This Sunday, MTV will broadcast its only attraction, "The Video Music Awards." The show which is going into its third decade, is still considered a high honor to be nominated, and continues to be a hot commodity among musicians. Apparently the show is so prestigious, that it doesn’t offer free tickets to the directors of the very videos it’s nominated. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
MTV gets a lot of slack for its reality shows, as they all seem to be ridiculous, regurgitated, garbage. There are currently three different versions of, "Teen Mom" running on the channel, as well as, some completely terrible scripted shows (here’s looking at you Scream). Dating shows like, "NEXT" and "Parental Control," play after school instead of MTV classic "TRL."
We all remember the good old days when MTV played music videos and just, you know, provided interesting content. It’s been one of the leading forces in youth culture since before many of us were born, yet in the last 15 years it’s been slowly decomposing. Whether it be from all the corporate sponsorship, it’s been gleaning, or the bilge programming it puts out, MTV is on the way out.
The masses are angry and have a genuine right to be. Music television is what they promised us, and they’ve let us down. MTV is on its last leg. The VMA’s can’t support the outdated channel forever. It’s harder than ever to get a ticket, yet the ratings continue to drop.
The once acclaimed awards show, actually isn’t as prestigious as it once was. With hordes of teens refresh voting for their favorite artists and MTV taking large chunks of air time to premiere trailers for terrible action movies, the music really isn’t even a factor. Performances are still what lure fans in, to watch the show. Showstoppers like Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears have come to prove that controversy sells. The VMA’s tend to start heated conversations that dominate not only the media, but prove to have a transformative effect on youth culture.
MTV like any other company has the right to adapt to the market, but the iconic channel has completely forgotten its roots. Music centered shows are nonexistent on the channel. "Headbangers Ball," Yo! "MTV Raps," "TRL," and "Unplugged," introduced new artists and original performances. Music documentaries are seldom shown on the mother channel.
MTV does have a plethora of other channels in place to satisfy our music video needs including: MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTV U, and its foreign channels. The issue here is that it’s their flagship channel and it’s sold out. Why isn’t there a channel set aside specifically for its non-music programming? That makes more sense than bombarding a classic channel with shows that have nothing to do with music. Exclusive artist interviews, profiles, and one of a kind performances are what MTV needs.
The world has lost respect for MTV and they’ve missed out on so many amazing opportunities to better themselves as a company. Not far into the future, MTV will be begging people to come to the VMA’s. The award is no longer earned; it’s bought by teenagers with quick fingers.
