both sides of the Atlantic.