One of the most successful people in the music industry today, Scott Borchetta, President and CEO of the Big Machine Label group joined American Idol this season as mentor to the contestants. Borchetta recently talked to the press about his work on the show and working with the singers.

Borchetta talked to SciFi Vision about what surprised him most about working as a mentor on American Idol. "You know, a lot of the things that I really came into this with my eyes open and my mouth shut, just to learn the program, understand how the entire production works together. I've been so impressed how this team takes care of each other. From the judges all the way down to every piece of this production, it's really incredible and it's really blown me away about how much everybody cares about the show.

"Watching the judges interact, especially during Hollywood Week and the Green Mile, and seeing how much Jennifer and Keith and Harry take so much time and care in trying to make sure they do the best job possible. You never know that coming from the outside. It's like you see an hour or two of television every week and you don't know everything that goes into it. There's so much love and care that goes into the show, it's blown me away."

FOX Conference Call
American Idol
Scott Borchetta

March 12, 2015
3:00 p.m. ET
 
QUESTION: I may as well start with the most basic question: How did American Idol producers convince you to do this?          

SCOTT BORCHETTA: You know, it was really interesting, because we’ve been talking about it for a little while, and I think the way that the psychology has changed in the 14 years, now that the show is in its 14^th season, in so many conversations over the last 3 or 4 years when I’m talking to new artists who are looking to get a record deal, to figure out how to have a career, American Idol started showing up as one of the consistent talking points of, like, “I can bang it out in the clubs, I can do online, I can go do this, I can try for out American Idol, I can do -” I’m like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up to that.” And I think, because you have a generation now that has grown up with American Idol, I had to look at it as what I believe it to be, which is a great A&R and artist development opportunity. And with Idol giving me the opportunity to work behind the scenes with contestants and develop them one-on-one, we’re going to have a huge audience every week to do that in real time. It was a challenge that we wanted to take on.

QUESTION: What do you hope to accomplish as a mentor? What kind of work do you think you’ll be able to do in this environment?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: Well, I look at this, again, just the same way that we sign any artist. It’s all about development. So my goal is, when that winner is announced on May 13^th, that on May 14^th we are bringing a significant new recording artist into the market. And all of the TV shows—when the show’s over, the show’s over. Well, the career isn’t over, and so Big Machine is going to continue to work diligently in the continued development of whoever wins.

QUESTION: Can I get a quick take from you on a couple of contestants, Quentin and Joey? They both seem to be stylistic outliers a little bit; they’re doing their own thing. How are they fitting into this and what have you suggested to them about following through and winning?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: Well, I love that you brought up those two because one of the missions for me, as well, in the show is for all of the kids out there that are watching and might not have been interested in the past because maybe they were thinking they were too left of center to do well on a show like this. I think this season, you throw in Jax and a couple of others who are really bringing a lot of artistic vision to the show to begin with and it’s been great for me because I’m always looking for what are those extraordinary and different qualities that I can work with to help bring to the forefront, because the reality is, the next superstar is on the edge of the mainstream.

If you look at the most successful artists, you don’t want more of what you already have. You want to add a color. You want to hear something different on the radio. You want to be able to have a platform like this, be able to break the next Lady Gaga, to be able to break the next Eric Church, to be able to break an edgier artist that’s on the edge of the mainstream, and that’s what I love about Quentin and Joey and Jax and some of the others. They are individuals and I’m very excited about them.

QUESTION: Since you already work with artists and singers from The Voice that are on your label, I’m just wondering what it is, specifically, about American Idol that appealed to you and made you think it’s the kind of platform that can launch this new, successful recording artist?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: Sure. You know, our experience with The Voice - we are attached and affiliated to Republic Records out of New York, and so our Republic Nashville label has a first right of refusal for any of the country artists that come off of The Voice, and in that situation we don’t have any communication with them until after the show is over. So this is the complete opposite. I get the chance to work with the kids as soon as we get to Hollywood Week and really start developing behind the scenes. For instance, Cassadee Pope, who is a great artist on our label, really we didn’t even know she wanted to make a country record until a day or two after she won. So it was really starting from zero for us.

If you look at the success of RaeLynn, who has a Top 5 single at iTunes today, that’s three years in the making of development. Well, again, we didn’t have any opportunity to work with them until they were off the show. We’re trying to advance the curve here, work with them now, take advantage of all the attention and media and get a head start because, when done right, I believe this show does not anoint you a career, it anoints you a fantastic opportunity and I’m here to take every advantage of that opportunity.

QUESTION: Speaking of just how hard it is to launch new singers these days, I know there’s been some talk in the country music world and someone made the statement, “If you’re not on country radio, you don’t exist.” I’m just wondering what you think about that statement, if you think that has any truth to it?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: It depends which lane you want to be in, because that is a very broad statement and you could shoot holes in it all day long. You can look at an artist like Sturgill, who has a fantastic career that he has built from the ground up. You can look at several different artists that are just a little bit to the left of center that have built great careers. Now, if you want to play in the mainstream country game, you’re not going to win it if you’re not winning it at mainstream country. But I look at that as a very specific thing. It’s like, “This is what I want to do.” Well this is a big part of it.

QUESTION: Taylor Swift is such a great singer/songwriter, songwriting-turned-niche, and there are lots of contestants that have very interesting styles this year that you’ve already mentioned, so what is the industry missing that one of this year’s American Idol contestants has to offer, that maybe has never been out there before?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: That’s a great question, because I’m always looking for some of the things I feel are missing. And right now, if you look at pop radio, it’s really been dominated by female artists. I think there’s a huge opportunity for a couple of male pop artists. So that’s something that I’m looking out for. There are a couple of other things that I’m not going to mention because they haven’t been done yet and I don’t want to give away any secrets. But we’re always looking for that lane that is open and how to fill those spots. But it gets back to really being unique and having an artistic vision and having something to say. I think we have contestants on the show this year that can do that.

QUESTION: This year more than ever, we’re noticing so much movement on stage, even from the most inexperienced artists or the youngest ones. Has that been something that you’ve really focused in with the contestants on, their stage presence and really making a mark early on?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: Yes, definitely been involved in that conversation. It’s not just me, but I think with my own background and working with artists, literally from zero to hero, understanding how to use the stage and where to be and what do to with the camera, and we’ve really been super focused on making sure that every time you get on stage it is a performance. It doesn’t have to be overdone, but understand that the 90 seconds you get, the 2 minutes you get, you can move the needle, and understand that every note counts.

QUESTION: Is there anything that you can tell us about tonight that we might expect that you know of, or things that you’re looking forward to?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: I think that one of the things we’ve been talking about this week with production is, in this media world, forever, we never talked about which songs were going to be performed prior to the show. So something that we started yesterday is having the contestants Tweet out to the artists or Tweet out to a hash tag, etc., and say, “Hey, I’m doing this song tonight if I get through.” And just to get that awareness and get that buzz out there. So all of the contestants will be Tweeting today about what song they’re going to do tonight.

But that’s one of the things that I think is really exciting, and also to drive tune-in, because if you get, “Oh my God, so-and-so’s going to do the new Taylor single,” or Bruno Mars or Keith Urban or whatever it is, I think that’s a great way to just build excitement for what’s going to happen that night. So, obviously, one of the things that I think is really incredibly important about the urgency of the show is we are basically last one standing now. We have our Top 12. Tonight we will have 11 perform and the last one standing goes home.

There is no more results show. Every show counts. Every performance show counts. There is no fat in this and it’s game on.

SCIFI VISION: So far, being a mentor this year, what has surprised you the most that you didn’t expect?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: You know, a lot of the things that I really came into this with my eyes open and my mouth shut, just to learn the program, understand how the entire production works together. I’ve been so impressed how this team takes care of each other. From the judges all the way down to every piece of this production, it’s really incredible and it’s really blown me away about how much everybody cares about the show.

Watching the judges interact, especially during Hollywood Week and the Green Mile, and seeing how much Jennifer and Keith and Harry take so much time and care in trying to make sure they do the best job possible. You never know that coming from the outside. It’s like you see an hour or two of television every week and you don’t know everything that goes into it. There’s so much love and care that goes into the show, it’s blown me away.

Also, too, I can tell you to watch my Twitter today, because we’re going to give away something tonight, and we’re going to make a really cool announcement tonight, so that’s all I can say.

QUESTION: We’re used to having two shows a week and I think previously that’s really helped us to get to know the contestants, because you’re seeing them twice a week. How do you think going to one night is going to impact that part of the show, because it has been an important factor previously?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: Yes, I think we’ve got to do a great job on sending everybody to AmericanIdol.com, because we have so much content, so much more than we could ever put on television there, and you can really learn a lot more about them by just a couple of clicks. So I think that’s really the message for our Idol fans and watchers, is to make sure you’re going to AmericanIdol.com. There is so much cool stuff online, and that’s just the way of the world now.

QUESTION: When somebody does win, what do you feel is going to be the most important element? Is it going to be their social media? Obviously the singing, but writing songs to somebody, touring - where do you see the real power to make a superstar after they’ve come off of American Idol?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: If we get it right, it’s everything. You’ve got to have the total package. You’ve got to have your artistic image and impact completely specific, clear, everybody knows what this is, and then it is a continued everyday grind of all of the things that we have to do, because we’ve got to have great music.

If I don’t come out with great music, you’re going to go, “Oh, okay great, we had this great season, the ratings were good, the show got picked up, everything’s rocking, and oh wow, the record sucks.” So we’ve got to make sure the music is right and I think the other elements will reveal themselves by the time that we get to May 13^th. So probably mission critical for me when we get that far is to make sure that we have great music to back all of this up.

QUESTION: Any advice you’d give somebody who wants to try to get on Idol next year?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: Yes, pay attention, because we’re going to show you more than ever before on how to get a leg up and come into the auditions for next year. I hope to better prepare anybody, any young artist, wannabe, etc., better than ever, and any time before, to have a better understanding of what is most important coming into this. And also for the parents as well. We’re going to give you more information this year than ever before about how to do this.

QUESTION: American Idol is shown around the world. How important is it for you for the winner to reach outside of America?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: It’s very important and one of the things I’ve talked to some of the team about in the past—you know, if you look at some of the bigger artists that have broken here, I think Kelly Clarkson has done a great job of really doing the work, putting the time in to become a global artist. And you look at some of the others that didn’t take advantage of that. Something that we did with Taylor very early on, as soon as we saw that we were going to have a good foothold here, we got her off the continent to make sure that we could grow her fan base globally in real time.

You never want to leave any territory out because you never want any fan, anywhere in the world to feel, “Oh, well, they don’t care about me.” Well, we care about every fan, so it’s going to be a very important piece of this. Anywhere we see interest, we’re going to try to address it.

QUESTION: Scott, you are known for your stance on Spotify. How would you advise the contestants on how they can use streaming services to help their careers after the competition?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: Great question, and the problem I have with Spotify and some of the free streaming services is it’s a one-size-fits-all concept. Well, one size does not fit all. When you’re a new and developing artist, free is fine, and what I mean by that is you need the promotional noise. You need the promotional push, but it’s creating value. So once you’ve created value, you don’t continue to give it away. Value is value. Music has value.

So there’s a way to work with those streaming services to grow the concept and the psychology together. It’s like, okay, this is new. I want to sample it. It now has value. I’m willing to pay for it.

QUESTION: Often people talk about that intangible quality in a future star. How do you instinctively know who has that quality, and is it an instant reaction for you or is it a feeling that develops over time?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: More often than not, the artist that we have at the Big Machine Label Group, it was within the first five minutes. It’s like, “Oh my God, I love this person. Lock the doors. Don’t let them leave.” And I don’t know what it is. I can’t tell you exactly what it is. I can’t put my finger on it. I just feel that myself and my A&R team know it when we see it and it is that intangible, and there is a charisma about it. It’s like those handful of people just have more juice than the rest of us. And so I wish I could give you a checklist and go, “Okay, if you have these ten things, it’s all going to work.” It’s never like that. And it’s never the same way twice.

QUESTION: I know you can’t say who, but have you had that moment with any of the Top 12?

SCOTT BORCHETTA: Yes.