So overnight the BBC announced they would be working with record label BMG for the UK's 2020 Eurovision Contest entrant.
But what exactly does that mean and what has actually been confirmed by the BBC and BMG?
Here's what we know:
BBC Studios will produce the BBC’s coverage of the competition
BBC and BMG will collaborate to find the song & artist(s) to represent the UK
BBC & BMG will select the UK 2020 entry and BMG will release & publish it
There will be no 'You Decide' National Final. UK will internally select their entrant like they did from 2011 – 2015
BBC approached a number of record labels before settling on BMG as they shared a vision of 'selecting a song with broad international appeal and securing an artist who embodies the spirit and values of the Eurovision Song Contest’.
But many variable and unanswered questions still remain:
Will this mean that BMG will only be involved in the initial stages of the selection of the artist and song only and the BBC will take over all responsibilities for staging and promotion of the song come Rotterdam?
Will the artist still sign a contract with the BBC? Would this be an issue for artists as currently the BBC (usually) only pay a one-off fee to the artist.
Will BMG need to spend their own money in promotion, which would involve changing the mindset of UK radio and media.
Who ultimately has the final say on the entry and how it is staged and promoted? Will it be the BBC or BMG and their artist? This could certainly cause some ‘creative friction’.
BMG have a number of high level artists but what type of artist from BMG is willing to take on the perceived risk of Eurovision?
Short answer is... no one knows yet.
However, ultimately, the BBC has expertise in promoting and creating television and BMG has the expertise in creating and promoting music. So the collaboration can in theory really work, but it will be dependent on if they can utilize their relative strengths in harmony.
Let's watch this space for more details.