Category: Arts & Culture

by Hannah Williams-

The theatre arts can be crucial to a beneficial education in and out of school. However, many do not see the subject as having as much merit as STEM-driven fields. Many politicians have even pushed and financially incentivized STEM-driven fields over those that are art-driven in the past. As a result, theatre has become largely underdeveloped in more rural areas as less funding is distributed to those regions. This includes the New River Valley and much of the Appalachia. 

Rhea Perdue is a fan of and participant in the theatre arts. She was born and raised in Richcreek, Virginia, a small town in Giles County. According to the U.S. Census, the town had a population of only 755 in 2020. Perdue recalls how makeshift her experience with theatre was throughout her K-12 education.

“It was all very D-I-Y. We didn’t have a theatre at my high school, it was an auditorium for meetings,” Perdue says. “We had to daisy-chain little things, and we didn’t have mics, lighting or sound for a couple years.”

Perdue discusses how having proper experiences would have prepared her better for her theatre career in college.

“Had we had those things already, I think I would have had a better knowledge of them when I got to college and how to use them and not how to makeshift little things,” she says. “I think the root of the problem is not that I wasn’t exposed to it. The root of the problem is that we did not have money to facilitate the exposure.”

When it comes to K-12 funding, Virginia is still dealing with the effects of the 2008 recession and disproportionately relies on local governments to fund its public education. In order to meet the state’s Standards of Quality, local governments are having to spend twice as much in recent years, which many rural areas struggle to afford. These rural schools end up prioritizing STEM subjects while cutting back on arts to facilitate better test scores and receive grant funding.

Despite arguments vouching for STEM subjects over the arts, there are a number of benefits that attending or performing theatre can have for residents and students of rural communities. A study by the George Mason University Arts Research Center shows the more art classes students take the more they can excel academically in other fields, leading to higher test scores many schools strive for. 

Susan Bland, Associate Director of Communication at Moss Arts Center, grew up in Giles County. She says the arts have benefits other subjects might not be able to provide.

“It opens up worldviews and gives [people] perspectives they would never have if they didn’t have access to the arts,” Bland says. “That’s something that math can’t give you. That’s something that science can’t give you.”

There are many reasons why a lack of theatre persists in the New River Valley. However, its benefits often outweigh the costs and could be key to helping underprivileged communities in the area.

by Brooke Landers-

Hybe, a South Korean music management company, buys hip-hop label Quality Control for $300 million. Hybe is home to artists such as Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and a roster of K-pop stars. These names will now be joined by the artists of Quality Control, which include Migos and Lil Baby. 

According to the online blog, Complete Music Update, this deal now puts Hybe at the forefront of the hip-hop genre in the U.S. This major merger will no doubt cause ripples across the international music industry. The business move is a reflection of how important the managerial side of the professional music industry is. 

To better understand the music industry, Professor Artem Bank from the Music Department of Virginia Tech offers some insight on the subject. 

“Management that has connections within the areas the artist wants to pursue is paramount, whether this is someone who understands and frequently sets up sync licenses, has ties to marketing agencies that can push a new artist, or has access to exclusive and lucrative promoters and booking agents,” says Bank.

He emphasizes that it is also easy to face potential downfalls, like getting mismanaged and signing to a label that might take advantage of an artist. Thus, when larger labels start to shift and merge, it might not always be in their artists’ favor. 

“It’s not enough to just be good at making music. A lot of people are. How that talent is applied is much more important than just having the talent,” explains Bank.

As talent is not hard to find in the music industry, smaller labels do their best to sign upcoming and emerging artists. Yet, these smaller labels also have to compete with the ever-growing giant that is Hybe.

Indie artists and those lesser known in the industry are making their success through grassroots marketing. Erik Cumpston, lead singer and guitarist of Paperplant, a local Blacksburg, VA band, exhibits how artists can take the business management into their own hands with some extra work.

“It is also hard to be seen as ‘credible’ when you have not played with any bands in the scene yet, and no one really knows who you are. It is really tough to gain traction, but consistency is key,” says Cumpston.

Being a consistent artist that seeks out opportunities will likely generate some sort of success, but artists will make it to the next level by signing to a label. A label would help with alleviating the responsibilities of generating opportunities in terms of shows and appearances. 

“When it comes to booking a show, you typically have to spam call or email the venue to get their attention,” says Cumpston.

With a label, these hoops would be much easier to jump through. Yet, it is clear that the music industry is becoming more and more concentrated into a few massive labels, like Hybe. Signing to a smaller label might not do much for up-and-coming artists these days.

By: Brooke Landers

Local musicians in Blacksburg, Virginia are young, ambitious, and talented. Yet, pursuing a lifelong career in music is not always the goal for every musician. This small local circle of bands and solo acts is maintaining a pace that balances their appetite for success and their contentment with their current stage.

Photo taken by Brooke Landers on Feb. 18, 2022, in Blacksburg, Va. Local music fans cheer for a band playing at the Milk Parlor, a popular venue for small local artists.

Shak Kataev, the financial manager for a local band called Parotia, is leery of Parotia developing as a band outside of the local Southwest Virginia area. 

“In our past, band leaders were more in an expansionist mindset and fostered connections outside of Blacksburg. As of late, this is not true”, said Kataev. 

Though Parotia has seen great success in the Blacksburg area, Kataev explains that maintaining a steady roster of band members and trying to keep up publishing new music has made it hard to picture the band growing out of its local area. 

“Our bassist left and graduated. No tentative plans have been made to find a suitable replacement,” said Kataev.

Even if replacements can be found, his outlook on Parotia’s streaming success is pretty pessimistic. According to the global music distributor, Ditto, each stream on Spotify only makes the artist $0.003-$0.005. Thus, Kataev feels content with the lineup of shows Parotia maintains locally and isn’t too keen on pursuing Spotify success or expanding Parotia’s domain.

Southwest Virginia not only has a thriving local band scene but also has some blossoming solo acts, like Amelia Empson. As the embodiment of Appalachia, Empson is a local farmer and true native of this area, who pours authenticity into her music. 

“I’m using my music as an outlet to process my emotions and feelings, it’s kind of like journaling for me, it’s where a lot of my lyrics come from. I really love pen and paper, that’s what music feels like to me,” said Empson.

Though her passion for sharing her music is undeniable, her outlook on making a break for an arena bigger than the local Southwest Virginia music scene is not on the immediate radar.

“Right now where I am, I really enjoy the pace I’m at and I’m not tired of it,” said Empson. 

Networking as a solo artist proves to be different and potentially more challenging than networking the local music scene with a band. Still, Empson has friends she can jam with and a local support system of other artists. She is content with her place in local music for now but still leaves the door open for her aspirations of having music as a full-time career.

“It is something I’d like to turn into a career if I can support myself and keep up with my relationships,” said Empson.

Photo by Brooke Landers taken Feb. 28, 2022, in Blacksburg, Va. A crowd enjoys a concert performed by Parotia.

Both Parotia and Empson share the local stage of the Southwest Virginia music scene and continue to add their own unique contributions to the ever-growing sounds of Appalachia. The balance and consistency from both acts show that their passion for what they do bears no mind to the size of the stage they play on.

by Hannah Williams-

The ways the entertainment industry consumes and disperses art is quickly changing as technology develops more each year.  With a rapid rise in streaming services, like Netflix, theaters and performing arts centers are having to adapt to survive. As a result of such services, these establishments are dealing with issues like reduced attendance and low ticket sales.

Streaming services began growing in 2005 with YouTube, a video-sharing website, and its success in the entertainment markets has skyrocketed since then. The biggest catalyst that drew people towards streaming services over theaters and performing arts centers came during the COVID-19 pandemic. AMC Entertainment reported a loss of $4.5 billion in 2020 after having to close all of its theaters for public safety. Cinemark and Regal Cinemas also closed their theaters that year.

Another factor in this shift is ticket costs. The Statista Research Department reports the average price of a movie ticket in the US in 2021 was $9.57. Twenty years ago, it was $5.66. Locally, B&B Theatres in Blacksburg currently prices 1 adult ticket for around $11, while the monthly cost for a Netflix subscription starts at $6.99 and features a wide range of movies and TV shows.

Due to rising costs, some stay home to watch movies, even if it means waiting longer for them to release on streaming platforms. Although, some films, like “Dune”, are released on streaming services the same day as in theaters. 

“More movies are being promoted alongside streaming services,“ says Nicholas Powell, a concessions worker at B&B Theatres. “Just about everyone has, or knows someone who has, access to every streaming service. So when those movies come out, I see significantly low amounts of attendance.”

Ticket prices vary for live performances. At Moss Arts Center, prices tend to steer on the higher end. Depending on the seat location, student status and demand, tickets cost anywhere from $10 to upwards of $100.

Kristen Kim, a box office attendant at Moss Arts Center, says finances greatly impact attendance, particularly for students.

“College is hard. There are times when performances don’t cost $10,” Kim says. “You actually have to save up to buy [tickets]. Going to performances is a luxury from a student perspective.”

When the Moss Arts Center sees a high amount of sales, it suffers with follow-through and ticket buyers showing up. Margaret Lawrence, the Director of Programming at Moss Arts Center, says this is the center’s current concern.

“We’re hearing that students are attending fewer events, much less than before the pandemic,” says Lawrence. “We are concerned about students who have gone through the pandemic having to stream everything and have hit this different stride where going to a big thing in person with all these people doesn’t feel as comfortable anymore.”

The growth of streaming services continues, with 83% of consumers having a subscription to video-on-demand platforms. As the effects of the pandemic still loom, there is much uncertainty about where the entertainment industry is headed.

By: Ryan Schork

The comic book industry has surged in sales and widespread popularity in recent years. When thinking about comic books, many people think of Marvel and DC heroes like Spider-man, Batman, and Superman. However, the increased sales volume and popularity of comic books can mainly be attributed to manga.

Manga are Japanese comic books that serve as the source material for animated cartoon shows and movies, called anime. Manga reached record sales numbers in 2020, earning an estimated $5.6 billion in Japan alone, according to Megan Peters. Meanwhile, that same year American comics earned $1.28 billion in North America, according to a joint survey by ICv2 and Comichron.

Just one year later in 2021, comic books generated a total of $2.075 billion in America, with manga making up $1.47 billion of that total. This means that Japanese manga is not only more profitable in Japan, but even in America they are selling better than American comics.

“I think a lot of that has to do with the actual animated cartoons [anime] and then people want to come in and actually read the source material,” said Adam Sutphin, manager of Big Lick Comics in Roanoke.

Sutphin also attributed popular streaming services like Netflix and HBO to the rise of manga. This is due to anime getting much more exposure in America, leading consumers to want to delve deeper into the stories by purchasing manga.

“It’s not really just hitting the scene, it’s kind of becoming more mainstream,” said Sutphin in regard to manga. “I think with a lot more access to the animated movies [anime], it’s getting a lot more eyes looking at it.”

Major book-selling retailers like Barnes & Noble, have started to phase out shelving space for American comics, opting to give manga more space. While this is certainly due to better sales, Robert Jones sales representative at B&D Comics, believes there are other factors.

Jones claims that manga books are much easier to store, stock and re-shelf than American comic books. This is because manga books are printed in a similar fashion to paperback novels. Whereas comics are flimsier and more prone to damage.

Jones also believes that people are more inclined to buy manga over American comics because of the amount of content held in each book. “Instead of just a small comic book, you get an entire volume [with manga],” said Jones. Rather than just a singular issue of a few pages, customers prefer to buy a book of manga that contain hundreds of pages and multiple chapters.

If one thing is clear, it is that manga is here to stay. “I think it’s always going to be around, and I think it’s going to keep increasing,” said Sutphin. It will be the American comic book industry that must yield to manga or adapt to maintain relevance.