The concept
The Stream takes talent shows to the next level. Everyone can upload their video online to The Stream website, where it instantly becomes available to the public eye. Once a contribution is online it’s up to the public to spread, share and stream their favorite music. All musical talents can participate – whether they are a talented singer, rap-duo or an electronic group. The 100 most streamed talents will be invited to a showcase, where they will perform in front of the world’s most prestigious record companies: Universal, Sony and Warner Music. During this showcase, the record companies will choose artists who they will work closely with for one week. At the end of the week, each record company will choose and sign their three favorite artists.
When the artists have been signed, they will compete in a weekly live show. Their music will at the same time be available on Spotify, where the viewers can stream their favorites.
The most streamed artists stay in the competition, and the least streamed artist risk eviction. It’s up to the audience which artists stay in the competition, and which ones have to leave, based on the number of streams as well as traditional voting during the live shows.
The winner of The Stream is the most streamed artist - discovered and chosen by the public.
The Stream is produced by Monster and will air on TV 2 Norway.
How was the idea for The Stream born?
The idea for The Stream came from the Norwegian music producer Jørn Dahl and developed by Monster. Mr. Dahl wanted to make a new musical talent show that truly reflects how the music industry works today and how new artists are discovered and developed. In The Stream our contestants upload their video on our webpage. The top 100 most streamed artists by a specific date are then invited to showcase in front of an A&R from the three major record labels Sony, Universal and Warner. The labels sign a contract with three artists each, who all are through to the live shows. The songs performed on the live shows are all released on Spotify, and the audience vote by streaming the songs.
What is the strategy to transform this purely digital initiative into a successful TV format?
Our strategy is to take what is already out there and what already works and make it into TV. People with a musical talent today tend to record their music and upload it online, and when the audience find something they like, the sky is the limit as to how far the artist can reach. Justin Bieber and Adele are both good examples of how successful you can become just by uploading a video. The Stream will have the contestants do exactly that journey. And the audience will follow them all the way from the boy or girl‘s room to the height of their career.
How did you manage to get all the parties in the format on board – the broadcaster, Spotify and the music labels?
All of them thought this was a good idea and that it was relevant to all of them. This is actually how the music industry works today. Artists are discovered online, signed by label and developed into stars. The labels see this as a good opportunity to find new talent.
What is the biggest challenge with The Stream?
Since we are at a very early stage this is a little hard to answer yet. But the development of the website is something that we have never done before, and have given us a few challenges and unforeseen difficulties. But now everything is working quite well.
Talent formats are often criticized to produce short-lived stars season by season. Does The Stream make a difference?
I definitely think The Stream will make a difference in this matter. The audience follows the talent from the very beginning and has their favorites even before the show is on the air. Also, because the contestants are signed by a record label before the first live show, and it releases the songs they perform, the audience has to listen to their music to vote for them.
The contestants are more like true artists throughout the live shows in The Stream than in any other musical talent show. That makes it more likely that the artists stand a better chance for a career also after the show is off the air.
Will this be The Next Big Thing?
I really think this is a fresh new format that suits the modern digital time we live in. The streaming of both music and video are growing significantly year-by-year worldwide, and I think that a show like The Stream which picks up on this trend, has a great chance to become the next big thing.
TV 2 is not only the leading commercial broadcaster in Norway but also a true pioneer in introducing innovative new formats to the local market and then to the rest of the world. Even though the broadcaster holds the rights to shows like The Voice and Idols, they were very eager to give the TV stage to The Stream, as Program Director Jarle Nakken tells us.
How did you decide to green light a ground-breaking new format such as The Stream?
TV 2 is always searching for new and fresh ideas and are willing to take the risk of developing new formats along with innovative production entities in our territory and internationally. The Stream is maybe the first format where the basic engine is in sync with how we consume music and how artists are discovered today. Adele, Justin Bieber and Kygo entered the world’s stage through uploading their songs on various platforms and sharing them. The music industry and the media landscape as a whole is in constant change and so it´s important for us to change with it and make TV that is relevant to our audience.
Can The Stream compete with established talent formats such as The Voice and X-Factor which the viewers are used to?
We believe several formats can live side by side at the same TV station. It is vital to have variety in the schedule and so we believe The Stream can have a long and successful life at TV 2 along with other great formats such as The Voice, Got Talent and Idols. Hopefully, The Stream will travel to other territories as well.
Does The Stream have a potential to surprise the audience?
The Stream has a strong footprint with the audience as all casting is done digitally and by people actually listening to the music that is uploaded to thestream.no. A couple of weeks after the launch of the website and nearly 6 months before we air our first live show, there has already been nearly a million streams of uploaded songs and numbers are climbing steadily. When we start airing, the audience are already familiar with several of the artists and we believe this will give us a kick start into the first season of this great format. The surprises and the highs and the lows will come as soon as the talents that are fortunate enough to enter the competition start on their journey towards fame.
We believe we have some great TV moments to look forward to.
Can such a format increase the interest of the younger digital-savvy demo for TV?
The Stream will have a strong digital base and so we believe that it will appeal to the younger demos. We can already see that from thestream.no statistics. However, our main focus is always great storytelling. We are confident that The Stream will engage all audiences as the stories of hopeful and aspiring musical talents embarking on the road towards fame unfold.
How did you decide to get involved in such an innovative music format?
The idea of converting TV ratings into Spotify streams and at the same time being able to attract an older demographic in to the streaming service should be appealing to any record label. It’s an exciting format on prime time TV and for the first time we as major labels can see if and how the contestants perform in the market real-time.
Will the function of A&R be in part replaced by the audience in the case of The Stream?
I wouldn’t say replaced, but the audience will definitely have an impact, as they already have in real life A&R work as well. Meaning, in our new streaming reality you can’t force something on the audience; you can’t make them like something that doesn’t connect with them. You can’t fake it. And therefore you have to listen to the market and take into consideration what the public is telling you they want to hear. Listen to the kids! (said with Kanye Wests voice)
What is the risk of signing an artist based only on streaming success? Can they be a marketable artist in the long term?
I don’t understand the question. When an artist is a streaming success, then I’m happy. The chances of them making it in the long run are a lot better than the ones who don’t stream well at all.
How did you decide to get involved in such an innovative music format?
We always want to be involved in new ways of finding new talent. The Stream is something we haven’t had before to help in talent discovery, so of course we wanted to take part and see what we can find.
Will the function of A&R be in part replaced by the audience in the case of The Stream?
I don’t think so, no. I mean of course they can vote on who they like the best and those people will rise to the top of the lists, but that is just the audience saying what they like the best. Long-term A&R has a lot more angles and elements to it. We will of course be paying attention to what the audience likes though.
What is the risk of signing an artist based only on streaming success? Can they be a marketable artist in the long term?
There is no risk. The vast majority of the Scandinavian music audience have told us loudly and clearly that they prefer to consume music by streaming. Streaming is not some weird new thing that may or may not work long-term. It is a fundamental change in music consumption that is most likely irreversible. This question would be like asking decades ago “What is the risk of signing an artist based on vinyl record sales success?”
How did you decide to get involved in such an innovative music format?
The Stream is in our opinion the only TV talent show format that reflects the way the music business actually works today. Not only does it reflect how a lot of consumers discover new music and how new artists can interact with their fans, but it also reflects the competitive nature between the major labels. This, in a combination with the broad audience reach of prime time television, made it an obvious platform for us to be a part of.
Will the function of A&R be in part replaced by the audience in the case of The Stream?
Well, artist discovery is just part of the A&R function, but yes – as in today’s music business where fans, followers and streams often come before a record deal, the audience will have a major impact on what gets signed. However, the creative part of the A&R function, i.e. develop the artists’ sound and visual presentation will obviously still be the respective record companies’ job.
What is the risk of signing an artist based only on streaming success? Can they be a marketable artist in the long term?
Like in any other talent shows, as well as in the music business in general, there is no guarantee that an overnight success will be able to sustain a long-term career. However, we truly feel that actual music consumption is a far better indication of an artist’s potential than phone votes or A&R gut feeling.
