Turning Attention: The certifying role of a Dutch television show

This study researches the certifying role of Dutch TV-show De Wereld Draait Door. As creative goods like music are experience goods, it means that consumers do not know the value of the product or service before purchasing it. Therefore, consumers retrieve information in order to lower uncertainty about a product or service. An example of how consumers do this is herd behaviour, where they base their decision on what others are doing. Another way of lowering uncertainty is by listening to a certifier; someone who provides the consumer with information about the good or service. Digitalisation and Web 2.0 make that the pile of goods to choose from is so big, the need for certifiers increases, while the need for gatekeepers decreases due to the concept of prosumation, which in turn is shifting boundaries between ‘professional suppliers’ and ‘amateurs’ or ‘consumers’. As De Wereld Draait Door is an example of a certifier within the music industry, the literature leads us to the following research question:Does De Wereld Draait Door has a certifying role for artists and/or bands performing in the show? If so, what type of attention does the show generate for the musicians?with the next follow-up question: Are there any other (musical and/or aesthetical) characteristics influencing the type of attention for the artist or band?This research investigates whether certifiers really have a more important role like the literature assumes, by measuring the impact of De Wereld Draait Door on the number of Google Searches, the number of views on YouTube and the number of subscribers on YouTube. In addition it looks at whether there are musical and aesthetical characteristics which influence the type and depth of the attention generated by De Wereld Draait Door. In order to do this, a content analysis is conducted. Our main findings consist of that we can talk about a ‘De Wereld Draait Door – effect’, as the show does generate attention in terms of Google Searches and YouTube subscribers. The results of correlations between our independent variables account for us setting up a musician profile for whom De Wereld Draait Door creates the biggest increase in attention. As we have shown that certifiers really do play a big role, it could have a big influence on the democratisation of the music industry. Shows like De Wereld Draait Door have the power to break through the power of the traditional players in the industry, such as record labels.