A talent phenomenon is hitting local venues all across America, commonly known as Open Mic Night. Undiscovered artists give their all for a brief chance at local stardom. This grassroots movement is the vast well of talent that will supply the stars of tomorrow, and the next big hit could be your next door neighbor. And even if not, everyone has a great time showing off for their friends.

This new Public Television series showcases the singer/songwriter talent performing at these Open Mic venues while expanding the audience to national stature through Public Television.

The three main goals for this series are:

• To create an entertaining performance series for public television audiences.
• To promote new artists and songs to a national audience.
• To spotlight the Grassroots Open Mic Movement.

• Thirteen, 30 minute television episodes.
• Live performances by undiscovered artists.
• Shot on location at Open Mic venues from across the United States.
• Grassroots, Public TV style version of “American Idol” or "Star Search".
• No voting, no “hype”, just lots of great new talent.
• Special 90-minute pledge episode for PTV affiliates use during pledges.
• Music CDs and DVDs available to Fans.
• Companion Website for more information about the show and performers.

The thirteen half-hour episodes will offer live taped performances woven with interviews of the artists and other Open Mic enthusiasts. The On Camera-Host serves as the guide to the Open Mic scene. To heighten viewer interest interviews with performers and audience members will be intercut with the performances. This will give a more insight into each performer and why people enjoy Open Mics. The categories featured will include all genres of live music, readings, comic standup and others that nobody could imagine!

The main push is to feature bright and talented artists who perform for the love of performing! The pledge special will feature segments not seen in the series. The pledge ask will be virtual featuring Open Mic Showcase participants, meaning that the pledge breaks are pre-taped and inserted in the content, so the local station just has to key up their phone number and have a service answer the phones to take the pledges.

Each episode will feature different towns and cities around the country representing all major regions. Some of the areas featured in the premiere season may include: the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, New York, Boston, Chicago and Nashville. We are committed to profiling each major geographic area of the United States during each 13 week series.

The audience for “OMS” includes everyone who enjoys music. Specifically, the focus will be on new performers and material so people looking for something new will find much to enjoy on Open Mic Showcase:

• Younger viewers in the 14-24 age group especially like to “discover” new artists that they can share with their friends.
• The 24-34 age group also enjoys staying on top of new music, but don't always have the time. Open Mic Showcase will provide this group with weekly exposure to new talent and material with a majority of the performers coming from this age group.
• People 35 and older still enjoy hearing new music, but many find most pop outlets do not speak to them.

NPR has recently had success reaching this group with shows like “All Music Considered” while offering access to music not heard in the mainstream media. The success of projects like Buena Vista Social Club and all the fine solo albums that have come out of that project prove the viability of this demographic as a music market. Boomers in fact launched the Music Industry in the 50’s and 60’s and this group still loves music. Geographically, the series targets the entire U.S. and the production will take place in all major regions during the first season. Subsequent seasons will continue to feature cities that represent each region.

Additionally, viewers will be asked to submit information about great Open Mics in their area that will help build an expectation that they and their friends could become the stars of future shows. This is the heart of what makes all Open Mics work, regular people who get the opportunity to participate in something extraordinary, performing live to an appreciative audience. Open Mic Showcase capitalizes on that dynamic and takes it to a national level on Public Television and to an International level on the Web. Open Mic Showcase will appeal to women and men equally, but historically Open Mics have more men than women that participate, so there should be a similar dynamic in the viewing audience. When the Pop culture aspect is considered, both men and women are attracted to rising stars.