Watching The Sound
MTV Doesn’t Love You
On August 1st 1981 at 12:15 a.m. death came for the radio star like a Darwinian matter of fate. Smiling with guilt, the transgressor, a new broadcast channel with a 24-hour music format, mockingly launched its station with a confession of the crime, iniquitously playing The Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star.” The trailblazing music video, featuring Trevor Horn’s falsetto chiming and a backdrop of the moon mocking itself on the rippling water, was the catalyst for a new dimension in the music experience, MTV.
Lost in a world of coloring books and G.I. Joe’s, I wasn’t apart of the period in the 80’s when “I Want My MTV” became a collective militant uproar for a generation regrettably adorned with neon spandex, teased hair, and acid washed jeans. I do, however, clock in before the socially awkward MySpace crowd, so I hold a place in my heart for the MTV I once knew; guiding me through a clumsy adolescents with Bill Bellamy, Singled Out (with both Carmen Electra and Jenny McCarthy), both pre-and-post 2Pac and Biggie Yo! MTV Raps, and early TRL. Afflicted with Middle -America Syndrome, I never new of a plentiful music scene, so recycled rations of the top handful of major label artists seemed fairly exciting at the time.
Riding the music video wave, MTV became a media juggernaut. Now, nearly 26 years later, those who were once enthralled by the debut of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” can only mourn that deceptive “M” while it lingers as nothing more than a bitter reminder of a previous existence. The new content, lifestyle programming, exploits every kind of reality but conveniently requires little funding for the on-air talent; in turn, creating a buffet of eager teens salivating at the opportunity of being on the next cast of Real World. Consequently, the waning music video seemed destined for extinction from the mainstream.
The New Music Video – Take That MTV!
A few days ago, for the sake of this article, I decided to create a music video. Well, okay, not literally because (a) I don’t have video recording equipment and (b) I don’t have a band to record. The point is, the whole process has become so accessible that, on a fairly small budget, anyone can make a music video.
As a considerable percentage of independent artist are churning out videos, using outlets such as YouTube or MySpace can be limiting in exposure and have an overall lack of personality. It was only a matter of time before an MTV for the Internet emerged; a leader in such an innovation, MusicPlusTV is far more than a digitally broadcasted MTV-wannabe, as Marc Cubas CEO and Founder of MusicPlusTV explains, “My vision is broader than simply being an MTV for the internet; M+TV is basically media your way.” He continues, “With M+ the user is king, it’s 2007 and people want content on demand, so we’ve revolutionized the discovery process.” MusicPlusTV originated out of need, “Independent artists simply weren’t getting the media coverage they deserve; these artists were creating amazing videos but the MTVs and VH1s weren’t there.”
Cubas’s broadcast site, however, serves a much broader function than could have been imagined with using traditional forms of broadcast. As we enter the age where interest is generated by peer recommendations, the recent implementation of a social networking system now allows M+ to become a content-sharing community. Christina Martin, of MusicPlusTV Strategic Relations, offers a summation of the emerging site, “As a leader of new media, MusicPlusTV essentially combines the best elements of MySpace’s online community, YouTube’s video capabilities, and MTV’s music videos.” The most intriguing aspect of this new video outlet is its adaptive and progressive nature, as Martin describes, “”The future of M+TV lies in platform convergence. As TV, the Internet and mobile devices increasingly converge and all content becomes accessible across all platforms seamlessly, companies like M+TV stand to grow explosively and emerge as one of the leaders within the new landscape.”
Let’s Not Limit Ourselves
Live music will always be the ideal way to experience music - when a band extends your favorite track with an 8 minutes impromptu jam session, its impossible not to get lost in that moment. Coming in a distant second to the live show experience, television broadcast performances will bring you much closer to the music than your iPod ever can. The only problem is where do you find such a thing? Beyond the mainstream acts that are found on late night talk and sketch comedy shows, live music on television is also becoming a dieing breed. For those artists who aren’t backed with the clout of a major label, there are still avenues, though sparse, to be seen and heard.
Fearless TV, a weekly syndicated program airing on the Fox network, is one such outlet leading in the live music reclamation. Jamie Lamm, founder and host of Fearless TV, describes his decision to give up his pursuit as a performing musician to launch the show, “I’m just a real fan of music, and I really enjoy and having bands come in; I just want to be a fly on the wall watching a band do a great performance. For too long there hasn’t been any real music outlet for live performances, of course there are outlets for a more established band, like Coldplay, but nothing for those emerging artists.” He continues, “I began as a touring musician but I realized I could do better as a studio composer, which led into to the creation of Fearless studio. Eventually, I took all the assets from my previous work and experience and put it into the show.”
With his ear to the ground, Lamm and his dedicated staff have been fortunate enough to host several acts just before their breakout success, as he explains,
“K.T. Tunstall was on the show a good year before Cherry Tree was a blow up hit, and likewise, Imogean Heap played for Fearless TV a few months before she began hitting the masses and a full year before any TV performances.”
Each week a new band rocks the stage, and as its popularity increases so does its magnitude; beginning as a humble cable access program, the show now reaches nearly 38 million homes. In September, it will be moving up from the 1 a.m. slot to 12:30 a.m. showing signs that the growth is only likely to continue.
We’ve Come A Long Way
There will never be another Rolling Stones or Beatles, just like there will never be another Cheers; we have too many other distractions competing for our attention. It becomes impossible to ever recreate the same large-scale audiences that came during the pinnacle of mass-media culture. With this new niche-media lifestyle, it wouldn’t be shocking if MTV begins to lose its luster sometime in the next 10-20 years, while conversely, the music video and television performances may nestle themselves as a permanent part of the niche world.
