I wouldn't think it would have much of an effect at all. There are plenty of current AC and Hot AC artists that aren't from American Idol. (Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat, Pink, Rob Thomas, Owl City, Kings of Leon, Train, John Mayer, and Black Eyed Peas are all currently on this weeks AC chart and have nothing to do with American Idol). Also, if anything, AC is moving away from it's previous "lite" and gold image and going more uptempo and current in most cases (even though you'd never know it from our sucky, gold-based, "B97.5" here in Knoxville. That station is a complete joke as far as AC stations go.)
But, if you look at big AC stations like WLTW "Lite FM" New York, WBEB "B101" Philadelphia, etc. , you'll notice that they have shed much of their "lite" and laid back imaging in favor of more current and uptempo music and presentation. So, if anything, I think they will rely more on current music instead of gold. And even though there is certainly an influence from American Idol artists on AC, Hot AC, and CHR, there are still plenty of other artists coming up from other places. I think you'll simply see AC and Hot AC grabbing adult friendly artists from CHR. Today's 25-54 female audience seems to be a lot more involved and hip to current artists than that demo was in the past. So I think you'll continue to see AC evolve to a more current and upbeat sound. This has definitely been seen with Hot AC in the past couple of years. Many have moved away from the "soccer mom" type pop/alternative and are adding mainstream adult friendly CHR artists like Lady Gaga, Kesha, etc. So I think AC and Hot AC will be just fine. It may not sound like "your mom's AC format" from the past, but it'll evolve to serve today's more active and youthful 25-54 demos.
