Career Control
American Idol had come under fire for maintaining what some claim to be total control of the careers of the contestants that sign with their company, 19 Entertainment. The contract the contestants are required to sign gives Simon Fuller's company the right to oversee not just the recording deal for "American Idol" stars, but also control any merchandising, touring, sponsorship and movie deals. It also gives the producer the right to "record any and all behavior of the contestant "in and in connection with the series" and use the contestant's likeness, voice and any or all biographical material, whether true or false, any way they want to", and forbade the contestants to reveal anything about the show where any breaches of confidentiality can result in damages assumed to be in excess of $5 million.
According to National Geographic Channel investigator and journalist Eric Olsen, 'Branding' is what Fuller is all about. Lucian Grainge, chairman and chief executive of Universal Music U.K. was quoted as saying:
He redefines the role of manager for the 21st century. He treats pop acts as brands, to be exploited over different media, rather than human performers who make money selling records and playing concerts. He is a genius — he makes everyone else look like complete amateurs.In his article, Olsen was critical of Fuller for the contract that his contestants must sign, where the finalists become essentially "forever and throughout the universe" properties of 19 Management.
On July 29, 2009, Lyndsey Parker at Yahoo's "Reality Rocks" headlined "Ex-Idol Contestant Says Show Is Rigged," reported that Ju'Not Joyner charged that, "It's a fixed thing if I ever saw one," and that, after initial competitions, when winners reach a serious stage, a bad contract is offered, a "slavetract." Joyner claimed that he was cut out of further competition at this late stage, because, "I have a son to feed. I HAD to ask questions and know what I was signing. Plus I write my own songs and I needed to know details" of what rights he'd be giving up. He charged that he was told, essentially, "Just shut up and sign," or else he'd lose the next round. He speculated that perhaps the reason Kris Allen had beaten runner-up Adam Lambert was that the producers weren't satisfied with what Lambert had accepted.
Read more about this topic: American Idol Controversies
Famous quotes containing the words career and/or control:
“They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)
“If the technology cannot shoulder the entire burden of strategic change, it nevertheless can set into motion a series of dynamics that present an important challenge to imperative control and the industrial division of labor. The more blurred the distinction between what workers know and what managers know, the more fragile and pointless any traditional relationships of domination and subordination between them will become.”
—Shoshana Zuboff (b. 1951)