As MTV Became A Commercial Success, It Created A Massive Number Of Stars Whose Careers Would’ve Been Completely Different Without The Exposure.
Wire channel MTV turns 30 today and I think it’s improbable that any article noting the event will be well placed to withstand the urge to include some rant about the absence of music videos on the network.
In principle, I understand the complaints. I watched the network from its earliest days and there was something spellbinding about discovering some artist or song thanks to the video. As MTV changed into a business success, it created a big number of stars whose careers would’ve been wholly different without the exposure. Sure, performers like Paula Abdul owe their careers to MTV, but it’s tough to think what the careers of musicians such as Michael Jackson would have been without the video exposure.
But from the earliest years of the network, MTV pursued a method of creating original, non-musical programming. And once they made that call, it was inescapable that the success of that programming would push the music off the main MTV Network.
There are good business reasons for opting not to play music videos on a channel that was originally branded as a music network. No cable channel wants to be in a situation where their achievement is contingent upon access to content being created by third parties. In pretty much the same way that HBO and Showtime commenced manufacturing original programming as a technique to offset the aggressive dealmaking of the flick studios, MTV moved toward original programming so they would not be contingent on the whims of the music labels.
I suspect things could have been subtly different if MTV had been owned by a media company that also owned a music label. But without warranted access to music videos, MTV had no choice than to move toward original programming.
Granted, MTV did not always have to pick the programming mix that it did. But because it’s owned by Viacom, which approaches its multiple cable channels the way Clear Channel programs its radio stations, programming calls are often as much about playing to the network’s target demo as anything more.
That pressure from the sales side is also why you see things such as Viacom-owned flicks pop up in primetime slots. Their cost is close to free, and its simple for a sales staff to sell a block of movies displaying across all of the Viacom Networks.
At the end of the day, MTV is a business. And it’s difficult to prove with the grounds that whether it airs music videos, it’s been a surprisingly successful network. So while I miss the videos (and the VJs), I am ten years past making snide remarks about the lack of music on MTV.
But as MTV turns thirty, I do worry about the corrosive effect its programming has on youths.
Stressing about such things likely seems old fashioned to most audiences (and TV critics) at this juncture. MTV obviously has got the right to air what it wants, how it wants. The incontrovertible fact that so many of its shows are successful illustrates there’s an audience for them.
But because controversy sells, MTV has created this vision of American kids that often highlights the worst of what we can be. MTV isn’t displaying Teen Mom because they hope to convince teen viewers not to conceive. In reality the underlying message of the show is “hey, it’ll be okay.” Seeing girls who have made an appearance on Teenager Mom splashed across mag covers at the local superstore is morally wrong on so many levels I could write a book about it and still just scratch the surface. The incontrovertible fact that versions of jersey Shore air around the world makes me more gloomy than happy with the network’s programming ability.
What worries me as MTV turns thirty is that for many American youngsters, Viacom has as much influence on their lives as school or friends. From Nick Jr’s preschool programming through Nick’s animated shows through Teen Nick and MTV, Viacom controls the pop culture landscape of America’s youth.
I won’t claim anybody is noxious. The majority of the programming choices have more to do with sales opportunities and audience share than cultural impact. But at age thirty, MTV should be pondering such things, and it looks clear to anyone who watches the network the propriety of what they air is hardly a concern,writes tagza.com.
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