In fact very good indeed with bright comments from Music Week Editor Paul Williams.

www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/14/is-x-factor-killing-pop

JK2006 wrote:
In fact very good indeed with bright comments from Music Week Editor Paul Williams.

www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/14/is-x-factor-killing-popVery good, wish Calvin Harris hadn't have read it though!

Yes, I don't recall anybody complaining about TOTP reaching an audience of 20 million plus in its heyday.

The solution is pretty simple - there's no real musical competition to The X-Factor on TV at the moment so bring back TOTP.

Format - 7:00 pm on Sundays for one hour, just after the new chart is issued. One hour ahead of X-Factor so there's no competition for viewers. Acts can be booked and maybe filmed in advance to avoid problems of booking chart acts at the last minute.

Also it would have to be a BIG production; no attempts to be "cool," get big personalities to present, be totally showbiz just like in the old days when you had the Sex Pistols cheek by jowl with Des O'Connor and Hot Chocolate on the same show. Turn it back into an event show that the whole family will want to watch. That way the charts would open up a bit more.

I know Cowell has mentioned he'd be happy to buy up the TOTP brand and format but really somebody ought to be doing something with it and I'm sure it would also up the X-Factor's game to have a bit of proper competition.

Good article. What I don�t understand is if, �in effect� Simon refused to cast his vote, then shouldn�t have Lucie won? (As she had 2 votes to 1 from the other 3 judges). Surely, Simon would have to have voted for John and Edward to create a dead-lock situation. He said he couldn�t decide between the two - so there wasn�t a dead-lock situation.

MC MC wrote:
Yes, I don't recall anybody complaining about TOTP reaching an audience of 20 million plus in its heyday.

The difference, surely, is that TOTP reflected public choice - whereas the Crap Factor tries to dictate it?

The X Factor doesn't try to dictate it - it does dictate it to the sheep (i.e. 99% of the population).

SW wrote:
The X Factor doesn't try to dictate it - it does dictate it to the sheep (i.e. 99% of the population).
That's a bit, err, judgemental. You can't maintain a show like this if you don't know your audience. It just shows how chronically we have been neglecting variations of easy listening/MOR over the past few years. I don't watch it, but fair play to them. They're not breaking any laws I know.

Michael wrote:
They're not breaking any laws I know.

Moot point .... Cowell gets paid by ITV to provide a programme which basically allows free advertising for products produced ONLY by his company ?

Don't think the Euro Boffins would approve ?