The Stage

‘Amateur’ user content dilutes standards, claims Tiger Aspect chief

Published Tuesday 19 June 2007 at 16:30 by Matthew Hemley

Tiger Aspect chairman Peter Bennett-Jones has warned that the rise of user-generated content could lead to a decline in quality talent and see the “amateur taking over”.

He said the rise of content including videos made by the public and posted on websites such as YouTube, which is increasingly being used by broadcasters, could drive down standards in the industry.

He said: “There is so much trash out there and such a danger of a dilution of standards. User-generated content is 99.9 % rubbish and there is a danger of the amateur taking over.”

Bennett-Jones, who brought the likes of Mr Bean and The Vicar of Dibley to television, said some names would emerge from user-generated content but claimed more traditional routes, such as comedy clubs, would always be the preferred place to find the next generation of talent.

He said: “In a Google world, where everything is being thrown open to everyone, you forget the fact that talent is a very rare commodity and it needs support, funding and structure. It always has done.

“Most of the people I work with started performing in a live venue and then learnt their performance and writing skills and built them up. Usually television or anything visual comes further down the line. People who go to it too quickly tend to come to grief - you can’t do it yourself without the right people to guide you.”

• Meanwhile, speaking at Pact’s Rights Lab event last week, Bennett-Jones, who also runs talent agency PBJ Management and represents artists such as Rowan Atkinson and Eddie Izzard, said talent he looks after would be unlikely to appear in online-only content.

He added there were “very few case studies” to show talent there was “serious money” to be made from such propositions and insisted anyone looking to become a household name in comedy would always need a terrestrial television show behind them.

He also urged broadcasters to “hold their nerve” and focus on creating content of “value” in a digital age.