Music and television are two of my biggest passions in life. Combine the two and you get Music Television, in other words: MTV. In middle school and high school, I always admired MTV, as it was in the 1980s through the early 2000s, because they showcased all the up-and-coming artists and really made an effort to highlight the diversity of music and pop culture, especially as hip-hop became popular in the late '80s and early '90s. I was in awe at how the musicians prevalent on MTV in the 1990s were so out of the box and original, a quality that I do not see that much in today's artists.
Shows like Yo! MTV Raps, TRL, and MTV Unplugged allowed the viewer to see the artists up close and personal and give a glimpse at the person behind the music. Reality television also found its start on MTV, with shows like The Real World. Through exploring the music of the 1980s through the 2000s, I discovered my love of music videos, which were a central part of MTV's platform. MTV always had all the exciting music videos. Artists like Michael and Janet Jackson, Madonna, U2, and Beyoncé always had exciting visuals. Videos would premier on shows like TRL and rise up the charts. However, as the 2000s turned into the 2010s, shows like Yo! MTV Raps and TRL went off the air and were not replaced by anything comparable at all.
MTV became all about reality shows in an attempt to boost ratings and generate profit. However, quality programming was lost in the process. As the 2010s progressed, MTV's viewership continued to drop. By the time I was in college, I could even tell a difference in the quality of the long running MTV Video Music Awards. What I do know is that there needs to be a return to quality music programming on networks revolving around music and pop culture, such as MTV, VH1, and BET. BET does not even have 106 & Park anymore. I know the popularity of the show declined as a result of the change in hosts but what 106 & Park did was to let urban youth see what the new and hottest R&B and Hip Hop was. There has not been a show like it to replace 106 & Park since it went off the air in 2014.
TRL did, in fact, make a return to MTV in 2017, expanding to a morning, afternoon, and late night format. The morning Total Request A.M. show will be a commercial-free nonstop music hour with a music countdown and live performances. As a Communication major interested in entertainment news journalism, I would love the opportunity to interview artists and introduce the latest music on a television show like TRL or BET. I feel that it is important for American culture to have television shows that showcase what is popular in today's music and who the rising artists are.
Shows like TRL and BET played an important role by providing a platform for artists to let America know who they are and what they have to offer the industry. Without these easy access shows, music consumers are left to find out about new artists through their own volition. This process has been facilitated through the advent of streaming platforms such as Spotify and SoundCloud. However, these platforms do not provide the same feeling as seeing your favorite artist drop their new video on TRL or performing in front of a live studio audience. I would love to be able to bring this type of entertainment back to television screens for the 2020s. The blueprint that was laid out for the way we receive music, created by MTV in the 1980s, must continue.
