Mtv's 'unplugged' Transplanted Globally -- Nations Use Show's Concept And Make It Their Own

When MTV unveiled 'Unplugged' in 1990, little did the cable channel know that the acoustic-concert show would become the network's signature program around the world.
In seven short years, 'Unplugged' has grown into the network's most exportable franchise, with virtually every 'Unplugged' produced in the U.S. shown in MTV territories across the globe. Additionally, most MTV territories now produce their own versions of 'Unplugged.'
'It was so small when we started we didn't expect it to do anything over here (in the U.S.),' says supervising producer Alex Coletti. He has been with the show, which was created by Robert Small and Jim Burns, since its inception.
'It was something we did more for the press and for the artists and for ourselves more than for the viewers,' Coletti says. 'It was the whole Milli Vanilli time when you didn't know who was making music, who was real and who wasn't. So we did it for us to be credible. We had no idea it would catch on.'
But catch on it did. MTV U.S. has produced more than 100 episodes of 'Unplugged' (including compilations). The show has grown into the channel's most prestigious program, producing two Grammy-winning albums and a number of top-selling home videos, as well as winning two Cable Ace Awards, the Deems Taylor Award, and a Peabody Award for best musical series. While no other territory has come close to matching the prolificacy or the status of the U.S., each has taken the 'Unplugged' formula and made it its own.
The first territory to produce an 'Unplugged' outside of the U.S. was MTV Brasil, where 'Unplugged' is called 'Acustico.' The first session aired in 1991.
'When these territories start, they try to start at the level we're at now, which is insane,' says Coletti, who spent time in Brazil helping launch the channel. 'They were like, 'All right, we're going to do an 'Unplugged.' '
'At that point, 'Unplugged' in the States was shot in a relatively small room with a few cameras,' he continues. 'It wasn't multitrack; it hadn't gotten to the album Grammy stage yet. So it was kind of an easy show to copy. A few cameras and acoustic guitar and you've got a show. So MTV Brasil did a Seal show; it took us another three or four years before we got him.'
Although Brazil got a head start, MTV Latin America (formerly known as MTV Latino) has really put its stamp on the concept since producing its first 'Unplugged' in 1994.
'The only place that does 'Unplugged' with any frequency is MTV (Latin America), which is based in Miami,' says Coletti. 'The producer (Paula Goblin) came up here and watched me do a taping, and I went down there and produced a taping for them. And because they're based in Miami, they were able to use my set designer (and) my director; it's kind of a hybrid. She calls me with questions or sends me tape when she's done, but I can't physically be the 'Unplugged' guy around the world.'
'We're really on our own now,' says Alejandro Pels, VP of programming and production/executive producer of MTV Latin America. 'In the beginning, Alex was very supportive and helped a lot, but it's really our gig. We used some of the same technical people as (MTV U.S.), but little by little we're begun to build our own team.'
Still, Coletti is usually on hand the first time a territory ventures forth. MTV Asia, eager to produce its own version last year, taped three shows in the U.K. in May, starting with Japanese act Chage & Aska.
Because of logistics and language problems, Coletti and then MTV Asia senior VP of programming and production Vinnie Longobardo (he is now senior VP of international program development for MTV) decided to produce the three-show cycle in London. Other performers in that first batch were Taiwanese act Harlem Yu and Indian duo Colonial Cousins.
'We didn't want an English audience,' says Coletti. 'So we went to tourism bureaus and to the consulates and schools and were able to find Indian or Asian people. London is pretty much a melting pot. You could really only do that in London or New York.'
MTV Europe, based in London, has also produced its share of 'Unpluggeds,' including shows with Roxette, Herbert Granemeyer, and Bjork, as well as a co-production with MTV U.S. that involved taping three shows at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 1992.
Like the U.S., the other territories are looking for artists whose music translates into the acoustic format. 'By and large, it's all about who can do it and who's popular,' says Coletti.
'When we decided to start 'Unplugged,' we wanted to document the biggest names in our market,' says Pels. 'That's what we concentrated on for the first few years. Once we covered the names that were part of our ideal list, now we can work with upcoming bands.'
Regardless of the band's status, the criteria remain the same, says Pels. 'The fact that we go for this acoustic form doesn't take away from the fact that they're playing live, so in order to do 'Unplugged,' you have to be a good musician.'
While U.S. episodes tend to air in the other territories around the world, seldom do 'Unpluggeds' from other territories get on U.S. television. 'Unfortunately, I don't know if the U.S. audiences care a whole lot about (artists from non-English-speaking markets),' says Coletti. 'And if an artist has international appeal, we're probably going to do it (as a U.S. production) and show it around the world.'
Although a number of 'Unplugged' episodes in the U.S. have found their way onto disc, it is not with the same frequency that other territories produce home videos or albums to go with the tapings.
'I believe that the labels participate financially overseas, whereas they don't at all in the U.S., so I think the deal is (often) structured with the interest of an album in many cases,' Coletti says.
Despite the Grammy-winning success of Eric Clapton's and Tony Bennett's 'Unplugged' sessions, Coletti feels that knowing an album has to come out of a taping takes away a feeling of spontaneity. 'Clapton wasn't supposed to be an album. He had to have his arm twisted,' says Coletti.

(c) BPI Communications, 1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED