Shocker: American Idol Contestants Owned

September 18, 2002

The American Idol contestants had to sign over their management rights to the producers? I'm outraged. Er, actually, I'm not at all suprised. Salon.com: Slaves of celebrity

[Kelly] Clarkson is less an artist, in the old-fashioned sense, than the extruded product of an impersonal manufacturing process. Clarkson and the other finalists signed an unusually onerous contract with 19 Group, the production company headed by British pop entrepreneur Simon Fuller. These young performers are wrapped up for recording, management and merchandising under the most restrictive terms imaginable: Their careers are literally not their own.

That's exactely why Fuller did American Idol-- to get cheap talent. Find some unknowns, have them sign one-sided contracts and then take advantage of them quickly before they fade from the spotlight. This is what happens with most the manufactured pop singers or groups, with the rare exception of a group that stays around for more than a year or two.

Posted by Andrew Raff at September 18, 2002 11:41 AM
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Comments

I think some people deserve a chance and maybe sometimes its for the best and or for the worst. You only get one chance in life to maybe do somethings you really love. Usually you here critits, and who know's what else trying to bring people down, but it obveously has not work for some. I guess what i'm trying to reach to people is that no matter how hard you try to knock a good person down , in the end they'll always be standing strong. And if people have hope,faith,trust and beleive in God your dream will come true sooner or later.

Posted by: L. Danae Johnson on June 24, 2003 04:14 AM

hay yo this is will i am my nick name~!
so what dose a man of 16 years of age
have to do to get on this show? thing the dont start with the s word i hope not god the last thing i need is too know, it beign informed that this tv show all of what people say it is. well i hop i can be on the net A.I .well wright back
by by now

Posted by: william smith on July 18, 2003 08:18 PM