WATCH NOW: Signed

I love shows like this- ones that really showcase a glimpse of the behind the scenes work of the music industry.

Signed is the combination of Music Moguls and The Rap Gap, but for adults. Three industry heavyweights, Lenny S, The Dream, and Rick Ross come together to develop  new talent with the end goal of doing a contract with the artists to their respective music labels.

I really enjoyed the show because the judges represented 3 sectors of the music industry. Lenny is a renowned businessman at Roc Nation, The Dream is a hitmaker who spends most of his time writing and out of the spotlight, while Rick Ross is the face of his label and has headed up the successful careers of not only his own music but others as well.

TV shows like “Signed” are important because they prove that label deals and name association still have value, even in the age of the “free agent” artist finding extreme success.

Two aspects of the show that I thought were really cool and representative of the real industry was that the show continued to bring in new artists every episode, rather than just keeping a set group that got smaller during eliminations, to keep all artists on their toes and remind them that there are so many artists vying for their spot, not only ones that they can see. The other was that some artists were offered management, internship, and single deals because it shows the world that full blown record deals aren’t the only things that labels give out when taking a chance on an artist.

Overall, the show is very timely and brings attention to parts of the industry that other music shows can overlook. It also gave me a new respect for the moguls. While extremely informative, the show was still fun and entertaining to watch.

I hope there is a second season and this show finds the success that others in the same category have been met with.