Simon Cowell has revealed he is teaming up with TikTok to launch a new talent discovery feature after putting the X Factor on pause.
The music mogul, 63, has aided the careers of megastars One Direction, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson and now hopes to launch the next generation.
Simon has hopped on the TikTok trend and is taking his search for talent to the popular app with a new feature called StemDrop, which he’s launching with producer Max Martin.
Next move: Simon Cowell has revealed he is teaming up with TikTok to launch a new talent discovery feature after putting the X Factor on pause
In an interview with The Sun, Simon joked he won’t be signing up to the feature himself but hopes it will spark the interest of budding artists.
Max, who is the mind behind huge hits such as Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time and Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off, will write new songs for the singers to perform.
Simon offered the example of Baby One More Time, which was originally written for TLC who turned it down, and went on to become a global smash hit.
The music man: The music mogul, 63, has aided the careers of megastars One Direction, Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson and now hopes to launch the next generation (pictured with Harry Styles)
The businessman said: ‘I think that song would have been a hit for anyone. I knew it would have been a hit for Five, it would have been a hit for TLC, it was a hit for Britney Spears.
‘There have been country versions, alternative versions. It was just a hit song, no question about it, and having that first hit song is the most important part of an artist’s career, and also the most difficult part of breaking anyone’s career.
Partners in business: Simon has hopped on the TikTok trend and is taking his search for talent to the app with a new feature called StemDrop, which he’s launching with producer Max Martin
‘So this really is at the heart of the idea of StemDrop — just imagine somebody who is on TikTok, trying to get some traction, who now has the ability to make their own version of a song written by the most successful songwriter of our time. It’s very compelling.’
Simon recently teased a return to the music business by saying he’s going to ‘announce something soon’, despite taking a step back from work earlier this year.
And the announcement of StemDrop appears to be what Simon was hinting at.
The news comes after it was reported Simon received £90M in cash for a brand new deal to keep his global franchise of Got Talent shows on TV.
Simon appears on both Britain’s Got Talent and it’s US counterpart as a judge – with variations of the competition airing in over 69 different countries.
He’s back! Simon recently teased a return to the music business by saying he’s going to ‘announce something soon’, despite taking a step back from work earlier this year
According to The Sun’s Simon Boyle, a large investment bank is prepared to give the hefty sum up front to the businessman.
The deal, which reportedly took two years to complete, is also thought to be the first of it’s kind and will be made with Simon’s company Syco Entertainment.
Syco Entertainment is a media entertainment company, based in both London and Los Angeles, and founded and owned by Simon. Having previously centered on music, the company currently focuses on TV production.
A source told The Sun: ‘This deal means he will continue to make a fortune from the other versions of Got Talent in countries around the globe’.
A source told The Sun: ‘This deal means he will continue to make a fortune from the other versions of Got Talent in countries around the globe’
Simon planned to begin Britain’s Got Talent back in 2005, with filming being halted after the pilot episode – leading to the creation of America’s Got Talent.
As the talent show was a smash hit stateside, production began again in the UK, with the first British season of the show airing in 2007.
Simon, who has an estimated net worth of around $600m (£529m) has been a judge on the show since it’s first season.
And despite a drop since 2020, Britain’s Got Talent still brought in an impressive 6.1m viewers with a peak of 7.2m during this year’s launch show.
Slowing down: Simon, who shares son Eric, seven, with his fiancée Lauren, has spoken in the past about his ‘ unhealthy addiction to work’ and needing to slow down
In January, it was reported that Simon was letting go of ‘almost all his staff’ at Syco and significantly downsizing the multimillion pound entertainment empire after almost 20 years.
Insiders revealed Simon had begun downsizing the company: ‘Simon has reached a time in his life when he doesn’t want the stress of running a global empire and so has made the difficult decision to wind down Syco.’
A production source told MailOnline: ‘Everyone who has worked with him is just incredibly grateful for those opportunities and experiences and they understand the direction he wants to take things. Those that are leaving will be snapped up fast’.
Change of mind: The TV personality and record executive has reportedly changed his mind about his business interests after the ratings success of America’s Got Talent this year. Pictured is the judging panel on the show
