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Financial security an idle dream?

Some Australian Idol winners are still waiting to reap the financial rewards of their success.

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damienleithA none-too-surprising report in today’s Daily Telegraph indicates some Australian Idol winners are still waiting to reap the financial rewards of their success.

2006 winner Damien Leith sold more than $5 million worth of records but had to sell his car to pay the rent.

Leith has revealed he did not receive any of the proceeds from selling more than 300,000 copies of his record The Winner’s Journey.

Contract fine print is believed to specify that Idol creators 19 Entertainment and local producers FremantleMedia own the rights to their performances on the show.

SonyBMGs The Winner’s Journey compiled those performances, leaving Leith and Mauboy without an income from their “debut” records.

2007 winner Natalie Gauci re-recorded her Idol songs for The Winner’s Journey to avoid the same fate.

After three years of “fighting”, Leith still doesn’t know where the estimated $3 million profit from The Winner’s Journey sales went.

During that time he has sold his car to pay the bills, and he mortagaged his house during the competition.

In commenting on the fame and financial anomaly, he said, “I would be lying to say I wasn’t really angry about it; I hate the fact it was done and it’s not what the show is advertised to do.”

His fourth album, Remembering June, is released on October 9th.

Source: news.com.au

19 Responses

  1. Cronker is right – the music industry is an industry and it is geared toward the financing of the record companies, same thing happens in publishing, very few people make good money being an artist

  2. For those who in the music industry, this should not come as news.

    Most new artists release an album that is financed by the record company, including marketing costs. The debut release from any musical entity is usually swallowed up by the repayment of these costs to the label.

    That’s why new artists tour so fiercely – it’s the grind that all artists go through to get to the point where their royalties and sales actually start making returns. Go ask either of the two remaining Beatles.

  4. Without appearing on Australian Idol no one would have ever heard of Damien Leith and he would still be doing whatever he was doing before he went on the show. Going onto a show like that you can’t really be all that surprised by stuff like this can you?

  5. Leo that’s what happened with Wes Carr (winner of last year’s Idol). He released his winners single and then many months down the line he released his album, so they’ve already changed the process.

  6. Just confirms Australian Idol can do nothing but hurt ones career.

    When it comes to reality television unless you appear on the first or second season you will disappear into obscurity.

    There was a great skit on a British sketch programme that was pretending to be an ad for Idol in the Uk and the presenters dialogue went:

    “Recognise these faces? Well you won’t in 6 months.”

  7. Might I kindly refer everyone to ‘John Safran’s Music Jamboree’, episode 4 which looked at the income (not) earned by Popstars winners – this is hardly a revelation. It culminates with Scandal’Us with an inspiring cover of Billy Bragg’s “There Is Power In A Union”.

  9. That’s dreadful – surely they must get something!
    Sounds as if the Idol contracts are really bad (I have heard they are) – Kate DeAraugo & Natalie Gauci are no longer with Sony.
    Natalie was very smart to re- record her versions – I would prefer that to the live versions anyway – leave that to the bonus dvd!
    They should take note from X Factor in the UK, release the winners single & let the winner take their time in releasing the album – release the debut album the year after once the new season starts – worked for Leona Lewis!
    Also I think if the Idols want special affects like smoke machines, dancers etc, they should have access to all that – anything to add some class to the somewhat drab performances with just the band.

  11. This is actually immoral. Even if on paper Damien and Jessica weren’t entitled to money, the companies involved should have – and could have – worked out a way for them to be paid. I can’t believe this has been kept quiet for so long.

    @Casey Simon Cowell is an Executive Producer of American Idol, but from everything I have read does not have ownership stakes in the format, or SYTYCD. These are owned by SImon Fuller and Fremantle. Simon Cowell owns The X Factor and Got Talent.

    @Carta Natalie is no longer with Sony. The decision to rerecord the songs wasn’t hers, but she’s no doubt grateful it happened.

  12. What a whinger! That is so un-Australian.. He should think himself lucky he got the exposure, he’s prob pi**ed that he has to pay tax too as entertainers and musicians don’t pay it in Ireland.

  15. So are we really still ment to feel sorry for them?
    Sure the record company etc has the profit. Maybe they should have passed some onto the idols. However, Damian and Jessica make hundreds of appearances all over the country for around $2000-$3000 per appearance. That would go straight to them and their managers, not the record companies.

  16. After Kate DeAraugo’s woeful sales in 2005, the probably figured that they’d play it safe and ensure that they made some money on the winner’s album (hence the new format). Natalie Gauci was very smart to re-record her songs for her album. Does she still have a record deal with BMG??

  17. Now you know why Simon Cowell (if people have read what he makes) is so wealthy, in addition to him having large ownership stakes in the Am Idol (so gets profits from foreign versions and screws over winners in their record deals),
    X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent (and the US version) and SYTYCD shows.

  18. The show is one big advert nothing else. Just pushing sony products onto the kids and getting them to spend money on KFC and sending overpriced text messages to keep the favorites in the comp.

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