Reinventing Yourself is Risky but Rewarding
http://www.greatmanagement.org/articles/983/1/Reinventing-Yourself-is-Risky-but-Rewarding/Page1.html
Simon Fuller
Over the course of twenty years, Simon Fuller has built a long roster
of major recording artists and top international talent, including
Annie Lennox, sports legend David Beckham, Claudia Schiffer, and The
Spice Girls. He has managed the largest-selling music acts in the U.S.
for the last three years, and in May 2008, Billboard Magazine crowned
Fuller the "most successful British music manager of all time," with an
astonishing 116 million units sold in North America alone. By Simon Fuller
Published on 02/27/2009
Some critics contend that there is nothing especially
unique about Fuller’s recipe for success. Instead, they say he has
simply capitalized on the phenomenon of disposable pop. What they fail
to realize however, is that despite all outward appearances, Fuller has
time and again reinvented himself.
Some critics contend that there is
nothing especially unique about Fuller’s recipe for success. Instead,
they say he has simply capitalized on the phenomenon of disposable pop.
What they fail to realize however, is that despite all outward
appearances, Fuller has time and again reinvented himself.
The bands he promotes might all seem similar; the TV shows he produces all along the same lines. Still, over the past 25 years, Fuller has resisted producing stale content by continually adapting and updating it with the times.
Take, for instance, his successful music-reality TV franchise. From Popstars to Pop Idol to So You Think You Can Dance, the market is saturated. Does that mean Fuller’s time is up?
He does not think so. Indeed, he is the first to admit that, “In England, the bubble’s already about to burst.” All that means however, is that it is time for a change. “You’ve got to get in there while it’s hot and get out before it’s cold…The clever thing is to take it and parody it.”
That is exactly what Fuller proposed to do when he began discussing the idea of a telethon with Fox TV executives. Fuller wanted to give one week of his successful prime-time show over to a fundraising telethon. Fox did not want anything to do with it. After all, who ever watches telethons?
But Fuller pressed ahead with his idea. Instead of holding the competition as usual, American Idol contestants were going to be singing emotional songs while clips of the judges visiting troubled Africa and Louisiana played. For every vote that was cast, sponsors were to throw in some money for the causes. Throughout the following week, performances by the likes of Pink and Borat were meant to encourage donations from viewers themselves.
It was a risky move for Fuller. Would viewers appreciate being asked for money on top of votes? Would they appreciate having their regular show taken away from them?
“I thought, actually, I control the biggest show in America,” said Fuller. “And we have 30 million-plus people watching every week. Maybe I could just hand over Idol for one week, and that would give us what we want.”
Fuller did not want to turn Idol into a permanent fundraising telethon. But he did have something else in mind besides just raising money for a good cause. He was playing around with the idea of launching a whole new TV genre, using this as his launching point.
“These things can be fantastically innovative and dynamic and not just ploddy old telethons,” he says. “But, hats off to [Fox], they’re supporting us. How reluctantly, I don’t know.”
Reinventing himself was a risky move for Fuller. But time and again, he proves the benefits are worth the risk. Next up, watch for Second Chance Idol on a TV set near you. “It’s where we go to see people who have had a taste of fame, but sadly their candle has been snuffed.”
The bands he promotes might all seem similar; the TV shows he produces all along the same lines. Still, over the past 25 years, Fuller has resisted producing stale content by continually adapting and updating it with the times.
Take, for instance, his successful music-reality TV franchise. From Popstars to Pop Idol to So You Think You Can Dance, the market is saturated. Does that mean Fuller’s time is up?
He does not think so. Indeed, he is the first to admit that, “In England, the bubble’s already about to burst.” All that means however, is that it is time for a change. “You’ve got to get in there while it’s hot and get out before it’s cold…The clever thing is to take it and parody it.”
That is exactly what Fuller proposed to do when he began discussing the idea of a telethon with Fox TV executives. Fuller wanted to give one week of his successful prime-time show over to a fundraising telethon. Fox did not want anything to do with it. After all, who ever watches telethons?
But Fuller pressed ahead with his idea. Instead of holding the competition as usual, American Idol contestants were going to be singing emotional songs while clips of the judges visiting troubled Africa and Louisiana played. For every vote that was cast, sponsors were to throw in some money for the causes. Throughout the following week, performances by the likes of Pink and Borat were meant to encourage donations from viewers themselves.
It was a risky move for Fuller. Would viewers appreciate being asked for money on top of votes? Would they appreciate having their regular show taken away from them?
“I thought, actually, I control the biggest show in America,” said Fuller. “And we have 30 million-plus people watching every week. Maybe I could just hand over Idol for one week, and that would give us what we want.”
Fuller did not want to turn Idol into a permanent fundraising telethon. But he did have something else in mind besides just raising money for a good cause. He was playing around with the idea of launching a whole new TV genre, using this as his launching point.
“These things can be fantastically innovative and dynamic and not just ploddy old telethons,” he says. “But, hats off to [Fox], they’re supporting us. How reluctantly, I don’t know.”
Reinventing himself was a risky move for Fuller. But time and again, he proves the benefits are worth the risk. Next up, watch for Second Chance Idol on a TV set near you. “It’s where we go to see people who have had a taste of fame, but sadly their candle has been snuffed.”