Apparently, it's still possible to score mega-hits and make mega-money in the music business – you just need to follow the example of American Idol creator Simon Fuller, who as of this week has been responsible for the sale of over 160 million songs via iTunes. That's about one song for everyone who uses Twitter, the number of Nintendo Mii's created by Wii users so far, or the amount of new investment dollars major label EMI said it needed just to keep its head above water earlier this year.
So, why has Fuller, whose artist management company includes multiple American Idol winners, done so well as EMI and others struggle? In a nutshell: he created a new twist on the traditional music paradigm, which can pretty much be summed up by "record music, sell music, cross fingers."
"I think music in the long term is going to be just fine," Fuller told Reuters. "But in the short term, as we see, [it's] bedlam and chaos. We have to reinvent, in music, TV and movies, that interaction between the consumer and the content we create."
This sounds like the standard "synergy" mumbo-jumbo we've come to expect from digital marketers over the years, but Fuller kids not about this reinvention concept.
How did he do it?
Simon Fuller took the basic concept of what the music biz calls A&R (artist and repertoire) -- the act of finding new talent to promote -- and turned it into a crowdsourced game on a massive scale. Not only do the performers compete with each other during several stages, but viewers play a part in these games too (and contribute additional revenue), by paying to vote via text message.
Cellphones, computers, televisions, stereos and MP3 players – Fuller's empire transcends those categories, reaching consumers on all of the screens and speakers they use during the day. A classic example: While many in the record business have butted heads with Apple over the years, Fuller made a deal with iTunes to promote the availability of American Idol tracks from within the show and to feature the tracks prominently within the store. It's unclear whether 3D television will truly take off, but if it does, you can bet Fuller will be there too.
When you watch American Idol, you're mainly watching the celebrity judges: Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and/or Ellen Degeneres, depending on the season, and host Ryan Seacrest is another constant. Aside from serving useful (if predictable) roles on the show, their familiar countenances provide much-needed continuity, as the younger faces on the shows keep changing in order to make room for new talent.
Ever since Elvis and The Beatles whipped hordes of teenyboppers into a profitable frenzy, teens and pre-teens have formed the core of the pop music market – a lesson clearly not lost on Fuller. While fans with more "evolved" taste may scoff at his taste in Britney Spears-alikes, younger fans represent the bulk of the market, which is where Fuller has exclusively aimed with the exception of his signing of Annie Lennox. Perhaps this is why his company is called 19 Entertainment; to represent the age of the oldest fans he is after.
These strategies have made Fuller a very wealthy man, and have given Apple a strong, steady income stream as well. Assuming that all of these songs were purchased individually for 99 cents apiece, and given the standard iTunes music revenue split (35/65 percent), Apple has earned at least $56 million from the sale of Fuller's digital music to date, while his 19 Entertainment company has taken in nearly $88 million – a number sure to turn other music executives' stomachs.
See Also:
- Simon Fuller Plans Nonstop Online Reality Show
- Slicethepie Goes Beyond American Idol, Might Save Labels
- Musicians Sue American Idol
- TiVo Execs Hack American Idol Results
- Apple To Teach Songwriting Classes for American Idol
Photo courtesy of 19 Entertainment
