The X Factor

The X Factor is a television music competition franchise created by Simon Cowell. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol (2001–2003). It is held in various countries. The programmes are produced by executive producer Simon Cowell and his company SYCOtv. The "X Factor" of the title refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality. The prize is usually a recording contract, in addition to the publicity that appearance in the later stages of the show itself generates, not only for the winner but also for other highly ranked contestants.

The similarities between The X Factor and Idols prompted Idol creator Simon Fuller, along with 19 Entertainment, to file a lawsuit against Cowell, SYCOtv, and FremantleMedia in 2004. An out-of-court settlement was reached in 2005 allowing Fuller to gain a 10% share in The X Factor format, and preventing an American version until 2010. Fuller later filed another lawsuit in 2011, claiming that he had also been promised that he would be credited as an executive producer of The X Factor USA, but that Syco, FremantleMedia, and Fox Broadcasting Company had failed to fulfill that promise; that lawsuit is pending.

X (disambiguation)

X is the twenty-fourth letter of the Latin alphabet.

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The X Factor (UK TV series)

The X Factor is a British reality television music competition to find new singing talent, contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Simon Cowell, the show began in 2004 and has since aired annually from August/September until December. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's Thames (previously Talkback Thames) and Cowell's production company Syco TV. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and simulcast on TV3 in Ireland. The "X Factor" refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality.

The show is currently presented by Olly Murs and Caroline Flack. The series consists of auditions, bootcamp, judges' houses, several weeks of live shows, semi-finals and the final. After the show's success, it then became an international franchise following a similar format. The series has a spin-off behind-the-scenes show called The Xtra Factor, which airs directly after the main show on ITV2.

History

The X Factor was created by Sony Music A&R judge Simon Cowell as a replacement for Pop Idol. Cowell, who was a judge on Pop Idol, wished to launch a show to which he owned the television rights.Pop Idol's first series was massively successful, and while the second series was also successful, the viewing figures for its finale dropped. Some—including Cowell's fellow Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman— considered Michelle McManus an unworthy winner. In 2004, ITV announced a new show created by Cowell, with no involvement from Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller—The X Factor. The perceived similarity between the two shows later became the subject of a legal dispute.

Factor

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FACTOR

FACTOR (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) was founded in 1982 by a partnership of the private radio broadcasters CHUM Limited, Moffat Communications and Rogers Broadcasting Limited, in conjunction with the Canadian Independent Record Producers Association (CIRPA) and the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA). In its early years, FACTOR had a budget of $200,000 and one mandate: to fund albums by Canadian artists that had potential for commercial radio success.

In 1985, FACTOR merged with the Canadian Talent Library (CTL) development fund, a private trust created by Standard Broadcasting Limited that had been producing Canadian recordings since the early 1960s. The move increased FACTOR’s funding budget and created funding room for a diversity of genres. In 1986, FACTOR took on the administration of federal funds upon the inception of the Sound Recording Development Program (SDRP). The SDRP, created under the then Department of Communications, came about as the result of lobby and consultation with the recording and radio industries. It proposed to invest $25-million over an initial five years into the Canadian independent music industry. FACTOR would administer sixty percent of those funds, while the remaining forty percent would support French-language music through Musicaction, our Francophone counterpart based in Montreal.