Okay, I understand what you are saying: I remember the SNL discussion we had here a few years ago. But -- SNL isn't the late nite talk shows, and that Alec Baldwin example is now many years old, from before the record industry went into the toilet (from file-sharing, they would claim).
I've known about the record companies being responsible for at least some of the expenses. That's always been the case, hasn't it? But Tom W.'s post made it seem like the shows let the record companies decide who will get booked, as if that part of booking the shows has been turned over to them. That's what I was asking about. Finally, I understand that aging baby boomers like Dave, Jay, etc. have to have acts that appeal to their audiences, but one would think they'd object every once in awhile to some of the noise that fills their studios, especially that put out by acts lacking successful track records and little probability of being around 5 years from now. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of JW Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 5:34 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [TV orNotTV] Re: Leno ties Letterman in the demo, only 0.1 point higher than Conan's worst > Could you explain that further? Do you mean that the record companies, not > Tonight Show producers, determine which acts get booked? How so? How does > that work? > > It is the same with Letterman, Kimmel, Craig, etc.? It's discussed explicitly in The Tom Shales book on SNL ("Live from New York"), where Alec Baldwin mentions that he asked for a different sort of musical act (Rosemary Clooney?) and was told no, the record companies help with the expenses for popular acts. Exactly how much "help" they provide, I don't know. To David's point about LLS, I think those odd bookings are local acts, so they don't have to arrange to bring in the band and lots of equipment. (Come to think of it, there's been a Montana act or two on the Late Show where Dave presumably was happy to pick up the tab for his neighbors.) > As I've said before, I cannot believe that aging boomers such as Letterman, > Leno, etc. like, or have any kind of appreciation for, many of the musical > acts they have on their shows. It's all about building an audience. I'm sure Ed Sullivan and his contemporaries had on plenty of acts that they didn't necessarily like. DJs don't like every song they play. There's no reason that modern last night hosts would be any different. And, as mentioned above, any of these people has the opportunity to introduce acts, musical or otherwise, that they'd like to present to the broader audience. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
