Spotifying talent: the elevator pitch

Ok, having dissected Simon Cowell's audition for global domination and/or the next Bond movie (an alternative Jonathan Pryce-like, media baron: 'You will vote on the show, Mr Bond, or you will die'), what might replace The X Factor?

Here's an alternative, Generation Y scenario of the near future. Spotify team up with the likes of MySpace and YouTube. A marketing and PR campaign publicises the streaming of unsigned artists/bands coming original material through the Spotify website. Listeners are invited to rate each track they hear on a scale of 1 to 5.

Over a season, say three months, the scores given to each track are added up, and the top 50 artists/bands are then invited to play (10 per show) in a Later with Jools Holland-type programme, where each act gets to perform their track. A public telephone and online vote selects two acts per show to go forward to semi-final shows (five acts per show) who get to perform two songs each. The top two acts via public vote in each semi-final go through to a final, where each act gets to perform three songs. The public vote for a winner, who gets to perform at the O2 in support of some internationally established megastar(s), as well as receiving the obligatory record contract. And as the shows are being aired, the Spotify website is busy identifying the next top 50 artists/bands.

After Sting and others' recent criticisms of The X Factor, a format like this might give 'organic music' a platform on national television. Let's set up a discussion via the comments thread to tweak the idea into something workable.