Cowell is no different to Murdoch

Simon Cowell and Rupert Murdoch (Image: The Guardian)

In the past two weeks, many people have been debating about the late Baroness Thatcher and her legacy. Some admired her journey from being a butcher's daughter in the little known town of Grantham, to becoming Prime Minister. Some believed she saved Britain during the eleven years of her premiership, after a supposed difficult 1970s. However, others felt differently after she closed down key industries in Wales and northern England and that infamous poll tax was a tax too many. Regardless of what people made of her, Thatcher was very divisive then as she is now.

Margaret Thatcher's death had me wondering who can match her divisiveness. Who can divide the nation, get the world talking and will be remembered long after they pass - although I wish no one to pass. For me, there is one person who ticks these boxes - Simon Cowell.

For those who don't know Simon Cowell, he is the music mogul behind the shows The X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent. Both of these programmes receive international recognition as dozens of countries showcase their own versions. Their aim is similar to Simon Cowell's - to sign up the next big thing. Cowell's recent recruits include Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle and One Direction. Particularly "1D", the Englishman must be feeling smug due to their overwhelming success.

What do I think of his shows, it's easy to say I'm not a fan. When Pop Idol launched in the UK by Simon Fuller over eleven years ago, I was a child and thought the show was thoroughly entertaining. When I was ten for example, Will Young won the show's first series with Gareth Gates runners up. They were considered as our role models. No doubt today that lots of children similar to my age in 2001 look up to the current participants of the latest contests. Britain's Got Talent attracts ten million every week without failure, so the talent show concept is not likely to die down easily.

But as I grew older, shows like The X-Factor started to bore me and the concept isn't something I believe in any more. To me, the singers are manufactured in a way executives or music moguls like them to be. I no longer like the fact that competitors who don't make it pass the audition stage, are humiliated in front of millions of viewers at home - which now are likely to go viral on YouTube. Just imagine if you thought you had what it takes then for your dreams to be shattered when the crowd of thousands jeer and the judges' chuckle. In this instance, Simon Cowell has encouraged people to be indecent to others they do not know. At least in The Voice, Simon Cowell's nemesis, the judges offer guidance and advice to those who didn't make the cut.

When I ask people about their thoughts on such shows, a lot say they enjoy the auditions but when it comes to the live performance stage, they are left frustrated, whether their favourite act is out early or that the process to the final is too long. In addition, some argue these talent shows are a "fix" and that the winners are pre-determined. Nobody likes to believe so but I recall the previous Britain's Got Talent where Simon Cowell didn't hide the fact he wanted a dog to do well. Then from nowhere came Pudsey who unbelievably won the whole competition. It came to no surprise whatsoever. However, with a dog named after a yellow bear supporting Children in Need on the BBC performing the same moves to the same song in every performance, it is hardly a talent. It also doesn't say much about how Cowell perceives humans. He prefers a canine to win rather than the talented and creative synchronised swimmers, who were in the same final as Pudsey - but that's my opinion.

Pudsey, the dog on Britain's Got Talent (Image: The Telegraph)

People are also annoyed by the fact The X-Factor winner (of the British version at least) is almost guaranteed a place as Christmas number one. This has provoked people in the past to campaign against such winner to gain this prestigious accolade. In 2009 for example, campaigners successfully got Rage Against The Machine's "Killing in the Name of" to Christmas number one - a song not so pleasant for the ear. But it was clear that people preferred a heavy metal song to receive this accolade than Joe McElderry's version of Miley Cyrus's hit single "The Climb".

It makes you wonder why ten million people would want to go through the same torture every year. It is almost like asking why millions would still read The Sun newspaper everyday amidst the recent phone hacking scandal affecting its owner Rupert Murdoch and his News International publications. However strangely enough, the stick Murdoch receives is significantly emphasised compared to the stick Cowell gets. Perhaps we have the right to pile a huge amount of pressure on Murdoch. Invading people's privacies by hacking phones and emails is a worse crime than potentially, psychologically damaging a contestant on a petty television show.

What do such consequences say about the print and music industries? The journalism profession loses its trust from the public and such professionals lose their credibility. More people therefore resort to online and broadcast services to provide them with 24/7 news coverage.  A person like Rupert Murdoch has to pick up the pieces, answering all the questions. But we like to openly say he is "old", "out of touch" and "unfit to lead a major organisation", and get away with it.

In the music industry however, Simon Cowell lives another day with the only thing he has to worry about is that glossy magazines call him "Mr Nasty". Ouch? It sounds like a light-hearted slap on the wrist rather than a genuine threat. He is lucky to be high up in an industry which everyone can relate to. We all love a type of music or song. Some people have never picked up a paper in their lives. Even if singers express their frustration about record labels, people like Simon Cowell wouldn't give a damn. Alison Moyet's "All Cried Out" is a hit single about her anger for not being allowed to sing like in her Yazoo days, just because her label tells her to sing ballads. As long as it's successful in the charts, music moguls do not care. Most recently, Emeli Sande sung "I'll be your clown, on your favourite channel", seemingly taking a snipe at the music industry. But as long as it's making people like Simon Cowell rich, labels don't care. If you're not performing well in the charts however, labels will show no remorse and will happily kick that singer out. There are many people who aspire to be singers but if you're not in the top 40 or the US Billboard 100, then on your bike.

The music industry is an expensive and competitive business - same applies with the print industry. However, music will never suffer as it is always in line with the technology advancements. The use of iTunes and Amazon make it easier for people to buy and download music instantly. It's not that easy for newspapers. News International charge people to access The Times website and are to charge people to access The Sun website later this year. This simply won't work as people will instead resort to websites which are free, accessible and reliable like The Guardian, BBC or Huffington Post. Consequently, newspapers wouldn't be able to afford to keep journalists because of the influence the internet has. Therefore, jobs are cut which is a worrying and common trend for both local and national publications.

Rupert Murdoch's supposed wrongdoing has been emphasised enough. It's common knowledge that he is a right-wing supporter and was great friends with Baroness Thatcher when she supported the launch of Sky during her time as Prime Minister. He also gained a positive relationship with Tony Blair in 1997 when The Sun publicly supported the Labour politician's Prime Minister campaign over John Major. It is also common knowledge that he is a sleaze out of work. Not many people would divorce a wife of 32-years to then marry someone younger than their daughter.

Simon Cowell has similar traits. Politically, he supported David Cameron in the May 2010 general election and allegedly had fierce clashes with former X-Factor judge Cheryl Cole who supported Gordon Brown. Cole's last series judging the X-Factor was in December 2010 but a year later, she was invited to judge the American version of the show. The Newcastle-born singer was booted off in the early stages because apparently, nobody in the States understood her Geordie accent. When she had the chance to return to the British version, Cowell overlooked her and chose N-Dubz's Tulisa to judge instead. Simon Cowell is also the sleaze-type. He has a history of going out with extravagant divas - Sinitta comes to mind. And when he went out with Afghanistan-born Mezhgan Hussainy, he casually published a book admitting to sleeping with Dannii Minogue, a former X-Factor judge and sister to Kylie. It is clear that you mustn't ask Cowell and Murdoch for dating advice.

Simon Cowell with (l-r) Sinitta, Mezhgan Hussainy, Cheryl Cole (Image: Daily Record)

In all seriousness, Cowell and Murdoch have formed a dictatorship within their industries. With Murdoch, it is common knowledge he is a right brute in the boardroom and people write books about some of his dramatic meetings - Michael Wolff being one author. People know about his Fox News and their infamous tactics to play with the American public view on politics and home affairs. Simon Cowell is more open to his opinions. If he thinks you're awful at singing, he'd say it to your face. 

Simon Cowell is also a massively influential figure on ITV. Although Philip Schofield is the ultimate Mr. ITV, he could never match Cowell's power. With the new series of Britain's Got Talent kicking off recently, it has got the BBC worried. You hear stories that BBC's The Voice UK lose to ITV's Saturday night entertainment programmes in the ratings battle (first against Ant & Dec Saturday Night Takeaway, now Britain's Got Talent). The BBC is constantly changing The Voice's timeslot because ITV don't want it to clash with any of their main shows. The Voice had its original 7pm slow thrown out of the window and last week, the show was moved to 6.45pm. This Saturday, The Voice is on at 8.20pm and its airtime reduced from a 90-minute episode to a 60 minute one. It not only exploits BBC's weakness, but also ITV's manipulation - and no doubt, Mr Cowell has had a significant say on this matter. He calls The Voice "that other singing show" to his millions of Twitter followers.

Cowell may not own papers which commit needless crimes but I feel he is as powerful as Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch may be remembered to some as ruthless and thoughtless, but people see Cowell's charm and honesty through the twinkle in his teeth. Not me.