The Converging of Cultures: MTV & YouTube (Part 2)

Kyle Bylin, Associate Editor

Total Request Dies

The millennium passed without any widespread or serious computer issues and in the spring of the year, the countdown reached its peak and had become a very recognizable pop culture icon.  Over the next couple of years, the show took on a few evolutionary changes, but it retained it status.  With the realization that the show had already reached the apex of its growth and Carson hatched a plan to use his accumulated star power and connections to fuel the potential of his own late night show. 

Weaving through the gauntlet of other attention stretching entertainment, TRL celebrated its 1,000th episode in October.  Carson’s appearances on the show occurred gradually less and less, finally leading to him stepping down as the shows legendary host and VJ.  With the loss of its icon, the rise of computer and media technologies, and online venues for watching music videos, the completion for viewership was stronger and would begin to dwindle more and more.

YouTube launched in 2005 and offered the ability to play music videos without interruption by hosts or advertising.  In turn, it made the standard waiting period that built the anticipation to see a music video obsolete.  Prior to that, if you wanted to watch video online there were the tech geeks in IRC-based groups, the website iFilm, Napster downloads, and Yahoo! Music.  The ability to demand videos online took the very kids who may have patiently recorded videos on their VCR and taught them that the whole concept of waiting should not exist.

The New York Daily News was one of the first outlets in 2007 to publish the rumor that the ratings-challenged TRL faced cancelation.  The pop culture tycoon had then been slimmed down to an average of 373,000 viewers that regularly watched the program.  Its producers continued to experiment with web-based viewer interaction throughout the season, but it failed to catch the attention that it sought out.  In September of 2008, MTV officially announced its plans for TRL’s cancelation and on November 13, 2008, the final regular weekday episode aired.

Old and New Media Collide

With its original purpose of playing music videos 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, MTV revolutionized the music industry.  As the popularity of the channel rose, the careers of the artists it featured came along for the ride.  As early as 1983, MTV had given into becoming a promotional pawn and accusations elevated that it was devaluing the importance of music.  Record companies fed the channel with commercial culture and it found ways to make it popular.  For a variety of reasons, this in turn, overtime, has caused people develop a strong desire for music that is real, authentic, and meaningful.

YouTube brought forth the converging of cultures and created an environment where grassroots and corporate media collided, which had a profound effect on the viewing of music videos.  For artists like Ok Go, Bo Burham, and Sick Puppies they competed for attention on the same stage as The MTV nurtured Avril Lavigne and Rihanna, as well as the Disney created Miley Cyrus and Jonas Brothers.  The addition of these grassroots artists emulated the authenticity that MTV lost over the years and created a counterculture where music succeeded on its own terms.

A corporate music video is produced with the intent of being seen by the masses on television and has entertainment value built into the final product.  Whereas those who produce a grass roots video have the desire of a handful of people seeing them on YouTube and the entertainment value of the product is based solely on what performer themselves believes is entertaining.  Therefore, when they are sitting in their bedroom in front of a webcam performing, they are playing for no one at the time and potentially ‘everyone’ once they upload the captured performance to YouTube. However, what I am left asking myself is, “To what degree does this so-called ‘authenticity’ exist and why?”

Read Part One & Three