And the value of nothing

Simon Cowell's vision of music is going to be explored during a US TV interview this weekend - but its as self-regarding as you'd expect:

"I sell more records than Bruce Springsteen, sure."

"In the last five years I've sold over 100m records. If he got $100m, I should have got $500m."

Besides the obvious point - that Sringsteen has actually written song and made records, while Cowell has overseen the assembly of cover versions and soundalikes from bits and pieces - it confirms that Cowell's sideshow talent shows are little more than shams. And never mind your premium rate numbers - the con is that all the contestants are interchangeable. Clearly, Cowell believes that whatever is spat out of the voting process is insignificant in the process of making a record that will sell to that sector of the market. Indeed, he sees the whole process as being one, large, interchangeable blob:

The music producer is responsible for signing the winner of American Idol, which he called "the biggest artist on the planet".

And who cares what face it has, eh?