This week we have talked about social networking sites and had the poster presentations about peer production. Dominique had the example of The Voice of Holland. The Voice of Holland is a talent show that is all about finding the new music voice of the Netherlands. The program looks for a person with its own sound, has lasting impact and someone who can contribute to the Dutch music industry. The talents will be coached by experienced top artists of Dutch origin. The key success of the program is that the potential talents are merely assessed on their music qualities in the first place. The coaches cannot see the participants at their first audition which keeps the coaches of any potential prejudices.
Next to that, the fact that the audience can participate with the program through downloading The Voice of Holland app engages the audience even more to watch the program. Their opinion is valued and can help the talents get further throughout the show. The Voice also makes avid use of social media like Facebook, Twitter and Hyves. This results in an online community which completely revolves around the program, the coaches and the talents.
The high-risk point with these kind of programs is that its success lies in the hands of the audience. The audience can make or break the entire program, but also influence the future of the participants. A remarkable moment of a talent can mean a bright future within the music scene. We have seen this with Sandra van Nieuwland during the blind auditions. She transformed the song of Usher called More to an unique new one. The audience as well as the coaches were astounded and Sandra became within seconds the new ‘thing’. Sandra’s version of More is now in the Dutch top 40 for over four weeks with a third position! Thus, social networking sites and peer production are a great combination for the show to engage the audience, but also for a few lucky persons.
The link refers to the video, due to copyright I can not put attach it in this blog post.
http://www.thevoiceofholland.com/video/sandra-van-nieuwland-more/
