This paper investigates the processes leading to musical fame or obscurity, whether for composers, performers, or works themselves. It starts from the observation that the patterns of success, across many historical music datasets, follow a similar mathematical relationship known as a power law, often with an exponent approximately equal to two. It presents several simple models which can produce power law distributions. An examination of these models' transience characteristics suggests parallels with some historical music examples, giving clues to the ways that success and obscurity might emerge in practice and the extent to which success might be influenced by inherent musical quality. These models can be seen as manifestations of a more fundamental process resulting from the law of maximum entropy, subject to a constraint on the average value of the logarithm of the success measure. This implies that musical success is a multiplicative quality, and suggests that musical markets operate to strike a balance between familiarity (socio-cultural importance) and novelty (individual importance). The common power law exponent of two is seen to emerge as a consequence of the tendency for musical activity to be spread evenly across the log-success bands.

Closure of the fund to new business is a strategic option that is not usually considered as a part of the day-to-day running of a life assurance company. The paper explores certain circumstances in which it can be appropriate to consider it, though in the Working Party's view consideration of the closed fund alternative normally arises as a matter of course only in the context of demutualisations, and then as an indicator of the potential value of membership rights.The topic is discussed in terms of legal, regulatory and professional aspects, and the profession is invited to consider providing more specific guidance for Appointed Actuaries whose companies are faced with demutualisation proposals. A number of practical aspects of operating a closed fund are outlined. The high-level financial considerations are illustrated by reference to a hypothetical case, and the perspectives of directors, independent and Appointed Actuaries and others are considered.Several recent examples of demutualisations where the closed fund alternative was considered are summarised in appendices, and some examples of closed or virtually closed funds are cited.

Andrew Gustar explains how power laws describe patterns of musical success, from pop charts and streaming services to classical concerts

This article considers why septuple metres are so rare in Western music, despite being common in many other cultures. The scene is set by tracing the history of the septuple-time ‘meme’ (an idea that replicates by imitation) from ancient Greece through to Western art and popular music. The following sections consider the psychological, musical and environmental factors in more detail. The scarcity of septuple time in Western music is largely attributable to the development of the time signature, as a vertical conception of music evolved during the Renaissance. Subsequent evolution of the ‘Western music memeplex’ maintained septuple time on its periphery. Analysis of this interaction permits the construction of a meme-centred narrative of aspects of the development of Western music.

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