Treatment and Website Design

INTRODUCTION

The songwriting process. A highly personal, often mysterious experience. Imagine a television show that captures the moment, the spark, when an empty page begins to fill with words and a melody, creating that human connection only music can make. Then imagine those songs coming to life right before your eyes, performed by professional singers and musicians. Welcome to a celebration of the songwriter. Welcome to SONGWRITER.TV.

WHY SONGWRITER.TV?

There are tens of thousands of songwriting festivals, contests, workshops, and conferences held annually throughout the United States and abroad. Thousands of songwriting organizations are striving to get their members noticed. One U.S.-based organization, Garageband.com boasts over 75,000 members with over 106,000 songs on its site. The powerful urge and desire to create music as a songwriter touches millions. Even those who aren’t musicians or singers are driven to speak to the musical soul within us all. SONGWRITER.TV will give undiscovered songwriters the opportunity to showcase their skills and gain the attention of recording artists, recording studios, and the public. It will also give viewers someone to relate to, cheer for, and to gather inspiration from. The inspiration that will drive millions to watch every week.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Because the passion to write songs knows no age limit, SONGWRITER.TV will have a very broad appeal. We expect the majority of viewers to fall in the 18-49 age range.

WHY NOW?

Now is the time for SONGWRITER.TV. Consider the tremendous popularity of “American Idol” where more than 50,000 turned out to audition in season two alone and more than 38 million tuned in to watch the season finale. SONGWRITER.TV is perfectly poised to be the next musical phenomenon. Imagine sponsors like Ford Motor Company that spent $12.5 million for 43 ads in just one season. It’s happening at American Idol, and it can happen for SONGWRITER.TV! For a thorough analysis of the caliber of business American Idol is doing, see the attached article entitled, “The Phenomenon Behind American Idol,” presented by Nielsen Media Research.

THE SHOW CONCEPT

Each week, contestants will be challenged to write an original song based on specific criteria, i.e. pop, country, rock, commercial jingle – a theme of love, encouragement, family, or selling a particular product or service – the jingle assignment will become a strong draw for advertisers. A camera will follow each writer throughout the week, giving the audience a never-before-seen look at the creation of an original song. Each episode will culminate with a number of brand new songs (created right before the viewers’ eyes) performed for a studio and television audience. This will be a full-blown production (staging, effects, dancers, backup singers, video, rain, fog, props, etc.) customized to fit the theme for each week. Leading up to the performance of each new song, viewers will watch a behind-the-scenes recap of the contestants’ experiences . . . from creating the lyrics and melody to working with musicians and auditioning singers. But, we won’t give it all away – we’ll tease viewers, build excitement, and then deliver the finale as they see and hear new songs being performed for the very first time. And, each song will be performed . . . in award-winning style! A core group of seasoned musicians will serve as our house band. All players will be highly accomplished and able to play by ear on demand. Vocalists will be randomly selected from a pool of performers. Rotation of singers will be critical, as the goal is to feature writing talent, not singing. This step is also being taken so the television and studio audiences don’t get attached to their “favorite” singers, thereby misdirecting the voting.

A UNIQUE VOTING PROCESS

A panel of three judges (each connected to the recording industry) will provide immediate feedback to the songwriter after each song is performed. The part of our fourth judge will be played by our studio audience. They’ll review each song electronically. Perhaps three simple phrases with a button to push for each . . . “it’s a hit” – “needs some work” – “keep trying.” The results will then be tabulated and our show host will select a spokesperson from the audience to speak briefly about why the audience feels the way they do. This interactivity will serve as a significant additional draw as guests of Universal Studios Orlando are invited to step out of the Florida heat and onto a soundstage for a very cool opportunity to help discover the next great songwriters. Near the conclusion of the show, viewers will be invited to vote for their favorite song by calling on-screen telephone numbers or by entering their choice via the internet. Our host will remind viewers to tune in next week to find out who stays and who must go.

A PROCESS OF ELIMINATION

There will be a point system. Contestants will earn one point for every vote they receive throughout the show. Each contestant’s scores will be added to their total for the previous week. As the season progresses and it becomes evident that lower-scoring contestants are unable to compete with their fellow writers, they will be asked to leave the competition.

SPECIAL SEGMENTS

Later in the season, with the field of competing songwriters reduced, we’ll include special segments within our shows. SONGWRITER.TV will feature interviews (shot on location) with little-known writers who have written hits for famous artists. These stories will serve as motivation and inspiration for all songwriters, especially those who are not singers/performers.

SHOW HOST AND CO-HOST

Although the songwriters are clearly the stars of the show, SONGWRITER.TV will have a show host who will interact with the contestants, judges, and studio audience. He or she will comment as we watch the songwriting process in action. Our show host will also tie all show segments together, and check in with our co-host from time to time. Our co-host will be a real-life producer who we’ll see working with the contestants and then with the musicians, singers, and choreographers to prepare for the performance segment of the show.

SUMMARY

We’re looking for those rare individuals with the talent and ability to craft songs, week after week, based on criteria provided by the show’s producers. These are the next hitmakers. For the first time in television history, the spotlight will shine on the people who give the world the gift of music . . . this is SONGWRITER.TV