Not that the underlying thesis of this Ad Age story about the decline in ratings experienced by both the Grammys and American Idol should be a surprise to anyone–the piece cites the rise of music-related celebrities who are more famous for their personal lives than their songs and the “natural life cycle” of the now-seven-years-old Idol as two reasons for said shows’ crummy numbers–but in case you were wondering just how little of MTV and its formerly “all-about-the-music” sibling MTV2’s broadcast time was devoted to music videos these days, you now have an answer: “The cable nets have become cultural chameleons, with the original programming premise — music videos — now only comprising an average of 4.5% of MTV’s and 14% of MTV 2’s schedule, according to data supplied by the network.” [Advertising Age]
Public’s Interest In Music-Related Television Waning Almost As Quickly As Public’s Interest In Music
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The question is begged: did MTV change because of the times, or did the times change because of MTV?
Maybe people in their 30s or older will finally shut up and stop asking why MTV doesn’t play music videos anymore.
I’m only 29 and I hate not seeing videos, but then again, I just watch them on Youtube anyways.
I’m only 23, but damn it I like watching music videos. In fact, during the college days [those "far off days of the past"] watching music videos while preparing for class was my young teenage/twentysomething version of having a cup of joe and reading the morning papers before heading off to work.
[Plus that's the only time MTV was playing videos no?]
@Tenno:
Isn’t the internet THE only place we watch music videos these days? Aside from the occasional Missy Elliot 3-D appearance on TRL or World Premiere showing on 106 & Park, I feel like its more of an event on the internet, with people getting all amped and excited when a new video drops on their favorite blog and/or website.
[And if networks didn't believe in the power of music videos, they should see the endless stream of commentary and criticism a new music video elicits.]
Then again I guess this is all a direct result of the whole little-to-no airplay problem on the music channels.
I don’t miss MTV one bit. I get everything I need online. And I look forward to doing it all on demand or a la carte with an AppleTV and big fatty HDTV.
I’m 24 and miss videos on MTV if only being “introduced” to new artists. Due to some poor parental supervision my 3 year old bother was really into Nirvana more than PBS and introduced 9 year old me to Smells like teen spirit when I was home sick one day.
Now I spend most of my time on You Tube trying to avoid incoherent comments because I can’t stand BET.
I’ve never heard a convincing explanation for the declining interest in music videos. Music sales, sure, because everyone’s downloading but kids still listen to pop music these days, why would they stop watching videos all of a sudden?
@DustinR: The videos by and large aren’t as interesting or well-made as they used to be. That could be because the music isn’t either. Frankly there’s less and less artists to even care about seeing a videos from. The very idea of seeing videos from people like James Blunt or Timbaland just makes me want to hurl.
Flash back 12 or so years, I wanted to see all of the latest rap videos and of course some of the pop stuff too.