Research Methods

The influence of music talent shows on the music industry

Sera Omisore

ID:159026845
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................. 2

Current Literature Review............................................................................................................................. 2

Methodology................................................................................................................................................ 4

Data Analysis................................................................................................................................................ 5

Ethical Consideration.................................................................................................................................... 6

Bibliography................................................................................................................................................. 7
Introduction
In this paper I will be attempting to assess the impact music talent shows have on a
successful music career. Musical talent shows such as X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and The
Voice have cultivated a reputation as a way for regular folk to get a chance at a musical
career, giving them an opportunity to ‘make it big’ as the old adage goes. Promising fame
and fortune to the winners and close runner ups of these shows prompt thousands of
contestants a year for each but in reality, success on the small screen does not always have
a direct correlation to a successful music career.

The main cause of the misunderstanding is due to the fact that most major music talent
shows are just another form of reality television, and although they are legally required to
not fix the competitions, the idea that they are candid and unscripted is an obstacle that
more naïve contestants are unprepared for, especially with most of these shows having
millions of viewers per season who harbour the same impressions.

The primary focus of this research proposal is to see if talent shows are really the key to a
successful music career and if not what other factors come into play, as well as how this has
affected aspiring and current musicians and their understanding of the music industry.

Current Literature Review

The first piece of literature we need to examine concerns the main access channels of the
music industry without reliance on the talent show industry. Since the early 00s most people
in the UK, US and other western countries have had access to a multitude of social media
platforms, with some such as Myspace circa 2003 and YouTube circa 2005 designed to share
music and create a space for artists to showcase their songs. This, especially in recent years
has proven to be a preferred method for building recognition. An art David Hoflin
icle on NME (2013) describes the various different ways past and present musicians have
stood out in order to start a music career. By showing a wide range of musicians from the
last 30 years, it helps to explore the different techniques employed although most have
similar themes of tenacity pursuing the career and unorthodox methods to create interest.
While this piece shows levels of success without resorting to talent shows it shows
discrepancies in the traditional model of becoming a successful musician.
But what is the traditional model? Rather than a step by step process or recipe to becoming
a professional musician the most that anyone can agree is that there are several checkboxes
that need to be filled. Peter Spellman’s book (2006) discusses this in detail and cites talent,
connections and as the previous source mentioned, a foundation of hard work and
perseverance as some attributes necessary. This source approaches music from an
entrepreneurial perspective comparing musicians to a brand needing to market themselves
to the audience. This shares the same perspective as the talent show industry, the
difference here being who controls the narrative.

It would also be important to contrast the Western music industry with those in Asian
countries such as Japan and South Korea, and the different outcomes. According to a BBC
article from 2016, talent agencies particularly in Japan are known for having strict control
not only of the music but of the so called ‘idols’ personal lives. This is a direct contrast with
western ideas of the music industry, as although most winners have to surrender their
autonomy as an artist in order to capitalise in their new position, this is not always an issue
as apart from a love of music, fame and fortune is often what spurs people to seek out a
career in music through talent shows, since it is seen as a quicker and less hard work than
building from the ground up. The idea of ‘selling dreams’ is what fuels this industry, creating
a fantasyland for teens to idolise and aim to be a part of. It is necessary to compare the two,
proving that music is too broad an industry for there to be one defined idea of success.

Another piece of literature from Reel Rundown (2012) discusses the concept of
entertainment value. That is, the idea that whilst the big prize at the end of the show is
money, fame and a record contract, the driving force behind the show is to make good TV,
leading to an imbalanced platform for artists. This is explored by looking at several aspects
such as selective editing and criticism. Such a practice is what fills audition clips with bad
acts as laughter fodder and fills shows with novelty or lacklustre talent. This shows that
there is less focus on actual talent and more on casting characters, often at the expense of
showcasing potentially better musicians. This is relevant as it shows an ulterior motive for
the show at the expense of the participants.

Furthermore the same article (2012) looks at another vitally important aspect, which is how
these aspiring artists are viewed by the very industry they are attempting to join. The fame
gained from associating with these talent shows puts contestants at the risk of being seen as
a joke by key figures in the industry. This can be linked back to the selected editing the
shows often employ as they have a heavy hand in how their contestants are perceived by
the rest of the world. This is especially important because it further proves that these talent
shows are capable of controlling the narrative of artists they have on their show and
affecting their careers in any way they choose.
By looking at the literature as a whole, we can see recurring themes of control. Both in the
Asian music industry whose strict control of their artists extend to their personal lives, to the
slightly less controlling Western version of the industry, where the talent shows impact
artists careers. Furthermore, there is also an argument for the unconventionality of gaining
access to the music industry and the comparative which fuels the continuing success of TV
talent shows. However to fully understand the impact talent shows have on the industry,
other musicians both those who achieved the level of success they aim for and aspiring
musicians who pursue realisation by alternative means. Through this we can ascertain that
the research proposal is feasible, as a key element is needed to fully understand the impact.

Methodology

In order to fully understand the extent to which the TV talent show industry has affected the
music business we must understand how it has affected members throughout. This includes
aspiring artists, professional artists; both those who have attempted to follow that path and
those who became professionals through other means, management level record company
employees as well as creative technicians who work behind the scenes. Moreover, in order
to get conclusive results it would need to be researched at several levels, and take into
account the fact that while many artists operate across international borders, other
countries may have differing views, as the western music industry encompasses several
varying nations such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia etc. As such it would be most helpful
to focus on a specific country, in this case the UK for easier access to sample audiences.

Due to the large, international scale market the industry operates in, in order for the
research to be viable large sample sizes will be needed. Ideally, this would be in the dozens
if not hundreds, but for the sake of functionality we would aim for 20 – 30 participants per
group. Thanks to social media, in the case of aspiring artists and creative technitians would
be the easiest groups to garner a response from, and this could be sorted into local, regional
and national categories, for example, musician group pages limited to Leicestershire, the
West Midlands and the UK. Also, by performing the research online, it would be easier to
collect and compare the data.

The best way to conduct this research would be by way of gathering qualitative information,
as this allows participants to give more context, and fully explain their tastes and beliefs.
Because of this, an open structured questionnaire would be the best format to gather the
qualitative information. By providing open ended questions this gives the participants an
opportunity to go into detail but still be guided in a way that their responses will be
relevant. Having a less rigid structure also allows for any added details that could provide
extra information that could be taken into account, such as a relevant personal experience
with the talent show industry that was not explicitly asked for.
Another technique we may need to employ includes semi-formal interviews. This is mainly
because it may be difficult to reach all potential sample audiences through social media, so
face to face meetings may occur to collect data. This would also afford the opportunity to
take into account subtle nuances in facial expressions and body language, which may play a
role in interpreting the data, and a more relaxed conversation may lead to different angles
that were previously unconsidered. Ideally, these interviews would be recorded so no
information is forgotten or recorded incorrectly. Furthermore, secondary data such as blog
posts and interviews can be used to provide relevant information where there is limited
participation or difficulty gathering a response.

Some quantitative research may also be required to shed some light on this research. By
taking into account the responses from the qualitative data, questions can be formed to
check how strongly people identify with these predetermined viewpoints. This can be aimed
at members of the general public, as they are an important audience to factor into this
research, as if the music is the product, they can be viewed as the consumers. However,
certain prerequisites must be taken into account, such as music preferences and age group,
as these demographics will both have an effect on whether they would be interested in both
the current music industry and watching TV talent shows.

To this end, the best format for quantitative research gathering would be a short checkbox
questionnaire. This, unlike the semi-formal interview, would be a faster method of
information gathering, especially when performed online. This would also discourage less
participants as time conservation would be a benefit to them. However, we would have to
be careful so as not to create leading or biased questions that may affect the results of the
questionnaire. The combination of quantitative and qualitative information would help to
provide a more in depth understanding on how the music industry has been affected.

Data Analysis
The combination of information gathered will be refined and used to create a working
theory on the impact of the TV talent show industry through analysing the condensed data
and finding logical patterns. The questionnaires would be the easiest to interpret as the
quantitative method requires limited paradigms which can be grouped according to various
demographics. This can be made into charts for easier interpretation as well as presenting
the findings to others.

The qualitative data gathered from the open structured questionnaire would require a lot
more analysis as it includes a lot of context that may be slightly more difficult to interpret.
This also holds true for the semi-formal interviews, however the recordings can be played
back in order to ensure that they are extensively evaluated. As a result, we would need to
focus on finding patterns and can be done using multiple analysts, who may pick up on small
details that were previously overlooked. Furthermore, it is important to factor in time taken
to analyse the data. The longer the period between research gathering and data analysis,
the more likely it is that some background information may be lost, for example context
from notes made during the questionnaires or the interview process.

Ethical Consideration
One of the most important factors to consider is ensuring the way in which the research is
proposed and conducted is seen as ethical. By referring back to the University of Leicester
guidelines and code of conduct we must ensure that respect is shown for all participants of
the study and not conducted in such a way that would damage the integrity of either the
organisations involved. For example during the semi-formal research portion of the essay it
is vital to gain explicit consent before attempting to record the participants, and all
participants should be informed of the study they are taking part in.

This can be done through the use of a simple information sheet and consent form, which
would provide the option of anonymity so no names would be used, and in the case of the
recordings it would be made clear that this would not be distributed without the consent of
the participants. Furthermore, confidentiality would be made clear to all participants as
there would be no risk of sharing this information with outside sources and would be
destroyed after a suitable time period.

Finally, it would be also be made clear that participation in this study is not mandatory and
they are, until a pre-set time limit, fully able to have their data removed from the study in
the event that they have changed their minds or circumstances have changed. This however
would no longer be pragmatic after data analysis has taken place, which is why the time
limit imposed would be necessary. In the case of the secondary research, permission would
be asked in order to incorporate it into our study, for example in the case of a personal blog.
This would ensure that all participants are safe from physical and emotional distress, as well
as legal liabilities or allegations of misconduct.

An important note is to ensure that throughout this process researchers involved are to stay
unbiased to the best of their ability, and that the data is approached without holding any
prejudices as to what the findings are, in order to ensure the knowledge is not coloured by
existing beliefs. By combining the qualitative research with raw quantitative data and
ensuring not to create any leading questions throughout the questionnaire we would be
more likely to be impartial in our findings.
Bibliography

Barker, Emily. 2013, ‘20 Weird Ways Famous Bands Got Signed’ Available online:
[Link]

C, Polly. 2012, ‘Are TV Talent Shows Good or Bad?’ Available online:

Jones, Rhian. ‘The Truth about TV Talent Shows’ Available online:

Oi, Mariko. 2016, ‘The dark side of Asia’s pop music industry’ Available online:
[Link]

Spellman, Peter. 2006, ‘Indie Marketing Power: The Resource Guide for Maximizing Your
Music Marketing’ 3rd Ed.

Voice Council Magazine. 2017 ‘ 5 Truths You Need to Know about TV ‘Reality’ Talent Shows’
Available online: [Link]

Warhurst, Myf. 2014 ‘Why Our Love for TV Talent Show Singers Doesn’t Last Past The Finale’
Available online: [Link]
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