| This is an excerpt of the Introduction to Part One of BE THE MEDIA
by David Mathison. Since this is long, we will be posting this in five parts.
If you like you can download a free version of the full introduction at www.bethemedia.com |
BE THE MEDIA: Introduction to Part One: Rebooting the American Dream
by David Mathison
(PART ONE OF FIVE)
“What this is really about is the American dream.” Simon Cowell, American Idol
If you have any message at all,
in any form, that you want to convey to the world, you now have a platform to
do so. If you have something to say, or sing, or film, or write about, you have
direct access to anyone who wants to hear, listen to, watch, or read it.
“You” means not only “you” the writer, musician, filmmaker,
journalist, blogger, podcaster, or talk show host, but you the activist,
publicist, religious leader, cartoonist, businessperson, politician, or virtually
anyone else.
Your fans and supporters are
never more than a click or two away, and they're ready to help you make history—or
change it.
Be the Media tells you—in detail—how to reach these fans. You’ll not
only find everything you need to spread your message, but you’ll be able to do
so without traditional publishers, music labels, broadcast networks, commercial
film studios, and similar behemoths.
Our main message? You can do it. And you can do it by yourself, with a little help from
your friends. Consider this book one of them.
The American Dream, or…Dream
On?
The
American dream—the belief that with talent, hard work, persistence, and perhaps
a bit of luck, anyone can be successful—appears to be increasingly out of
reach.
The gap
between rich and poor Americans is wider than it has been since the Great
Depression. The top 1 percent of Americans earns more income than the bottom 50
percent. The top 1 percent owns more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.
Millions
of Americans are working without a living wage or adequate health care. Their
homes, pensions, and savings—all components of a traditional version of the
American dream—are at risk under a trickle-down mentality that favors and
rewards the wealthy few over the hardworking masses.
And
what if the all-American dreamer happens to be an artist of any medium? Fat
chance at quitting your day job, right? Or so it may have seemed lately. But take
courage and read on.
These days, getting a deal from a major music label, book publisher, broadcast network, or movie studio lies far out of reach for more and more people. The major players in the entertainment industry mostly want bands that can move hundreds of thousands of CDs, authors who can sell tens of thousands of books, and filmmakers who can generate a hundred million dollars in ticket sales at the box office on opening night, plus DVDs later at retail and rental.
They want artists who can be promoted
with minimal development costs, a built-in audience hungry to buy whatever is
offered, and an extensive platform—a roster of appearances on the Today Show, Oprah,
and Dr. Phil, not to mention keynote
speaking engagements, a newsletter, a popular web site, and a well-read blog.
In other words, the biggies mostly
want you only after you too have
become a biggie in your own right.
Those “lucky” few who do secure a
contract from a major player typically are not so lucky, after all. They are “rewarded”
by giving up their rights, forking over most of the royalties, and ceding control over the marketing, publicity, and distribution of
their creations, or even their very identity. Nor do they receive much
money for advances, promotion, touring, and support.
So much for luck.
“American Idol”…the Small Print
A
classic example of this expropriated version of the American dream is none
other than the hugely popular show American
Idol. Many consider winning Idol
the ultimate sign of success. The show introduces the
winner to an enormous audience of adoring fans, accompanied by international
press coverage, an extensive distribution network, substantial revenues, and
the freedom to create more products.
But in Slaves of Celebrity, journalist Eric Olsen argues that the Idol version of the American dream is an
illusion:
“At first glance, [Idol winner] Kelly Clarkson would seem
to have it made. But… Clarkson and
the other finalists signed an unusually onerous contract with ‘19 Group,’
headed by British pop entrepreneur Simon Fuller. These young performers are
wrapped up for recording, management and merchandising under the most
restrictive terms imaginable: Their careers are literally not their own.”
[emphasis added]
The one-sided terms in the contract from the first season revealed that Fuller
and his company own the names, likenesses, and voices of Idol finalists, forever, anywhere
in the cosmos:
“…I hereby grant to Producer the unconditional right throughout the
universe in perpetuity to use, simulate or portray…my name, likeness,…voice,
personality, personal identification or personal experiences, my life story,
biographical data, incidents, situations, and events. I may reveal and/or
relate…information about me of a personal, private, intimate, surprising,
defamatory, disparaging, embarrassing or unfavorable nature, that may be
factual and/or fictional.”
American Idol is the fulfillment of a distorted version of the American dream—a dream, that is, for the rich Australian-born Rupert Murdoch, head of Fox and News Corp, the rich Briton Simon Fuller, and the rich Briton Simon Cowell, who recently signed a five-year contract worth $50 million—every year.
Idol is also fulfilling a dream for Fremantle Media, the company that produces the show. In 2007 alone, it earned $1.8 billion in revenues and $200 million in profit.
In an article titled "Idol Winners Aren't Singing All the Way to the Bank," Cox News Service's Rodney Ho wrote, "American Idol is a monstrous moneymaker- for creater Simon Fuller, for the judges, for Fox. Except, perhaps, for the once-unknown singers" [emphasis added]
And, perhaps, except for the show’s
writers and producers. Employees of Fremantle
Media filed more than $250,000 in claims with the California Labor Commission,
which cited the company for wage and hour violations. Employees work 15–20 hour
days with “mandatory 6-day workweeks, no benefits, no health insurance, or
pension contribution.”
The Writers Guild of America noted that writers “do not deserve to be
cheated, abused and exploited…so that a few executives can rake in massive
amounts of profits.”
Such people and companies are not—mostly—playing illegally, just extremely well. If Simon Fuller, Simon Cowell, and Rupert Murdoch were to retire tomorrow, someone else would surely take their place. It’s not the individuals or the corporations that are to blame; rather, it’s the incentive and reward structure of the major label, publisher, and studio system that needs to change.
And it is changing, thanks to the technological
revolution, as well as to artists and transformed consumers, like us.
Meanwhile, the majors who rule
this system and love their money-making stars have an unspoken message for independent
musicians, writers, and filmmakers, not to mention new media creative people.
It is this: “You’re on your own.”
This leads us back to our major message: “Congratulations!” So
you don’t have a publisher wooing you, a record company knocking on your door,
Hollywood begging to option your film. You may be much better off. If you are careful—that is, if you follow our advice—you’ll maintain control over your content and keep most of the proceeds.
You will, however, need to do a
great deal of work.
The good news? You are not alone. Keep reading. We’ll tell you how to work the new (and ever-evolving) innovations, and be your own media.
As long as the creation of any form of art is motivated by profit, you will have exploitation. A viable solution is a not for profit model, which is what we are proposing with the Artsboretum. (Think something along the lines of “Sundance Institute” for music.) Education in creative entrepreneurship, collaboration and exposure opportunities, minus the greedy profiteering.
Posted by: Mari Tamburo | January 13, 2009 at 11:28 AM