OPINION25 January 2011
Music mogul Simon Cowell hates research, apparently. Which is strange, seeing as how his hit shows X Factor and American Idol are like the NPD research process writ large.
“I can’t bear research,” says music mogul Simon Cowell (reports Contact Music). “Research just kills creativity because people lie in research or they say things they think the person wants to hear, or they overthink it.”
Cowell is right to be wary of phenomena such as groupthink and post-rationalisation, though it galls a bit to see a man who’s made a ton of money through the release of cover versions blaming other people for the death of creativity.
We might also point out that his two wildly successful TV talent show properties, The X Factor (UK) and American Idol (US), are like NPD research writ large, wherein a host of potential hit ‘products’ are repeatedly tested on the public over a period of several months until the most popular ‘concept’ emerges.
The only difference is, the public actually pay to take part in Cowell’s research. For shame.