‘American Idol’ Makes Money For Entrepreneur

The New York Times:

There is something about “American Idol” that extracts intense emotions from the audience: devotion for the contestants, perhaps, or passion for the songs. For Dave Della Terza, it elicits utter disgust. But it also turns a profit.

Frustrated by what he called the manipulative nature of the televised singing competition, Della Terza started encouraging readers of a reality television message board five years ago to vote for the contestants they deemed the worst singers.

The idea spawned a Web site, Vote for the Worst, which received widespread attention last year for supporting the singer Sanjaya Malakar as he advanced in the competition.

What started as a hobby has become a business. Last year, the site had revenue of roughly $40,000, Della Terza said, mostly through Google Ads. While some of the income paid for computer servers and legal fees, the site still made a profit, allowing Della Terza to take some days off work to maintain the increasingly popular site.

Photo by muzix.org.

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