Bliss.
This article appeared the Sunday Star Times, under the heading "Fortune awaits NZ Idol winner" (excerpt)...
The NZ Idol television talent quest has both finalists poised for pop stardom, but it remains to be seen whether their fame will translate into commercial success. The winner receives a guaranteed album deal with record label BMG and a management contract with Idol judge Paul Ellis.
Pop writers from Sweden, Australia, the UK and the US have already put forward songs to feature on the winner's 12-track album, to be released in June.
But music industry veteran Simon Grigg said the winning idol was unlikely to make any money from the album. Grigg, who released internationally acclaimed OMC single How Bizarre, said most artists made little money in New Zealand due to the small volume of album sales.
"To be perfectly honest, this will probably be a flash in the pan thing. The winner will have lots of fun for a while but they won't make an awful lot, if anything," Grigg said.
But the record company behind the search-for-a-star show is promising financial rewards to the winning finalist.
BMG marketing manager Jake Shand said: "For them not to make any money is not a reality. I'd be astounded if they didn't."
Now lets take a look at that last statement. Based on the True Bliss/Pop Stars model, the outcomes for Ben may look like this.
One. The songs are being written for him - so no ongoing songwriting royalties, like True Bliss.
Two. The record company will be paying for the recording, videos, and a major promotional budget. Any income Ben will get from CD sales will come after the record company have recouped all their expenses. It's unlikely Ben will get rich off it, as Simon Grigg notes, due to the scale of the local market. He aint gonna be like Scribe and go and pay cash for a brand new car.
Ultimately, NZ Idol is about creating a television spectacle, not a long-term music career - that is basically what members of True Bliss said in the tv doco on The Pop Stars phenomenon that was on tv last year.
Jake Shand, prepare to be astounded.
1 comment:
Peter..yep, you're right. The publishing thing was the one I specifically mentioned to the reporter but I don't think she quite understood. No-one seriously expects Ben to make much. The True Bliss girls made about $45k each I believe, which, if you take into account the fact that there were five of them, is OK, but a) Jonathan Dowling was far more generous to them than I believe Idol is b)that pretty much came from live dates..
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