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another article



Here's one specifically on Disney.

DISNEY CHANNEL PULLS THE PLUG ON TEEN VIDEOS:  Musical hopefuls will have to 
vie for cameos.

Teen pop's entourage, already swelling with songwriters, producers, 
chorsographers and stylists, may have to make room for acting coaches.  
After giving kiddy pop a free ride for four years, the Disney Channel is 
pulling the plug on vidoes and concert specials this month.  Musical 
up-and-comers who want to reach Disney's coveted young viewers (and their 
fat piggy banks) will have to vie for cameos on such series as "Lizzie 
McGuire" and "Even Stevens."

Record companies, spoiled by small-screen access to big-spending tots, are 
dismayed by Disney's decision, particularly since Top 40 radio tends to 
disregard much teen pop.  They also worry the Nickelodeon and Fox Family 
channels may follow suit.

The budding career of country teen LeAnn Rimes exploded with a Disney 
special four years ago when the channel began poaching the teen-pop 
phenomenon to flesh out its schedule.  Pop pipsqueak Aaron Carter, 13, is 
the most recent neophyte to hit the Disney jackpot.  Ignored by radio, his 
"Aaron's Party" has sold nearly 2 million copies, thanks in part to Disney's 
"In Concert" special.

"We have been a machine for the labels," says Disney Channel general manager 
Rich Ross. "We want a more even relationsip."  Though options have narrowed, 
Ross says labels will benefit from more "channel-centric" means of 
presenting music.  For instance, "Luck of the Irish," the channel's most 
successful movie, reached 2.5 mission viewers in each airing, exposing 15.7 
million pairs of ears to a Smamantha Mumba tune in the soundtrack.

Ross concedes that increasingly risque videos partly prompted the change, 
which grants Disney, rated first among cable networks in prime-time viewers 
aged 9-14, more control over musical content and a chance to bolster it's 
original series with pop idols in guest roles.  We're telling the labels 
that they can turn disappointment into opportunity.  Ross say, noting that 
Carter's appearance on "Lizzie McGuire" drew 1.5 million viewers and aired 
eight times.  The show gets 200,000 emails weekly.  "We can work together on 
other avenues, but it will require more of them than just shipping a video 
to our doorstep.  We're not MTV.  We never wanted to be MTV.

The channel could in fact become a crossover springboard.  Beyonne Knowles 
of Destiny's child acted in Disney's coming-of-age series "The Famous Jett 
Jackson" before tackling the title rold in MTV's "Hip Hopera: Carmen."

It sounds like a power move on the part of Disney," says music media 
consultant Bob Merlis, who forsees minimal repercussions. "The Mickey Mouse 
channel is a marketing vortex, and now it's answering the unasked question 
"Where are tomorrow's Shaun Cassidys coming from?" This isn't a big leap.  
Lip-syncing in a video is a kind of acting.  It's called pantomime.  I don't 
think this will have a lasting effect on the quality of romorrow's 
thespians.

Edna Gunderson
Gannett News Service


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