In a press release last week, Sony BMG has revealed a joint venture between themselves and Simon Cowell’s SYCO media group . This newly created entity will own all of the SYCO TV and media rights to the X-Factor and [insert country here]’s Got Talent, as well as Cowell’s hit making cash-cow pop stars, including Susan Boyle and Leona Lewis.
As the first project under the new Syco banner, Fox Television announced (on January 11th) that it will launch the U.S. version of the worldwide hit TV show, The X Factor, in the fall of 2011. Cowell will serve as both executive producer and judge on the U.S. version of the show.
In the brief years since moving out of his mum and dad’s house aged 30, Cowell has worked with artists selling more than 180 million albums and delivered more than 150 No.1 records. In 2009, Cowell was named No. 1 in Hollywood Reporter’s Top 50 Most Powerful in Reality TV and one of Entertainment Weekly’s Top Entertainers of the Year, and has one of the most powerful and influential figures in pop music, having fired literally hundreds of young hopefuls up the pop charts with the perfect storm of his TV format and Sony label tie-in.
The new company consolidates the close relationship between Cowell and Sony, and will doubtless mean more years of gushing, well meaning, easily herded young vocalists being fired out of the high-powered marketing cannon into our faces.
The announcement was out by 2:30pm on Sunday, and leaked onto the internet long before the 7pm embargo that the Official Charts Company had set in their press release – Rage Against The Machine are No.1 in the UK this Christmas. Theirs is the first Xmas No.1 to reach that position on only digital sales. A milestone that will pass pretty much unnoticed in the turmoil surrounding the campaign that won it for them.
They are the beneficiaries of a campaign launched by Jon and Tracy Morter, mainly on Facebook but touted around most of the net by anyone who agrees with Charlie Brooker that Joe McElderry’s (the X Factor Winner) track is a “…pissweak vocal doodle… a listless announcement on a service station Tannoy; an advert for buttons; a fart in a clinic; a dot on a spreadsheet.” Reactions to the news have been predictable in their variation: the usual slew of vituperative comments on Facebook and YouTube crowing over Joe/the X-Factor/Simon Cowell’s failure – hilariously highlighting their “Number Two” ranking, journalists pointing out the disappointing irony that both tracks belong to Sony; the machine has anticipated your rebellion and is profiting from it.
This doesn’t really detract from the success of the campaign for me. What the Morters managed to do was give the motley rabble of alternative music fans a harlequin flag to rally behind. In his inimitable way, Mr. Brooker was making the point that Rage’s song is emotional, impassioned music for it’s own sake, unlike the X-Factor single, which is part of a vehicle created by Simon Cowell and others to make money from music
RATM are obviously very pleased about all this and are planning a free gig next year to say thankyou to all their fans:
“We’re very, very ecstatic and excited about the song reaching the number one spot and I just want to say we want to thank everyone for participating in this incredible, organic grassroots campaign.”
“It’s more about the spontaneous action taken by young people in the UK to topple this very sterile pop monopoly,” he continued. “When young people decide to take action they can make what’s seemingly impossible possible.”
This is a positive, encouraging response, and I’d love to see them make a comeback, but am I alone in thinking that the campaign was more anti-X-Factor than pro RATM? Good on them, plucky little 40 year old punks that they are – but they’ve moved on. The campaign seemed more about rejecting what is fed to the masses, the point that is covered in ‘Killing in the name of’, and was so succinctly put by Paul Weller – “The public wants what the public gets”. It’s a complaint that, well intentioned as Joe McElderry may be in himself, to the RATM buyers, he is a grinning mask stretched over the pitiless metal visage of Cowell and Co.’s marketing machine – a machine so successful that it has made even the process of disappointing hundreds of hopeful young people profitable, and reinstated the pillory as a form of national public entertainment, whilst simultaneously chiding us for expecting the worst from the pitiable social outcasts they drag up specifically for our ridicule, and profiting from their talent too. Yes, in the flurry of excitement over ‘Ragemas’, everyone’s ignoring the fact that the Simon monster has got it’s vicelike grip around the No.1 album slot.
Cowell’s response to his defeat is that of a true shark; he offered the couple that orchestrated the campaign a job. He told the Mirror: “I’m genuinely impressed by the campaign they have run. It has been a good campaign with no dirty tricks and without funding. They have been passionate and worked hard.” “This is their first attempt at putting out a record and they got a Christmas No 1, so they have not done badly at all.
Good, Simon, magnanimity becomes you.
“I wanted them to come and work for us. I was deadly serious but they haven’t taken me up on the offer.”
Wait… what?
“I now realise I’ve taken too much for granted. I have got to hold my hands up. I accept there are people that don’t like The X-Factor.”
Either he’s a master of dead-pan sarcasm to rival Humphrey Lyttleton, or his head is so far in the sand he can taste magma… Either way, he’s relentless – the mob are at the castle gates, pitchforks in hand, and he condescends to ask them if they’d like a job moving hay.
I think my favourite reaction to the whole debacle came from poor, naive little Joe, whose reaction on listening to ‘Killing in the Name Of’ was printed in the Sun:
“They can’t be serious! I had no idea what it sounded like. It’s dreadful and I hate it. How could anyone enjoy this? Can you imagine the grandmas hearing this over Christmas lunch?
“I wouldn’t buy it. It’s a nought out of ten from me. Simon Cowell wouldn’t like it. [Why Joe, what a brown nose you have!] They wouldn’t get through to boot camp on The X Factor – they’re just shouting.”
He really doesn’t get it! It’s wonderful! In his 18 year old little bubble, the world is really full of Unicorns, kittens and leprechauns snuggling rainbows. Let’s look forward in time ten years to when the phone in his Kensington apartment has bizarrely failed to ring for the sixth consecutive month. Let’s think about the moment when the first crack appears in that illusion he’s holding right now. It might even be next year, when the next X-Factor winner gets the food bowl next to Simon’s chair at dinner, and his is pushed down a row. Let’s understand that this is why there is no long tail on the manufactured, novocaine smelling, surgical pink pop that gets churned out by the Pop-Idol mill – there’s no emotion in it; no real understanding about music, no desire to communicate something passionate and unique in a way that makes the financial gain irrelevant. The art of music only exists when it transcends the material and is a thing for and of itself, and that’s what people love it for. Joe, Simon and Co. are using people’s base tendency to buy what is put in front of them to make money, not to make music.
[On the other hand, we here at RouteNote are providing a service to the underappreciated, hard working independent artists, and we would very much like to distribute your tracks for you, and make your music make money for you.]
So what can we take from the whole affair? It’s good that some musicians are at number one, rather than a marketing team wielding the bludgeon of a multi million pound marketing vehicle and weekly TV show. It’s good that the balkanised, fractured section of the public that loves music, be it Grime, Hip Hop, Metal or good old fashioned anti-corporate Rock have got together and taken charge of the charts for a week. It’s very good that the campaign to achieve this has also raised more than £70,000 for charity. But. It’s not sustainable – the people that like listening to music rather than staying in watching gumph on telly of a Saturday night generally like too many different types of music for this chart domination to be a regular occurrence; but perhaps we can feel reassured that there is still a music buying, music loving public out there, prepared to pony up for something they believe in. The artists that really care about what they’re playing will always have real listeners – ones that will buy them a beer and say thanks after the gig, and reminisce in the pub after their band has broken up. I don’t think anyone will mourn the passing of Joe McElderry’s musical career over a pint of real ale in the Islington Arms. I hope that the campaign organisers can repeat their feat, and that next year we can buy a record from a great new artist on an independent label; a proportion of the profits from which will go to support a charity, or to supporting more up-and-coming artists. Maybe, and I realise that this is a wistful, hopeless dream, just maybe that song could be Rolf Harris’ ‘Wonderful Christmas Pig’ [no derogatory comments about Susan Boyle, please].
You will have heard by now about the campaign that’s running against Simon ‘King of the Beavers‘ Cowell’s latest X-Factor protege. Instead of letting the doting housewives and goggle-box zombies claim another Christmas No. 1 for this year’s Winner Joe McElderry, we in the UK are all supposed to take the advice of this Facebook campaign and strike a blow against formulaic pop music by purchasing Rage Against The Machine’s “Killing In the Name Of” before Dec 19th.
Ignoring the irony of promoting an anti-mainstream, anti-capitalist message by advocating a purchase, it’s difficult to understand who this campaign is intended to make a difference to. The campaign page claims that it’s not making a personal attack against the high-waisted one, and objectionable as alternative music fans may find Mr. Cowell’s brand of pop and opinionated self righteousness, he’s not the source of the problem. He was instrumental in creating a format which appealed to the appetite of the masses, one that allows the public to be involved in a very emotional and challenging journey for a group of pretty young things, and he’s succeeded with the development of that format to an incredible extent. If his Wikipedia entry is to be believed, then he went from being deeply in debt and living with his parents at age 30, to earning $50,000,000 in 2008. That’s $5,700 for every hour of every day, including while he sleeps! If I were earning that sort of money I would wear the silliest trousers I could find, and wouldn’t give a stuff about anyone else’s opinion.
The X-Factor winners have all been glad to win, have all got the bite at the cherry of fame that they wanted, a lot of people that stay in and watch telly and call TV hotlines on a Saturday night have been mildly entertained, and a lot of bland pop music has been sold. What’s the problem? The singles charts haven’t been of interest to anyone who really takes an interest in music since “Mistletoe and Wine” was at the top for Xmas ‘88. Mr. Blobby was at number one for Christmas in ‘93, for goodness sake. Mr. Blobby! Even 15 years ago, the cool kids were listening to John Peel, not the chart show. You don’t like the X-Factor? That’s what the power button on your TV is for… Go to a gig instead; I promise you won’t find any Susan Boyle fans there.
This is what makes the internet, and the digital music revolution, and the availability of universally available music distribution so great. Everything is available to you equally easily – OK you might have stuff that you don’t want to buy thrust in your face, but it’s the advertising that makes the greater part of the services on the net financially viable. Spread your negative message on Facebook, but realise that it’s the ad revenue from the things you dislike facilitating the social networking vehicle you’re enjoying the use of – your revenge? Ignoring them. Musical evangelism is no different to any other kind of hectoring ‘I know better’ behaviour. If you are right, then you will succeed – like Simon Cowell has – otherwise you’ll just have to accept that most people don’t think like you. This, essentially is what Simon Cowell’s typically tetchy and short tempered response to the campaign was saying. ‘I’m a millionare 100 times over, what you’re doing doesn’t affect me, only this hopeful young man who I’m exploiting, and the show is successful because the majority of the public like it, so you can’t dismiss the majority.’ Don’t get me wrong, I dislike manufactured pop as much as the next Generation Y-er (for all that we’re a disparate band), and I understand the frustration, as does RATM’s Tom Morello:
“I think people are just fed-up of being spoonfed some overblown sugary ballad that sits on top of the charts. It’s a little dose of anarchy for the holidays, it’s good for the soul. It’s this big machinery that puts forward a particular kind of music which represents a particular kind of listener. There are a lot of people that don’t feel represented by it and this Christmas in the UK they’re having their say.”
Take comfort in the fact that the pop-puppet you find irksome has never heard of the bands you like, and inhabits a different sphere to you – you’re unlikely to bump into him in the crowd at the Download festival.
The campaign’s Facebook page endorses giving money to Shelter, a homelessness charity – maybe if we all send Simon a Myspace message he’ll donate half the revenue from the next series of X-Factor to them, he can’t need the money – especially if the rumour that he’sgenerating 70% of Sony’s music income is true.
Christmas looms, and with it the prospect of a new X-Factor winner’s Christmas No.1 – and as we reported Susan Boyle’s recently released album has broken sales records all over the place, selling 411,820 copies in the first 3 days, beating the combined sales total of the rest fo the top 5, and dragon-punching Leona Lewis from the top spot all the way down to 5th place in the UK charts. The big prize is the top slot in the USA charts, and given the amount of hype surrounding the impending American release, it seems like a safe bet that Susan will knock Jay-Z off the podium in time for the stockings to go up over the fireplace.
If we do get another number one single from the upcoming X-Factor winner, then the high-waisted hero of Sony’s catalogue will have guided not one but two artists to the number one spot; even though Susan dropped out of the X-Factor competition, she still signed a contract with Simon’s record label. If he can just face down the chagrin of knocking off a charity single (Children in Need currently have the number one single) then Mr. C will have a lot to laugh about this Christmas. If you want to keep updated on how sales are going in the USA this Winterval, here’s a link to some live stats: http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/salescht.cgi
The peak of his success might have been 20 years ago, (‘Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em’ was the 74th biggest selling album ever, according to the RIAA) but he’s still alive and kicking against the harsh punishment that is being called for by the RIAA and other copyright protection bodies:
“The approach that the music industry took to fight piracy was the wrong strategy… …When there is a murder done with [a] gun, do they go back to the guy who sold the gun at the store and arrest him? No they don’t. They arrest the person who [fired] it. So in this particular case, somebody is stealing content using the freeway. You can’t go back and sue the construction men”
MC Hammer is now promoting his own website http://dancejam.com/ – as well as releasing the music therefrom himself. How can you say no to the only man who could rival Simon Cowell for the silliest trousers in showbiz?
Yesterday I was watching the X Factor here in the UK and was just thinking how many artists and which artists are actually signed up to Simon Cowell’s record label. Below is the list of artists under the Syco Music label on Last.fm. There are so many here that I never thought would actually have been under Syco Music. However, I forgot that Syco is under Sony Music and most of these artists in the early days were just pushed under Syco Music before Simon Cowell actually started doing TV shows as his A&R instead of actually getting off his ass and finding the artists.
I was sitting in my living this evening watching Britain’s Got Talent Final and really wondered what Simon Cowell actually owns and how much his companies make. Well I thought I would write a quick article and run through the basics of the Cowell empire.
Simon founded a record label and television company Syco which encompasses music, film and television. Within these companies they operate television shows such as The X Factor, Britains Got Talent, American Inventor, America’s Got Talent and Grease is the Word.
Cowell claims Syco accounted for approximately 40% of Sony Music Entertainment profit in 2006, despite only employing 14 people. By 2008, it was believed that Syco accounted for as much as 70% of Sony profits. In 2008 Sony music entertainment forecasted a net profit of $1.5 billion, thus making Simon Cowell’s companies estimated at $1.05 billion if they indeed did 70% of the profits.
In a press release last week, Sony BMG has revealed a joint venture between themselves and Simon Cowell’s SYCO media group . This newly created entity will own all of the SYCO TV and media rights to the X-Factor and [insert country here]’s Got Talent, as well as Cowell’s hit making cash-cow pop stars, including Susan Boyle and Leona Lewis.
I was sitting in my living this evening watching Britain’s Got Talent Final and really wondered what Simon Cowell actually owns and how much his companies make. Well I thought I would write a quick article and run through the basics of the Cowell empire.
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