Space for Music on Late-Night TV Has Dwindled. New Media Seeks to Offer an Alternative
Traditional late-night bookings have thinned, pushing independent artists toward online shows that can still deliver new audiences.
- Earlier this year, CBS ended The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, shuttering the program's robust music offerings and eliminating a major performance platform for artists whose television access was already dwindling.
- Late-Night music segments have faced widespread cuts across the industry; The Late Late Show ended in 2023, while Late Night With Seth Meyers cut back performances and Jimmy Kimmel Live reduced bookings to twice weekly.
- Future Islands, a synth-pop band that found virality on late-night in 2014, exemplifies what independent acts stand to lose. Representatives for CBS, NBC, and ABC declined to comment on the impact of this dearth of performance spots.
- Artists are increasingly turning to online platforms to fill the void; digital initiatives like the trivia series Track Star and Julian Shapiro-Barnum's Outside Tonight have launched live performance segments to circumvent traditional gatekeepers.
- As traditional late-night television fades, digital platforms serve as new discovery avenues for emerging artists. These online shows, born of necessity, provide spaces for experimental performers to connect directly with fans outside traditional industry structures.
31 Articles
31 Articles
TikTok and YouTube could fill a gap for musicians as space shrinks on late-night TV
When CBS ended “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” earlier this year, it also shuttered the program’s robust music offerings—a 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—think of a rising Chappell Roan on “The Late Show” or The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” But when James Corden left CBS’s “The Late Late Show” i…
Space for music on late-night TV has dwindled. New media seeks to offer an alternative.
When CBS ended “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” earlier this year, it also shuttered the program’s robust music offerings — a major blow for artists whose television platform was already dwindling.
Bands used to 'break' on Letterman — now they’re recreating late night on YouTube
When CBS ended “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” earlier this year, it also shuttered the program’s robust music offerings — 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 — think of a rising Chappell Roan on “The […]
Associated Press News
Space for music on late-night TV has dwindled. New media seeks to offer an alternative
When CBS ended “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” earlier this year, it also shuttered the program’s robust music offerings.
Space for music on late-night TV has dwindled. New media seeks to offer an alternative - Inside Politics
When CBS ended “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” earlier this year, it also shuttered the program’s robust music offerings — 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 — think of a rising Chappell Roan on “The Late Show” or even The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” But when James Corden left CBS’ “The La…
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