The Voice Australia has made a big change to the winner’s prize for its 2024 series after becoming known for its disappointing track record in creating megastars.
The talent show has been running in Australia since 2012, but few of its winners have gone on to achieve worldwide fame, unlike other reality shows.
Winners of the show have been awarded a cash prize of $100,000 along with a coveted record deal with either Universal Music Australia or EMI Music Australia.
However, the winner of the 2024 series will no longer automatically get a recording contract, and will only take home the cash prize, which is a big change.
Instead, the winner will receive an artist development package with the smaller recording studio Studios 301, which is based in Alexandria.
But it has been claimed the controversial move could actually be a good thing for the 2024 winner and break the “terrible cycle” of talent failing to capitalise on their wins.
New judge Kate Miller-Heidke defended the change, saying being “chained” to a major label early in your career can be a curse rather than a blessing.
“In the past, some of these artists have ended up tied up in major label contracts before they even discovered who they really are as artists,” he told TV Tonight.
The Voice Australia has made a big change to its winner’s prize after becoming known for its disappointing reputation for creating megastars (pictured: judge Guy Sebastian)
‘As an artist, you need time to hone your craft. I think the risk of going out there and being chained to a major label from the start, when you’re so young or inexperienced, is too early.
“We need to give these artists the opportunity to play many concerts and discover what they want to say as artists.”
Meanwhile, a source close to the show claimed the change could break the “spell” that has been placed on past winners of The Voice, whose music careers failed to take off.
They claimed that the record deals have actually hurt the winners because they have not had the rights to their own music or its distribution due to the contracts.
“A record deal sounds good in theory, but ask the last three winners about their track record with such deals and they’ll tell you a pretty dark story,” the source said. Yahoo! Lifestyle.
‘The last three winners have been fantastic, but apart from their most loyal fans, they are not exactly household names.’
“There are a lot of voices and executives who want to control you and take money from these artists,” they added. “The record deal has had a negative effect on the winners of many of our reality shows.”
Previous winners of The Voice Australia include Bella Taylor Smith, Diana Rouvas, Ellie Drennan and most recently mother-of-two Tarryn Stokes.
The winners of the contest have secured a cash prize of $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Music Australia, but the latter will no longer be available (pictured: judge Adam Lambert)
The show’s most notable contestant is Celia Pavey, also known as Vera Blue, who came second on The Voice in 2013 and went on to become an ARIA Award-winning artist.
By comparison, long-running talent show Australian Idol has produced a host of famous names, including The Voice judge Guy Sebastian.
Other world-renowned talents who emerged through the competition include Ricki-Lee Coulter, Jessica Mauboy, Courtney Act and Shannon Noll.
An Australian man recently went viral after sharing a TikTok video explaining his “hatred” for the reality show, which he said had failed to produce a single famous star.
“I can’t describe how much I despise this show,” she captioned the short clip. “12 years and not a single artist of any kind has come out of it.
‘As an aspiring artist, how can you think that applying for this event is a good idea?’
More than 200 Australians took to the comments section to express their agreement, while the clip racked up thousands of views.
“The judges are all failed artists,” one person wrote, to which the video’s creator responded: “The guy hasn’t been relevant on the charts for a long time but I admit his voice is pretty good.”
Amid the criticism, the 2024 series has also seen another major change as three of its well-known judges have been replaced.
Coaches Rita Ora, Jessica Mauboy and Jason Derulo all failed to secure new contracts for the series, with Guy Sebastian being the only one to return.
The high-profile trio were replaced in the 2024 series by newcomers LeAnn Rimes, 41, Kate Miller Heidke, 42, and Adam Lambert, 42.
However, new manager Kate Miller-Heidke (pictured) defended the change, saying being “chained” to a major label early in your career can be a curse rather than a blessing.
The 2024 series has also seen another big change, as three of its well-known judges – Jessica Mauboy, Rita Ora and Jason Derulo – have been replaced, with only Guy Sebastian returning.
According to a source close to the production, the reason for the change was the salaries of the former judges and the producers’ desire to keep costs down.
“The decision was made last year and the casting team had been looking for quite some time,” the source said. Yahoo Lifestyle.
The source added that the pay rises were necessary to keep returning stars on the show and that the price tag for the older generation was “too expensive.”
“The company’s position was that Jessica, Rita and Jason were too busy, but I don’t think anyone is too busy to not be able to collect those kinds of paychecks,” they continued.
“It certainly had a lot to do with keeping costs down.”