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Idol controversy: Did producers rip-off 'American Band' idea?
Last week, the producers of American Idol made a surprise announcement about the launch of a new reality show, called The Next Great American Band. However, the producers of a different reality competition, called America's Hot Musician, are claiming that they had the idea first -- and they're trying to halt the production of Idol's spin-off.America's Hot Musician is the brainchild of American Youth Symphony (AYS), a non-profit whose mission is "to promote instrumental music in the MTV/Hip Hop Generation," says AYS Artistic Director Gregory Charles Royal.
According to Variety, Cecile Frot-Coutaz claims that FremantleMedia decided to do their show at the end of last year's Idol. "We sort of thought it was a no-brainer and asked ourselves why we hadn't thought of it before. It was a natural extension of Idol."
But Royal claims that AYS spoke with FremantleMedia in February 2006 -- months before last year Idol ended -- "as a good faith measure to alert them about our program and to make sure no potential legal conflicts existed." AYS "shared our format and title ideas and were given a greenlight as far as they were concerned. Their only caveat was against any use of the word Idol in our title."
Susan Veres, the Executive Director of AYS said, "We may seek some sort of injunctive relief because aside from the possible copyright issues, the FremantleMedia producers seem, according to published reports, intent on rushing their show to the marketplace, which would be in direct competition with our program set to air beginning July."
So while there are similarities, there also seems to be significant differences. Besides, most reality shows, especially these "talent searches," take the same basic format and just wrap it in new, fancy clothing anyway. Aren't they all just copycats in one way or another? Sure, it's unfortunate to have to compete against the powerhouse known as American Idol, but then again, until yesterday, I'd never heard of the American Youth Symphony or their show, America's Hot Musician. I'm not saying I totally doubt their copyright infringement claim. I'm just saying that win or lose this battle, the only reason we're talking about America's Hot Musician is because it involves yet another Idol controversy. Publicity-wise, it doesn't hurt to hint at a possible legal battle with the most-watched show on TV. Even if you know it's a battle you probably can't win.
American Idol didn't invent televised talent shows, but it certainly perfected the format in the last couple of years. Elements like the nationwide searches and celebrity judging are all courtesy of Idol. Like others, the producers of America's Hot Musician have merely adapted this model, and therefore can't really accuse Idol of ripping them off. Can they?
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