Long ago there was a concept that was groundbreaking and pioneering. In its infancy, this project attempted to bring to the masses music that would otherwise be restricted to the simple minority of localized communities. Thus, with the idea of bringing music to all walks of life, MTV was born on August 1, 1981.
Somewhere along the lines, the core values behind its construction were lost and forgotten. MTV was a place where artists could promote their music in hopes of gaining exposure, while simultaneously feeding the needs of the people with music that was new, original, and full of potential.
What made MTV so revolutionary was its role in the creation of music videos, short videos used to promote the artist/group while giving the viewer something interesting to watch while listening to music. A factor that was responsible for appealing to the masses was the fact that all of the music videos were new, crude, and raw. The music video was more or less a platform for the artist to showcase his/her works while providing an entertaining visual experience.
What is new and unique is also exciting and intriguing, and music videos became an integral part of MTV. Classic shows like Yo! MTV Raps and Beavis and Butthead served to cater music to specific audiences, while MTV News provided constant news on anything music. These shows, in retrospect, were pioneering adventures into the marriage of music and media, and eventually evolved into shows such at TRL and Direct Effect.
Besides music videos, MTV is also responsible for many of the pop culture icons that are present today. An invention accredited to MTV was the “MTV Video Music Awards,” given to the artist or band with the most appealing, entertaining, and artistic video. This syndicate epitomized a generation of viewers and listeners starving for a medium with music that could relate to the legion of youths around the country. This was MTV… a groundbreaking, counter-compliant, revolutionary TV program that redefined the character of the music world and spurred the movement of other types of channels and programs such as BET and VH1 (all currently under the branch of Viacom.) In fact, MTV could be credited with helping launch the careers of some of the most famous bands and artists in recent memory such as Madonna, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, and countless others.
An important point to make would be the major alliances and deals formed between programs like MTV and major music labels (i.e. Sony, Def Jam, Universal). Major labels pour millions of dollars into campaigns to form partnerships with nationally syndicated programs in order to get as much exposure as possible by flooding the market with artists and bands from their labels. While this is a great way to bring money and viewers into a music label, these types of agreements make it extremely difficult for new up and coming artists to have their music played. Without proper and well-known connections, there is little hope for an infant artist and/or record label to really be discovered.
The ideas presented in the article How Radio Stations and Record Labels Work Together, though dealing with relationships between radio stations and music labels, can also be applied to the TV world. As the writer Christopher Knab writes, “If you thought that a commercial radio station’s priority was just to play music, you were wrong. They need to deliver an audience of listeners to their advertisers. The money they charge for on air advertising is their sole source of income.” Public entertainment programs on radio and TV thrive off advertisements and viewer/listener ratings. Therefore, it is necessary to play music that is “crowd friendly,” and not surprisingly, what is usually most crowd friendly is material that the crowd is already attuned to.
What was once the mecca of groundbreaking music videos and a sanctuary for new and upcoming artists, MTV has slowly become what it first revolted against. MTV has gone from defining Pop culture to becoming Pop culture. The simple concept that was once Music Television has transformed into Money Television.
MTV has branched off into many different subcontents such as MTV2 and MTV Chi that play nearly nonstop music, but for the general masses that do not have or subcribe to digital cable, these options are not available. The people are reduced to MTV in its most commercial form. Turn on MTV at almost any time during the day and/or night, and it is hard to figure out exactly how the “M” in MTV stands for Music. For example, the TV schedule of a normal day from 9:00 am to 12:00am includes a total of three shows pertaining specifically to music: MTV Hits, TRL, and Direct Effect. Shows like TRL and MTV Direct Effect, while playing music videos and allowing viewers to vote on what they wish to see, cater to the artist’s need for money rather than the sheer joy of bringing new content to the world.
The music has become lost in its own world of sex, fashion, money, greed, and is, in essence, selling out. Watch TRL, and you will see that in almost every instance the number one music video will go to the flavor of the week, or the band with the most sex appeal. What is the price? The soul in exchange for Money and Power.
MTV is now full of TV programs designed to follow what is hot in pop culture today, and the most frequent topic viewed on TV involves the beaten-to-death genre of Reality Television. Trapped in the sinking sands of Laguna Beach and lost in “The Real World,” MTV has become what it once rebelled against.
It would be interesting to see how long it would take before MTV is rivaled by a competitor embracing the same ideals and values that MTV once represented. It would be analagous to look into a mirror for the first time in over 20 years, and see how one has changed. Would MTV be able to recognize itself after these years, or would it be just as lost as the casual TV viewer who wonders why MTV is called Music Television?
Loading ...
March 4th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
great story…MTV sucks horribly, sadly, and pathetically…where will it all end…could MTV ever be forgiven by the world music community for replacing punk videos and awesome shows like Remote Control with Cribs, the Jessica/Ashley Simpson hour, and the Osbournes…makes you sick to your stomach
March 4th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
Nice. I came out like I imagined it. Your article is the epitome of fresh out viewpoints. I honestly did put this into perspective myself, but your correct. MTV is clearly oversaturated and has begun to lose its focus and cater to the money hungry corporations that our supporting them. This is the mean and malicious characteristics of capitalism, if your not making money and supporting hyper-consumerism, then your getting in the way, unfornately MTV feel victime to this. Thanks for bring the truth to the light, this article is a classic, keep up the “hood” work. EZ.
March 5th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
I agree with you, Ryan, but I do question whether MTV really ever had an entirely pure vision with where they ultimately wanted to go. No doubt, they used to have much better shows and content; YO! MTV Raps, for example, helped push hiphop to the masses (which is a whole other discussion in itself regarding the effects this had on hiphop’s musical integrity down the road). Hopefully with the advent of networks like Current TV, Al Gore’s new ‘user-generated content’ network, we will see a revival of programming with quality content. But I don’t know if MTV ever had a serious desire to bring new, unheard music to its viewers. I have a sneaking suspicion that their ultimate goal out the gate was to profit, not just put people onto some real shit.
March 12th, 2006 at 10:22 am
[…] After being enlightened by an article enitlted “I WANT MY MTV….Where Have You Gone?” by Ryan here at Freshout Media, I thought to myself, hey self, there are many more sell-outs to exploit, why not expose them, too? After a moment of pure ponderance, I concurred with my conscience. She was right. BET is among the Uncle Tom, backbiting, two-faced, “sell you up the river” manipulative media dream team. If MTV is going to catch hell for their Benedict Arnold impersonation, we must not forget those who aided and abeted them. R.I.P Black Entertainment Television, because you have turned into Brainwash Everyone Television since the late 90’s, the real BET is a memory. Amen. […]
March 28th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
[…] Their website is a happy, multimedia paradise packed with information and aussie press quotes, accentuating the phenomenon that is common of bands that have their origins in foreign countries. Some bands seem to become rather successful, and reach almost iconic status in their corners of the world, or even just a great critical acclaim in whatever chunk of the map they may be natives of, while remaining completely invisible to the American public, or even to the rest of the globe. The reverse is hardly the case, though. Give any American band, their fifteen minutes of fame on MTV, whether they be from the farmland or New York City, and, guaranteed, their international success will be a given. Can you say cultural imperialism? […]
September 17th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
They suck.