*It has been a long time since I posted on this blog. Since this is my very first post of 2013, I wish everybody having a great year ahead in 2013! (By the way, screwed those Mayans who say that the world will end)
Whether you are a fan of any talent show, here comes a big question for the producers. Are you guys really interested in searching a new talent or interested in making your pocket richer? On TV, I could say all of them will say the former one, but backstage I’m sure many will pick the later answer. Whether you are a fan of The Voice, American Idol, The X Factor, Got Talent or even Dancing with the Stars, there’s one fact you can't deny, that is the more frequent you turn on your TV to watch these shows, the more money they are going to earn. Here are some stats to prove producers and judge are pocketing more than you might imagine.
According to Forbes, American Idol earns about $6.64 million in ad revenue every half an hour in 2011. The show is broadcast close to five months, so just do the calculation how much they are earning through ad revenue. (Yet, Season 11 winner- Scott McCreery was paid less than 1 million when he won the show) The figure may look huge, but it is actually a drop from what the show earns in 2010, $7.11 million every half an hour. Despite being a huge flop in ratings, The X Factor USA still manages to earn $5.55 million in ad revenue every half an hour. Both of these two shows are one of the highest in terms of ad revenues. So, now you know why despite the decrease in viewership and ratings, both shows have been signed on till 2013.
Today’s music industry isn’t just about how well you sing, it come down to lots of other aspects of your singing. How your manager and music producer is going to sell your music to the market (I think this is perhaps the most important one), how special is your style of singing, the genre of song you are covering, how well you can compose, how well do you look, how well you can dance despite not singing, how well you can auto-tuned your song. (The final 3 aspects do apply to some of the artists out there) Not many singers can transform their success on these shows into success in the music industry. If these shows are seriously transforming music talents into real music stars, it shouldn’t be just only singing here and there and get people to vote. It should involve more than that, perhaps the show should get music songwriters, music managers, music producers in the show to further improve the singers’ other aspects apart from just singing. That’s what I called as a “package”. They need something special other than good vocals to stand out in the industry.
Often, I think the focus point of these shows is much more on the judges rather on the contestants. Judges are using the show as a platform to further boost their popularity. Jennifer Lopez perhaps is the best example of it. No doubt that she has incredible talent. But the job of being a judge at American Idol gives her a platform to promote her music and further enhance her image. (She has performed at least six times on the show despite being on the chair for two seasons only!) During her time at Idol, she manages to sign lucrative endorsement deals with L’Oreal and Gillette. Despite the drops in the ratings, she still manages to get an increase in her salary to around $20 million during her second season. These successes propel her to unseat Lady Gaga in last year’s Forbes Celebrity 100 list. She looks more like “The Real American Idol”.
The amount of money producers paying these judge are really large sum of money. American Idol new judge Mariah Carey reportedly earned $18 million per season. While Nicki Minaj gets about $12 million per season. (Honestly I just don’t understand on which planet she get paid so much) Simon Cowell, well known of his explosive way of criticizing contestants reportedly earned $35 million per season during his time at American Idol. Currently, he is with his own franchise show The X Factor USA and it is estimated that he earned $75 million every season on The X Factor USA. (This doesn’t include the share of money he earned for The X Factor show across the world) Britney Spears also cashing on her judge row on the show, earning $15 million per season.
While on The Voice, Christina Aguilera pocketed $10 million per season, while her three other male counterparts- Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Blake Sheldon earned $6 million per season. New judge Shakira and Usher which is going to replace Cee Lo and Christina during the spring 2013 season reportedly earned $12 million and $7 million respectively.
Talent or Money? Well, I guess you guys have your own answers. But for me, it’s more of the latter than the former. To be fair, at times these shows are overrated but still judges and producers are able to cash a big sum of money out of the show. It is great to nurture a talent and bring up a star through these talent shows, but this is not the case for today anymore. Shows are becoming more commercialized and often winners failed to make an impact in the music industry and are often easily forgotten after the show.
By,
Zhe Xu
January 5th 2013
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| The judging panel and host of the singing talent show The Voice (Top) and The X Factor(Below). (Top): Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Sheldon and Carson Daly. (Below): L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato, Britney Spears and Simon Cowell. |
According to Forbes, American Idol earns about $6.64 million in ad revenue every half an hour in 2011. The show is broadcast close to five months, so just do the calculation how much they are earning through ad revenue. (Yet, Season 11 winner- Scott McCreery was paid less than 1 million when he won the show) The figure may look huge, but it is actually a drop from what the show earns in 2010, $7.11 million every half an hour. Despite being a huge flop in ratings, The X Factor USA still manages to earn $5.55 million in ad revenue every half an hour. Both of these two shows are one of the highest in terms of ad revenues. So, now you know why despite the decrease in viewership and ratings, both shows have been signed on till 2013.
Today’s music industry isn’t just about how well you sing, it come down to lots of other aspects of your singing. How your manager and music producer is going to sell your music to the market (I think this is perhaps the most important one), how special is your style of singing, the genre of song you are covering, how well you can compose, how well do you look, how well you can dance despite not singing, how well you can auto-tuned your song. (The final 3 aspects do apply to some of the artists out there) Not many singers can transform their success on these shows into success in the music industry. If these shows are seriously transforming music talents into real music stars, it shouldn’t be just only singing here and there and get people to vote. It should involve more than that, perhaps the show should get music songwriters, music managers, music producers in the show to further improve the singers’ other aspects apart from just singing. That’s what I called as a “package”. They need something special other than good vocals to stand out in the industry.
Often, I think the focus point of these shows is much more on the judges rather on the contestants. Judges are using the show as a platform to further boost their popularity. Jennifer Lopez perhaps is the best example of it. No doubt that she has incredible talent. But the job of being a judge at American Idol gives her a platform to promote her music and further enhance her image. (She has performed at least six times on the show despite being on the chair for two seasons only!) During her time at Idol, she manages to sign lucrative endorsement deals with L’Oreal and Gillette. Despite the drops in the ratings, she still manages to get an increase in her salary to around $20 million during her second season. These successes propel her to unseat Lady Gaga in last year’s Forbes Celebrity 100 list. She looks more like “The Real American Idol”.
The amount of money producers paying these judge are really large sum of money. American Idol new judge Mariah Carey reportedly earned $18 million per season. While Nicki Minaj gets about $12 million per season. (Honestly I just don’t understand on which planet she get paid so much) Simon Cowell, well known of his explosive way of criticizing contestants reportedly earned $35 million per season during his time at American Idol. Currently, he is with his own franchise show The X Factor USA and it is estimated that he earned $75 million every season on The X Factor USA. (This doesn’t include the share of money he earned for The X Factor show across the world) Britney Spears also cashing on her judge row on the show, earning $15 million per season.
While on The Voice, Christina Aguilera pocketed $10 million per season, while her three other male counterparts- Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Blake Sheldon earned $6 million per season. New judge Shakira and Usher which is going to replace Cee Lo and Christina during the spring 2013 season reportedly earned $12 million and $7 million respectively.
Talent or Money? Well, I guess you guys have your own answers. But for me, it’s more of the latter than the former. To be fair, at times these shows are overrated but still judges and producers are able to cash a big sum of money out of the show. It is great to nurture a talent and bring up a star through these talent shows, but this is not the case for today anymore. Shows are becoming more commercialized and often winners failed to make an impact in the music industry and are often easily forgotten after the show.
By,
Zhe Xu
January 5th 2013
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