“Do you want your MTV?”
This was asked of a group of us when I was about 12 years old.
We all said “Sure!”
Then the guy in the car said, “Tell your parents to get cable then!”
We did exactly that. I remember seeing those first music videos. They were magic. Music and video - what a simple concept that has done so much for the careers of artists all over the world. It was moderately subversive and underground in it’s day. The same videos over and over again would play until a new one came out and then that got added to the rotation list. We would watch it late into the night and talk about them at school. It was a beautiful thing really.
After a while, so many videos were available that we could pick and choose, so market-segmented shows came out. They crammed certain genres into half hour and one hour shows and showed the appropriate videos. But then something happened…
It must have become apparent to someone that certain segments were watched more than others. Then it must have become apparent to someone which of those segments could be advanced with synergistic marketing. Product placement (including the MTV brand) was everywhere. Artists were pushed through that were strictly talentless marketing efforts. Boy bands were created every day. Artists were pigeon holed into their demographic and if they didn’t fit, they were and still are, pushed off. MTV has taken product placement and self promotion to a level that is unmatched in terms of scope and ridiculousness. From this, a culture of music was cultivated that, in my opinion, is unparalleled even today.
However, this culture has been co-opted in a manner that is hard to believe. There has been a joke for years about there being no music on MTV. It’s not really a joke though, is it? It’s simply the truth. There are reality shows about dating, reality shows about living in an apartment somewhere, there are shows about music, but there is not much actual music.
It just makes me sad that this happens and I wonder what we can do to bring some quality back into this channel. Not that MTV is the only channel or organization that does this type of thing. It just happens to be an iconic symbol that I wonder if it is worth saving?
Maybe the demographic has evolved since you a kid? MTV hires some pretty smart folks - saavy marketers and design shops to say the least. MTV is more than just about music. It’s about lifestyle too - and they’ve figured out a way to tap into what their target demo cares about. You may not like it since your not a pre-pubescent tween trying to deal with dating and school (anymore)
These kids are tough to get through, I applaud those marketers for figuring out a way to actually get through to these kids. It may not be for the social well being of the world, but I’m sure that wasn’t the marketers primary objective to begin with.
I don’t think the demographic has changed. I think they have found sort of the lowest common denominator. I was a pre-pubescent teen once and I recall actually wanting to hear and (see in this case) music to make it better.
We seem to be enabling behavior in our kids. Everything from Disney to MTV showcases 12 year olds that are sexed up, tell us that being an individual or being smart is stupid and panders to them as lemmings. It’s bully marketing.
Also, I am also not sure what we are “getting through” to the kids other than to sell them stuff… Does the Real World help them out somehow?
No doubt it’s selling. They got through to them though.
To what end? The conquest does not amount to anything more than pride. What are we really doing to the future?
oooh you got lots of “diggs” on this one! very cool keif! i think you tapped a nerve with your readers.
ok, so here’s the thing: i want mtv back too…the mtv we had as kids with the really great music, often low budget videos & other cool quirks (remember maxx headroom?? lol) that mtv died a loooong time ago. not only does mtv suck now, but so does a lot of the music out there. i can barely stomach listening to britney spears & her ridiculous overly-synthesized screeching on the radio. the thought of watching her “sing” whilst gyrating on random men in wife-beaters & painted up like a whore makes me want to vomit a little in my mouth. and it’s not just mtv that panders to young people. it’s a lot of the music out there right now. so much of it is degenerative, inane garbage. the very same garbage that is regurgitated on the current, soulless, mtv channel (when they do decide to play music videos). bringing quality back isn’t going to happen because it isn’t going to make them money…and they are driven by the almighty dollar. sad.