Major labels & Spotify involved in reality TV show

A new singing competition show titled The Streamis set to debut this Friday on Norway’s largest commercial TV station, TV2.

The new show, which will involve major record labels Sony, Universal and Warner, together with Spotify, adopts a modern twist on the standard reality talent show.

Unlike other similar franchises, The Stream will utilise social media and employ music industry professionals to determine a competition winner. The highest 100 rated artists and groups have already been voted in by viewers at home after 1,200 contestants uploaded audition videos to The Stream’s website.

From here, the 100 contestants will be narrowed down to 40 as they perform live to a panel of A&R judges from Sony, Universal and Warner. In a similar process to The Voice, the 40 artists will work closely with the A&Rs, eventually choosing three artists to sign to their respective labels at the end of each week of the competition.

The three A&R label representatives include Espen Lind from Universal, Marion Raven from Sony and Cato Sundberg from Warner.

Lind is a solo artist who has released a string of successful albums under Universal. He has formerly worked alongside Beyonce and Train. Raven, who is also a recording artist, shot to fame as part of Norwegian pop duo M2M, and has toured internationally with Meatloaf and Lionel Ritchie. Sundberg is a songwriter, producer and singer in the Norwegian success-group Donkeyboy.Cato has also written and produced for other artists such as Selena Gomez and Matoma.

Whilst contestants perform live on television, their music will be available for streaming on a Spotify playlist. Viewers can choose to stream their favourite songs, with the most streamed artists staying on in the competition. Artists who receive the least amount of streams each week will risk eviction from the competition.

The show takes its inspiration from the plethora of successful artists who have started their careers online. The Stream aims to give ordinary musicians the chance to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Justin Bieber and Adele, who both emphatically rose to fame via the internet and social media.

Nordic World, The Stream’s production company, are clearly attempting to capitalise on the recent music consumption boom that has seen streaming services rise to the top of thepile. In fact, according to the IFPI’s 2016 Global Music Report, digital sales and streaming commands a 45% share of the total worldwide music sales revenue, eclipsing physical sales, which brought in 39%.

Furthermore, the subscription value of streaming services, such as Spotify, rose to $US68 million in 2015, experiencing a growth of 66% from the previous year.

Although the show has revealed the details of the weekly prizes (the label contracts), The Stream is yet to unveil the ultimate prize for the competition winner.