Manager Phil McIntyre whose clients include Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Iggy Azalea and Joe Jonas/DNCE will be joining American Idol as an executive producer representing Core Media, reports Variety.
McIntyre will be taking on the role previously held by Clive Davis, Jimmy Iovine and Scott Borchetta. The founder of PhilyMac in 2006 will focus on “anything involving music. Everything from rollout strategy to song selection to the creative concepts around the contestants–it’s all encompassing.”
“To some degree this is a new frontier for me,” McIntyre told Variety about taking the gig. But the manager, who has worked with Disney stars Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato, understands how TV can launch a music star. “I understand the balance between artist development and making good television,” he added. “I think we have the platform and the heritage brand to be able to do that [with ‘Idol’].”
McIntyre noted that he was was with Demi Lovato “every step of the way during the time she was on The X Factor.” and was instrumental on her becoming a judge on the show. He worked with producer Simon Cowell for a year “to help him develop his talent strategy in the U.S.”
A couple of interesting tidbits from Variety’s interview with McIntyre:
- McIntyre said that “Part of the show will be celebrity duets and we’ll bring in established talent to participate in that.” As far as bringing clients like Demi to work on the show, he said, “We’re going to wait and see what talent makes it through Hollywood week and what the pairings are looking like. And at that point, we’ll decide what people make sense.”
- McIntyre is at Hollywood Week, currently underway at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. “Based on the talent I saw throughout the auditions, I was very impressed,” he said.
- “Hollywood Records (the Disney label releasing the winner’s music) is one of the best labels for developing artists,” said McIntyre, “They understand how to take talent from television platforms and invest in them and guide them. It’s a system I know well and it’s incredibly powerful.”
American Idol, featuring judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, and host Ryan Seacrest, premieres on ABC on Sunday March 11.
