NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� When 鈥淭he Late Show With Stephen Colbert鈥� earlier this year, it also shuttered the program’s robust music offerings 鈥� a major blow for artists whose television platform was already dwindling.
Performing on late-night has historically been a unique avenue for musicians hoping to access new audiences 鈥� think of a rising Chappell Roan on 鈥淭he Late Show鈥� or even The Beatles on 鈥淭he Ed Sullivan Show.鈥� But when in 2023, his program 鈥� and its coveted performance space 鈥� was never revived. NBC’s 鈥淟ate Night With Seth Meyers鈥� has cut back on live music, while ABC’s 鈥淛immy Kimmel Live!鈥� reduced performances to twice a week. As it stands, only NBC’s consistently books live performances.
Emerging artists still see incredible value in these performances 鈥� and are hopeful that nascent online programming will offer a new alternative.
Breaking through on late-night
March 3, 2014, was the day that changed everything for The synth-pop group was a stalwart of America’s underground music scene due in no small part to charismatic frontman Samuel T. Herring and his idiosyncratic voice, somewhere between and Rammstein’s Till Lindemann. That day, they performed on 鈥淟ate Show with David Letterman,鈥� and was transfixed. 鈥淚’ll take all of that you got!鈥� Letterman cheered, and the DIY band was cast into true virality.
鈥淎t the time that we played Letterman, we were in a transitory period for the band,鈥� said bassist William Cashion. They’d signed to the larger , hired management and were promised a late-night TV spot but never thought it would pan out. 鈥淥ur team, they told us, 鈥業t鈥檒l be good for your fans and your friends and family, but it鈥檚 not really going to move the needle. These things don鈥檛 really do what they used to,鈥欌�� he recalls.
But that wasn’t the case.
鈥淎ll the festivals that initially turned us down all of a sudden wanted us to come play. Everything kind of shifted after that moment,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was definitely a huge turning point and gave the band much greater exposure.鈥�
New media offers an alternative place for discovery
A dearth of late-night spots particularly affects independent acts 鈥� the kind that could really benefit from the exposure, just like Future Islands. Representatives for CBS, NBC and ABC did not return The Associated Press鈥� requests for comment.
Chlo毛 Walsh, co-founder of publicity firm The Oriel, points to the music bookers behind the scenes. 鈥淥f course, they have to book all the biggest things in the world, but they also have things that they want to champion,鈥� she says. Fewer slots means developing artists are competing with big names for dwindling opportunities.
But there are other avenues to discovery.
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of an anomaly in the way that our song and that performance took off,鈥� says Cashion. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e seen other bands have TikTok viral hits and stuff like that.鈥�
There are many examples of artists cracking the code online: Singer-songwriter Gigi Perez’s career was launched with the TikTok smash 鈥淪ailor Song,鈥� as was Malcolm Todd’s with a few viral hits, landing him a major label deal with Columbia Records. Indie band Beach Bunny saw their punky-pop go viral with 鈥淧rom Queen鈥� just ahead of the pandemic, leading to performances on Kimmel and Fallon.
Even legacy artists are experiencing second winds of music discovery: 鈥淕o Away,鈥� featuring , recently made the rounds on TikTok and became a top song for both on Spotify.
鈥淚t seems like a lot of different aspects of the album cycle have kind of been replaced with short-form content,鈥� Beach Bunny singer Lili Trifilio explained. 鈥淎nd it is a bummer because late-night is a service to musicians in such a major way. You are helping people reach new fans.鈥�
鈥淎nd I think now a lot of the responsibility of advertising is falling on the artists to be their own late-night special on TikTok or whatever,鈥� she continued. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that these 30-second, one-minute self-made clips hold the same value.鈥�
Internet creators reimagine traditional formats
鈥淭he media landscape is always changing. Sometimes that鈥檚 good for music and sometimes it鈥檚 bad for music,鈥� says Walsh. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole breed of young creators at the moment doing really interesting stuff. 鈥� Hopefully there will be more opportunities out there and we don鈥檛 have to rely on the networks.鈥�
She points to 鈥淭rack Star(asterisk),鈥� the online music trivia series, which has begun hosting live performances, and to Julian Shapiro-Barnum of 鈥淩ecess Therapy,鈥� who has launched a late-night YouTube that features live performances.
Shapiro-Barnum says 鈥淥utside Tonight鈥� was born out of necessity. 鈥淲e know that the entertainment industry is hard to break into. And so, what鈥檚 been so cool about digital media is that it鈥檚 circumvented that,鈥� he says.
鈥淗ow can we do late night, but different?鈥� was his approach. The show takes place outdoors, bypassing a traditional studio. The musical bookings also . Recent performers include rapper Erick the Architect, indie rock soloist Annie DiRusso and the multi-instrumentalist and experimentalist L’Rain.
鈥淭here was no version of the show that didn鈥檛 have music,鈥� he says. 鈥淭o me, it feels like a staple.鈥�
Beach Bunny performed during the first 鈥淥utside Tonight鈥� episode.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so cool to see people that are like movers and makers be like, 鈥楬ey, this is a gap I鈥檓 seeing. Late-night is being placed on the back burner. We need to revive this; I鈥檓 gonna figure it out,鈥欌�� Trifilio said. 鈥淚 hope that it inspires other people to step up.鈥�
She sees it as part of a larger YouTube renaissance, shifting away from prioritizing short-form content.
鈥淚 think that people are yearning for some longer-format stuff,鈥� she says.
The power for live performance is exposure 鈥� not sales
In traditional late-night TV spots, artists benefit from exposure 鈥� but that doesn’t necessarily mean a jump in sales. Ideally, that will also translate to these new media spaces.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a showcase for touring. And that鈥檚 really where artists make their money,鈥� says Walsh. 鈥淧eople say, 鈥業t doesn鈥檛 really give you a bump if you鈥檙e on a late-night TV show.鈥� They鈥檙e looking at the sales, they鈥檙e not looking at a promoter in Minneapolis going, 鈥極h my god, I want that,鈥� or a radio playlist director saying, 鈥極h that was fantastic, we should add that.鈥欌��
鈥淓very musical guest who鈥檚 come on 鈥極utside Tonight,鈥� everyone in the crew, everyone in the audience, has not stopped listening,鈥� says Shapiro-Barnum. 鈥淚n real time, it spreads and creates all these fans. So, I have to imagine that happens online as well.鈥�
But for many, landing a late-night TV performance is still the north star of a press run.
鈥淔or a lot of people 鈥� especially international artists that are coming to slog it out across the U.S. in some club shows they may not even be headlining 鈥� if you could get on 鈥楯immy Kimmel,鈥� it鈥檚 like we鈥檝e cracked it,鈥� says Walsh. 鈥淭he whole thing was worth it. And that鈥檚 huge.鈥�
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