Doing The American Idol Auditions

"American Idol" is without any doubt one of the most popular TV shows of the decade, drawing millions of viewers every week. There is one aspect about this show that music business experts consider highly negative – the program is doing real disservice to those aspiring musicians by distorting their perceptions of how the music industry works.

Everything about the American Idol Auditions

For thousands of young musicians and the large public itself, the show induced serious misconceptions about what it takes to succeed as musical artist in the nowadays world. It is a funny program to watch, but many professionals consider it the last place to go in order to learn how to build one successful music career.

One of the most important misconceptions is the fact that music industry talent scouts are always looking for new singers and talented musicians to develop. The show is trying to convince us that there are hundreds of people like Simon, Paula or Randy out there searching new talents in order to get the next big star of pop music. However, this idea simply does not reflect reality of the day in music industry. More than that, as industry analysts admit, large record companies look for artists who are already developing by themselves and attracting fans and selling Cds on their own. The other option could be to employ A&R agents in order to search and sign with new talented artists. This is hard to do when the budget is reduced and the company is cutting staffs. Like any other business, the record company takes high risks when investing in newly signed acts. This is why the label will prefer to invest in that artist that has a proven track record.

Another illusion created by the TV show is that most aspiring musicians really lack talent and they become delusional, struggling and starving. This is not quite true as there is lot of high quality music produced outside the music mainstream by musicians who are happier selling 10,000 Cds on their own then selling a million Cds and being broke on a major label. They are making a hundred thousand dollars each year and seem to be just okay with it.

Also, there is no need of the approval of any industry insiders to get successful in music. An artist usually follows his inner conviction and the funs feedback in order to fuel his future progress. You don’t need anyone’s permission to be worthy of a music career. There is no need of green light when you know what you want. For instance, every major label in the U.K. passed on both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in their days. This offers valuable proof of what they know about one artist’s potential. And who knows what gifted talent they’re passing on today…