''Fearless Music'' is a televised musical showcase broadcast between 2004 and 2010 which featured live performances from up-and-coming acts, primarily from the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

circuits. It was filmed at the Crash Mansion rock club in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The show aired at 12:30am on Saturdays on

WNYW WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secauc ...

Fox 5 and was syndicated in over 200 cities in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 350 college TV stations, and worldwide through

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

History

The show was founded by its producer and lead host, Jamie Lamm, whose career as a

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

had been inspired by rock documentaries and musical showcase series that aired when he was younger, including The Midnight Special and

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

. The name "fearless" referred to the show taking a chance on musicians that other mainstream media would be afraid to promote. In August 2003, Fearless Music began taping artists in New York City. The first episode aired on New York's local

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, o ...

channel on January 18, 2004. Despite high-quality audio, due to the show's low budget, it was filmed using three

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

home security cameras. The show moved forward on Fox and its affiliates, airing on more stations beginning April 1, 2006. Studio lights and HD cameras were also installed for an improved look. On October 12, 2008, the show launched its own

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel, providing clips from band performances on the show, as well as some full episodes. By the end of 2008, nearly 1,500 bands had appeared on the show; however, the show's parent company, Fearless Music Inc., filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

to get out of its $100,000 debts. The show continued for three further seasons until its final broadcast on December 4, 2010. On March 24, 2011, it was announced that Union Square would acquire Fearless Music Television, but no further episodes were made and the acquisition was cancelled on March 24, 2012.

Format

The show consisted of seven bands and one short interview segment. The first six bands were performances recorded in the Crash Mansion rock club in New York City. Viewers could then vote for their favorite artist at FearlessMusic.com during the following days. The final performance would be from the band that won the previous week's online poll.

Episodes

Source:

Season 8

Season 9

References

External links

Official website (archived 2 February 2019)
* *{{YouTube, u=fearlessmusicshow American non-fiction television series