Reality rock format on the table for Aussie TV
Production company Active TV – the producers of Seven’s The Amazing Race Australia – is attempting to persuade the country’s television networks to commission a new talent show based on a Pepsi-sponsored Chinese format.
Rockband sees a national search for bands to take place in a ten week televised battle.
The format, run in China as Battle of the Bands, reached what the producers say were 130m TV viewers, 50m site visitors and 20m viewers of the live web show.
The project involves Universal Music and China based production house Ato Ato Integrated Media.
Michael McKay, president of Active TV, said: “Australians love their rock music. It’s a hugely popular genre which hasn’t been tapped into for prime time Aussie TV. This format worked incredibly well in China particularly with its strong transmedia elements.”
Very true about Australians loving their rock (in general), however at this point in time with the 80s revival, the trend has been for music to be on the folky, electronic pop and even Beatlesque side of things (but not in a good way)
Timing is everything and this show (if it airs) could do one of two things:
1. Revive the traditional styles of rock (with a new twist), which are heavier then what is out there at the moment (and I believe this is set to come sometime soon)
OR
2. Die in the arse because people simply are not listening rock as we know it
Take what I say with a grain of salt, I am a marketer (wanker) by day and a passionate and very opinionated musician in my spare time (probably moreso a wanker).
The music we play is by no means heavy, but what I am hearing at the moment is disappoint-ly soft (from the Australian music industry), and I think my band may be rockier (which I never thought I would see the day)
My evidence comes from the 2010 ARIA awards.
1. Album Of The Year, Single Of the Year, Alternative Album Of The Year all went to…..Angus & Julia Stone (folk and super soft)
2. Other artists that won awards are Dan Sultan (pop/rock), Washington (indie pop – she’s not bad actually, but still pop), The Temper Trap (whose name sounds rockier then their music, I would say pop), Mumford & Sons (upbeat Celtic folk)
The only real rock band that received accolades in 2010 were Powderfinger and thats because they called it a day.
Below is pretty much a list of influential Oz Rock throughout the decades starting from the 70s….
The Aztecs, The Easybeats, Air Supply, The Skyhooks, ACDC (of course), Rose Tattoo, The Radiators, Aus Crawl, The Saints, Radio Birdman, The Church, Beasts of Bourbon, Nick Cave, INXS, Diesel, Hunters, Hoodoo Gurus, Spy Vs Spy, Celibate Rifles, Silverchair, Gerling, The Baby Animals (Suzie was sexy!), TISM, The Cruel Sea, Regurgutator, Custard, You Am I, Living End, Tumbleweed, Vines, Jet & Wolfmother (god help us they are complete rip off’s, but at least its rock), Grinspoon, Kisschasy…
Despite my rant, the bands listed above ARE ROCK.
Going by the 2010 Aria’s , we either really need this show to come soon and bring to the forefront decent up and comers…or as Australians we need to grow some balls, spit in someone’s eye and blast their ear drums until they get tinnitus with distortion screaming guitars and lead singers who simply don’t give a shit about what anything thinks (kind of like Tim Rogers, who is disgruntled for never making it big internationally and lets remains angry to this day – Tim ‘Sound As Ever’ is still an amazing album and I feel your pain).
If you are offended by anything I have said or disagree, then personally, I don’t give a shit! why? well, you can probably guess by my attitude as to what style of rock tickles my fancy.
I hope one day in the next 6 months I can post up our debut single….however ours is the story of the hard working originals Oz Rock band….failing numerous times to record properly to get a decent product (with our own limited cash going quickly)…fingers crossed this time we get it right and you can all at least say whether it is great, medoicre or dog shit.
Until then, support original music in you local venue or by listening to local radio such as FBI.
Have a great weekend and I hope this self indulgent crap was as entertaining to read as it was to write 🙂
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There are lots of questions here. So was there a BOTB 2010? If not why not? Was BOTB always going to be a once only thing for Pepsi as a product indent? Pepsi did this in the US in the 80’s with College Satellite Network. Rock battle of the bands on TV in China is a novelty. As rock on TV in Australia is not really a novelty Im guessing Michael is not really looking at rock as a target as the only the audience that would go for something like this in Australia is a Beiber kind of audience and the contestants would all be very young pretty, pretty boys and girls because any target audience older than 15 will already have ownership of favourite bands with whom they identify. Older than 18 and you are into the Splender, Big Day out crew who are loyal to the kind of bands programmed into these events. Maybe this could work if there was serious investment into building a spectacular version of something like the JJJ Unearthed process where selection of acts was more about audience choice than selection by panel. Plus the production would have to be of a quality not achieved on Australian prime time commercial TV -even when the stakes where high for a top of the field event like the ARIAs. A major investment in technology would be required for this idea to rate and fly.
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