By Phil Lavelle and Danielle Broadway
(Reuters) – Renowned talent scout Simon Cowell is back, but this time he is focused on the social media platform, TikTok.
With the international “Got Talent” TV series, “American Idol” and many more projects already under his belt, Cowell is ready to help aspiring musicians on TikTok share their unique sounds with the world.
Cowell is partnering with TikTok to give users access to new unnamed songs by famous producers through the service StemDrop, which launches through the TikTok app on Oct. 26. After getting each song, TikTokers can take the elements of it and interpret them in any way they like, including different genres, tempos and more. The idea is for them to make the music their own.
The challenge is meant to invite social media musicians to record something special and possibly have it noticed by a talent scout, but unlike Cowell’s other projects, there is no guaranteed record deal. The goal is to give each participating user a head start in their careers without any set outcome.
The first song is written by Swedish record producer, Max Martin, who has worked with big-name stars ranging from Britney Spears to Bon Jovi.
“You will have the ability to co-write a song with one of the greatest songwriters of all time and that just doesn’t happen in the real world,” Cowell explained during an exclusive TV interview with Reuters.
From his Malibu mansion, Cowell shared that his and Martin’s mutual interest in a project outside of a conventional TV show came after TikTok sparked in popularity.
When Cowell pitched Martin, they both loved the idea of writing a song for the TikTok community instead of giving it to an artist that is already well-known in the industry, like Ariana Grande or The Weeknd.
StemDrop is expected to drop a new song roughly every ten weeks, though Cowell has not revealed who he has lined up to work with on each tune.
Other partners include Samsung and Universal Music Group/Republic.
(Reporting by Phil Lavelle and Danielle Broadway; Editing by Josie Kao)
