Eat your heart out, Simon Cowell.
Scott Borchetta and his team at Big Machine Label Group haven’t had too much trouble in the A&R stakes since setting up in 2005 – signing artists including Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and a little known country singer called Taylor Swift.
Now Nashville-born BMLG is turning to TV to help uncover its next superstar.
The company has inked a multifacted deal with Bell Media, which owns Canada’s highest-rated TV network, CTV, to ‘discover and cultivate musical talent through new television, radio, recording, and live concert projects’.
At the heart of this agreement will be a new TV format said to ‘leverage Bell Media’s massive reach and extensive platforms to showcase musicians on the national and international stage’.
Bell Media and BMLG jointly plan to advance the format beyond Canada to ‘ultimately become a conduit for discovering new musical voices worldwide’.
Said Scott Borchetta: “Bell Media has a track record of success in live music production, extensive platforms, and leading promotion of homegrown talent in many areas.
“Together, our strengths make us strong partners to lift this global project off the ground.”
“Bell Media has a track record of success in live music production, extensive platforms, and leading promotion of homegrown talent in many areas.”
Scott Borchetta, BIG Machine
Randy Lennox, President, Broadcasting and Content, Bell Media, added: “Bell Media builds upon its commitment to artist development with this new initiative, and with whom better to align than the best in the business.”
It’s worth noting that Lennox was, until 2015, the CEO of Universal Music Canada.
Scott Borchetta has previous experience in the world of musical TV, having guided contestants on the final two seasons of Fox’s American Idol show.
BMLG has seen its artist sell more than 50 million albums since it was founded – including 165 #1 Country and Pop radio singles.
Borchetta recently announced the creation and development of BigMachineTV.com – a new online digital video platform launching in February 2017 – that will offer music videos as well as exclusive interviews, announcements, contests, and behind the scenes content with BMLG artists.
Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV; 30 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada’s most-watched specialty channels in English and French; and four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran.
Bell Media is also Canada’s largest radio broadcaster, with 215 music channels including 105 licensed radio stations in 54 markets across the country, all part of the iHeartRadio brand and streaming service.
The company is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company.Music Business Worldwide
