The MTV Video Music Awards: Does Anybody Still Care?

[TMC1982]

When I was growing up, the VMAs were a really big deal for me. I would get more excited for the VMAs than say more established award shows like the Grammys or American Music Awards. What made the VMAs so appealing was that it was perfect counter-culture with his near guerilla style production. But now, the VMAs are coming up this Sunday, and I don't really have the passion to watch now.

They're having Britney Spears open up the show, but the fact of the matter is that MTV is pretty much trying to exploit her "train wreck" of a life (as opposed to her music). It's not like 1999, 2000, 2001 in which having Britney on your show automatically gave you credibility in the star power department.

The music industry itself, I fear has been sort of on a decline in recent years. What that's the case, I don't know (that's a debate within itself). But when the industry is allowing Paris Hilton or Kevin Federline for instance, release records, then something is incredibly wrong.

What really killed the VMAs for me are several factors:
*Moving the show back a month. Up until 2002, the VMAs had always been on the first Thursday of September. Instead, it was on the last Sunday in August and now, the second Sunday of September I believe.

*Giving awards to people based more on fitting the "MTV Image" rather than their artistic merit. The VMAs lost a ton of credibility in my eyes, when they gave "Lady Marmalade" (Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil' Kim, Mya, Missy Elliot, etc.) the award for Best Video of the Year over "Weapon of Choice" by Fat Boy Slim.

*MTV's continued indifference to video airplay on their own channel. What's the point of getting invested into a program honoring music videos, when the network that's airing the program is more interested in airing "The Hills?"

*Changing the production approach around 2002, when they decided to shoot it at a slower frame rate (to make it look as if it's shot on film instead of video tape).

*The Britney/Madonna kiss from 2003 - It became apparent that the VMAs' trademark "unpredictability factor" stop feeling organic. Instead, it became more obvious that the artists were fully invested in their own agendas.

[StoneGold]

No, but we're overwhelmingly male nerds over the age of 18. Not exactly the target demographic.

[Scorpion13]

Good God, has anyone cared about these for the past 15 years?

[StoneGold]

Good God, has anyone cared about these for the past 15 years?

Yes. Teenage girls.

[Scorpion13]

Yes. Teenage girls.

Well, I guess if you cant get enough of The Wayans Brothers tired schitck and Ben Stiller's played out hackery, then you could certainly do alot worse.

Makes me wish Keenan Ivory Wayans would get more involved with things nowadays. In Living Color was brilliant (the first 2 seasons, anyway).

[The Zapper]

I used to look forward to them. That was a very long time ago though.

[blackdragon6]

i stopped caring about the vma's when i heard they started covertly blacklisting artists,likewise with BET...not on the award show mind you but blacklisted from their music block.

[The Zapper]

i stopped caring about the vma's when i heard they started covertly blacklisting artists,likewise with BET...not on the award show mind you but blacklisted from their music block.

I haven't paid attention to MTV in years, but I'm curious about this. Can you tell me what happened or put a link up or something?

[Christopher Cross Is God]

The music industry itself, I fear has been sort of on a decline in recent years. What that's the case, I don't know (that's a debate within itself). But when the industry is allowing Paris Hilton or Kevin Federline for instance, release records, then something is incredibly wrong.

As opposed to when the music industry allowed Eddie Murphy & William Shatner to release records?

Not that I agree or disagree with your post, just wanted to point out the Paris Hilton/Kevin Federline thing isn't new.

[Young Avenger]

MTV still does the VMAs? Seriously, I thought they stopped doing these shows

[Titan76]

The last time I watch the VMAs I think was in 2002 or 2003. One of the things I hate most about the show now is that its no longer live anymore. Its tape, edit, and then shown later in the day. Not to mention MTV seems to only show videos now on TRL which I hate with a passion. They should change their name to RTV(Reality Television) because the only thing they seem to play are reality shows rather then music videos. I just go to Youtube now to watch music videos.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

The ones Chris Rock hosted in 1999 and 2003 were decent. He REALLY got on Timberlake's case in 03 and I was laughing SO HARD with how blunt he was being with the insults. I loved it. Edited or not, when someone like Paris gets booed, they keep in there. I'll be at work when it comes on tonight but I'll record it to see if Britney botches and to see what cracks off with Megan Fox and others.

[The Mutt]

They still show music videos on MTV? Really?

I absolutely despise MTV and the VMA, because they introduced, and made acceptable, the idea of people cat-calling and shouting-out from the crowd at award shows. It has started to infest other award shows and it is the worst thing to happen to showbiz since TV talk shows inspired the vile notion of clapping for punchlines that didn't get laughs. (I blame you for that one, Leno. Burn in hell, you Dorito-shilling hack!")

[Titan76]

I absolutely despise MTV and the VMA, because they introduced, and made acceptable, the idea of people cat-calling and shouting-out from the crowd at award shows. It has started to infest other award shows
That's actually one of the things I like about the VMA is that they have real fans in the front row given some life and energy to the show.

Unlike say the Oscars where everyone is a robot with no emotions until they get their award and then you want to shoot them because their speeches suck and take too long.

It has started to infest other award shows and it is the worst thing to happen to showbiz since TV talk shows inspired the vile notion of clapping for punchlines that didn't get laughs. (I blame you for that one, Leno. Burn in hell, you Dorito-shilling hack!")
It has? Can you give some examples of this because I can't think of any.

[The Mutt]

It has started to infest other award shows
That's actually one of the things I like about the VMA is that they have real fans in the front row given some life and energy to the show.

Unlike say the Oscars where everyone is a robot with no emotions until they get their award and then you want to shoot them because their speeches suck and take too long.


It has? Can you give some examples of this because I can't think of any.

Do you mean the clapping? Just watch any of the latenight talk shows. If they laugh, they clap. If they don't laugh, they clap. It is destroying comic timing for a whole generation.

The only award show I haven't heard catcalling and wooing at yet is the Oscars.

And let me say this about the Oscars; It's not our party. We just get to watch. I hate hate hate the idea that a brilliant and hard-working artist can work decades to get to the Oscar stage to accept the accolades of his peers, just to be played off like a car saleman at a Rotary Club dinner if they talk for more than 90 seconds. I would absolutely love it if one of them turned to the band director and said, "You know what? Screw you. This is my time. This is our time. You want to shill Nacho Belle Grandes to the masses, do it on your own fucking time."

[Titan76]

Do you mean the clapping? Just watch any of the latenight talk shows. If they laugh, they clap. If they don't laugh, they clap. It is destroying comic timing for a whole generation.
You do realize for late night talk shows this has been going on for like ever. They suppose to laugh at the guy's jokes and if they don't they still show their respect by clapping rather then booing him.
The only award show I haven't heard catcalling and wooing at yet is the Oscars.
Well it might just be me but I have yet to hear it at the American Music Awards, People's Choice, Golden Globes, etc.

And let me say this about the Oscars; It's not our party. We just get to watch. I hate hate hate the idea that a brilliant and hard-working artist can work decades to get to the Oscar stage to accept the accolades of his peers, just to be played off like a car saleman at a Rotary Club dinner if they talk for more than 90 seconds. I would absolutely love it if one of them turned to the band director and said, "You know what? Screw you. This is my time. This is our time. You want to shill Nacho Belle Grandes to the masses, do it on your own fucking time."
For someone who watches the Oscars it seems all the time you don't remember celebs like Julia Roberts telling the producers(or who ever they are) while on stage that they are done yet and are not going anywhere until they are done.

Then their's the producer for Lord of the Rings who made a 10 min speech on people he wanted to thank.

[DDM]

Since 2002, the VMA's are losing audiences. MTV stated that this year's VMA will only air once & not be aired again since no one is tuning in for the ridiculous awards show.

The VMA's have lost relevance precisely due to the fact the main MTV station airs videos only in the mornings & sometimes--but not all--in the afternoons with their teeny bopper show, TRL (which has also lost its audience); afterwards, it is a free-for-all of reality programming.

If MTV were to remain true to its transfigured self, it would make the Reality MTV Awards, but this show would lack any cache the VMA's supposedly possess.

MTV is going to revamp its line-up once more, but I expect more reality programming trash.

[jesse_custer]

The biggest problem is music videos themselves: in general, they're not that interesting anymore. Instead, most of them try to fit the MTV image. What decadence, so-called artists conforming to expectations of a network that brought about "Pimp My Ride."

[blackdragon6]

Can you tell me what happened or put a link up or something?well the rapper mos def from my understanding is banned from mtv.and Janet Jackson was also banned because of the whole boob thing. but get this they still more or less support Justin Timberlake :rolleyes: .they also tend to shun metal bands,and hardcore rappers.they're especially more hostile to rappers with socio-political undertones in their videos. mtv however is a much lesser evil compared to its black counterpart.BET is waaaay more biased,and selective when it comes to music.especially when it concerns getting on their top 10 countdown.

for instance a favorite group of mines called bone-thugs-n-harmony has a hard time getting on their top 10 countdown despite having a fansite thats 80,000+ strong.we managed to get them to number 10 on TRL but never could get them on bet for whatever reason.but the next day they premiered a video by pretty ricky and it showed up on the countdown the next day =/.that just screams debotchary

also bet has a list of old and new artists that they banned from bet.cause they said they were either "irrelevant" or too "intelligent" for their audiences. good example of this is when they would only play dead prez after hours on a program called "un-cut" (which no longer airs).this and a whole shit load of other things thats been said about the network by past video programmers/producers.

[ultramandingo]

......... dang ! i remembre watching " rock and roll high school " on mtv back in 82 ish . its pretty much sucked since then

[Frodo-X]

I think the VMAs stopped mattering when they stopped showing the videos that they're supposed to be awarding them to.

"And the winner is...A video you may have seen at 3:00 AM on VH1!"

[Christopher Cross Is God]

Thanks for the reply Blackdragon6. I have written two long responses that both got eaten by the boards, so I'll just say I agree with a lot of what your saying.

How'd it get eaten by the boards?

I ask because I tend to get irritating problems when browsing this message board.

Either internet explorer just disappears, and I have to re-open it from scratch, or I get some "Virtual Debug" error message (Something like that) which doesn't allow me to do anything unless I click on "retry" or "abort"......Of course, doing such closes the screen, and I have to start over.

It's a real bitch when I've been typing something out and one of those two situations occur.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

And to the shock of no one.... Britney's performance gets laughed at by many in attendance. What a comeback....horrible performance of someone who can no longer look like she was 18 , trying to do that same image and no Chris Angel to make the performance.

In fact Chris Brown topped it all. His song may not be something I remembered but he put on a f-cking showcase.

[Athena Bast]

And to the shock of no one.... Britney's performance gets laughed at by many in attendance. What a comeback....horrible performance of someone who can no longer look like she was 18 , trying to do that same image and no Chris Angel to make the performance.

In fact Chris Brown topped it all. His song may not be something I remembered but he put on a f-cking showcase.

Holy crap.. I just caught some of the streaming video on MTV.ca

Her "performance" was just awful.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Holy crap.. I just caught some of the streaming video on MTV.ca

Her "performance" was just awful.

The people in attendance were in shock. I mean did you see their faces and all ? Its like they didn't wanna laugh (2 women did put their heads down and whisper to laugh about it) but applauded. If thats her return its sad.

[Murrocko]

What's this thing about Kid Rock vs Tommy Lee?


Love Timberlake and the video comments.

[StoneGold]

Do you mean the clapping? Just watch any of the latenight talk shows. If they laugh, they clap. If they don't laugh, they clap. It is destroying comic timing for a whole generation.

The only award show I haven't heard catcalling and wooing at yet is the Oscars.

And let me say this about the Oscars; It's not our party. We just get to watch. I hate hate hate the idea that a brilliant and hard-working artist can work decades to get to the Oscar stage to accept the accolades of his peers, just to be played off like a car saleman at a Rotary Club dinner if they talk for more than 90 seconds. I would absolutely love it if one of them turned to the band director and said, "You know what? Screw you. This is my time. This is our time. You want to shill Nacho Belle Grandes to the masses, do it on your own fucking time."

And then I'd say "no, screw you, I want this thing to be over with already."


Well, no I wouldn't, I haven't watched them in probably at least a decade. But it's a variety show with gold statues handed out, not the Nobel prizes. It's people getting awards for pretending to be retarded. And I mean that literally. Rain Man and stuff.

[mattx110]

What's this thing about Kid Rock vs Tommy Lee?


Love Timberlake and the video comments.

yea. former member of nsync shouldn't have to ask for mtv to do what it's supposed to do.
it's so weird that he's not a crazy bastard given he's been in showbusiness since he was a kid, and never taken a break.
and that he's famous despite being talented and hiring mass amounts of people who know what they're doing... really, just a crazy concept in this day and age.

[master of read]

my god, brittney's performance sucked monkey balls.

she had 1000 backup dancers and they all danced better than her.

[mgs]

I don't know what seems like a bigger waste of time. The MTV VMA's or those 'concerts' that Nickelodeon puts on for newcomer teeny groups that perform for preteenies. ugh.

[rilokyle]

The VMAs and MTV are officially 6 feet under. If this show was any indication, things do bode well for the network and its once signature award show. It was so boring! Everyone lipsynched, and the performances were dull and uninspired. I was excited for the Tim/Justin/Nelly finale, but it ended so prematurely. They came together for 30 seconds and they're shouting "Say 'hey' y'all!" and all of a sudden the music stops out of the blue and Timbaland yells awkardly "That's it yo. Seriously. We're done."

Rihanna and Justin were some saving grace, and Chris Brown's dancing was hot, but other than that was anybody who watched moved and entertained? I wasn't. And neither were any of the my friends for that matter. It was boring, dull, and also the longest 2 hours ever.

And don't even mention Britney's "performance." She couldn't be bothered to even try to lipsynch, and she looked like she was just going through the motions, looking confused and lost in her oh so complex "dancing" which was really just her walking and shaking her out of shape body in stripper clothes. She could have done something so much better, but instead we got stuck watching one trainwreck of a performance.

So much for MTV trying to rejuvenate their ratings with this dying show. If this didn't kill the VMAs once and for all, then pigs really do fly.

[The Mutt]

if you thought Kanye couldn't say anything dumber:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070910/ap_en_tv/mtv_awards_kanye_west;_ylt=An8i_fCj.AY325XfGL0S81D K.nQA

[blackdragon6]

if you thought Kanye couldn't say anything dumber:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070910/ap_en_tv/mtv_awards_kanye_west;_ylt=An8i_fCj.AY325XfGL0S81D K.nQAhe's right he got shafted....what was the first dumb thing he said btw??

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Britney's performance was G A R B A G E. Wow...she has really slowed down. Didn't look out of shape but came off slow compared to everyone else. Alica Keys? Ratings. Rihanna? Ratings. Kenye West? Ratings. Sarah Silverman bashing everyone and Jaime Foxx going wild with Jennifer Garner about the Tommy/Kid Rock fight was HILARIOUS. Oh yeah...I want to see Megan Fox everyday for the rest of 2007. That's all.

[KenK]

he's right he got shafted....what was the first dumb thing he said btw??

Who did he lose against?

[Jared]

he's right he got shafted....what was the first dumb thing he said btw??

The man whines and disrespects the winners every time he loses out for an award.

Kid Rock and Tommy Lee had a fight backstage? Over what, Pamela? Have they looked at her recently?! She's not worth it.

I skimmed through the clip of Britney's appearance The only way it could have been worse is if the CD had skipped. She's never been a singer, but at least she used to dance pretty well. Her people are already blaming it on Sarah Silverman, saying that Britney took such offense to her jokes in rehearsal that that she lost the will to perform. If she started a show like that in front of anyone but an industry crowd on national TV, she'd be booed off the stage.

Although the VMAs are completely dead in terms of relevance, I'm sure they'll keep propping up the corpse for a few more years like some pathetic Weekend at Bernie's sequel. I agree that the Britney Madonna kiss pretty much spelled the end. It was talked about for at least a week before it happened. So much so that when they did, not only did it seem prepackaged, it was underwhelming.

I keep hoping that one day some A-list artist will bash MTV on live air for not being a music channel. Just imagine somebody like Justin Timberlake grabbing the mic on TRL and telling it like it is until they cut. It's not like he needs the channel's support, such as it is, anymore. If it weren't for Youtube I doubt the record studios would even spend the money on videos anymore.

On a happier note, Rihanna looked jaw-dropping. Too good to be wasting her time and energy at such a tired event.

[DDM]

I keep hoping that one day some A-list artist will bash MTV on live air for not being a music channel.

Siouxsie has been bashing MTV for years!

[Fatguy]

Seriously, the question isnt if anybody cares about the VMA's, its if anybody still gives a crap about MTV in general anymore.

Granted, I'm 26 with a family now, not exactly the key demograph, but it seems that the "youth" of America couldnt care less either. I know its been said before, but the damn station doesnt even SUPPORT music anymore. Its just a bunch of trash programming aimed at bitchy 16 year old girls. Channels like Fuse and G4 have taken on the audience that MTV has fallen out of touch with.

Glad to see "Music" Television still imploding.

[The Zapper]

How'd it get eaten by the boards?

I ask because I tend to get irritating problems when browsing this message board.

Either internet explorer just disappears, and I have to re-open it from scratch, or I get some "Virtual Debug" error message (Something like that) which doesn't allow me to do anything unless I click on "retry" or "abort"......Of course, doing such closes the screen, and I have to start over.

It's a real bitch when I've been typing something out and one of those two situations occur.

I don't know. If you look, you'll see that my post get eaten or deleted again. It seems to happen to me almost exclusively on the TV/Film board in the last 6 weeks or so.

[titanfan]

As others have said--we aren't the target demographic anymore. MTV's strategy has always keep their demographic young. They've been known to cancel hit shows just because the demographic watching was too old than what they wanted to attract.

Remember that in today's digital age, kids don't really need MTV to watch music videos anymore. A lot of the stuff they have is available online. I don't blame MTV from going away from this strategy even more.

[Titan76]

I don't blame MTV from going away from this strategy even more.
This strategy though is costing them ratings. All their shows are down in ratings and the VMA's ratings use to average 12 million each year. Last year it got 5 million which was down from 8 million the year before that. I believe it will mostly likely go down even more this year.

[KenK]

This strategy though is costing them ratings. All their shows are down in ratings and the VMA's ratings use to average 12 million each year. Last year it got 5 million which was down from 8 million the year before that. I believe it will mostly likely go down even more this year.

Yeah, if it's evident the "strategy" isn't working, they need to do something else. And what sucks is their commercials seem to blatantly revel in immaturity and obnoxiousness. They've got an animated character comprised of PUBIC HAIR!! There's a difference between targeting a young demographic, and being so unapologetically juvenile for no good reason.

[Black Atom]

VH1 seems to have found a nice niche with 30-somethings by reveling in pop culture from the 80s. MTV has the harder job of constantly trying to stay relevant to youth culture with an ever-decreasing attention span.

[DDM]

Yeah, if it's evident the "strategy" isn't working, they need to do something else. And what sucks is their commercials seem to blatantly revel in immaturity and obnoxiousness. They've got an animated character comprised of PUBIC HAIR!! There's a difference between targeting a young demographic, and being so unapologetically juvenile for no good reason.

MTV seems to believe being a rebel that one has to be immature & obnoxious. I have somehow missed the animated character made of pubic hair, & I am glad I did.

This strategy though is costing them ratings. All their shows are down in ratings and the VMA's ratings use to average 12 million each year. Last year it got 5 million which was down from 8 million the year before that. I believe it will mostly likely go down even more this year.

I think part of the problem is MTV is too self-aware of its own history & the station is also showing its age; therefore, instead of tapping into the youth audience, MTV is actually behind the trends & trying desperately to stay ahead of things. But how can a station mired in mediocrity & stagnation stay ahead of trends or even cause new trends when MTV has been a follower instead of a leader? Followers never lead. That is their nature.

The ever perplexing explosion of reality programming also has crippled MTV, although many of these shows are successful.

What does My Super Sweet 16, Real World, Road Rules, & all the stupid Spring Break specials have to do with music? Nothing.

MTV has lost its center. The worst part is MTV does not seem aware of their problem.

[DDM]

I don't know what seems like a bigger waste of time. The MTV VMA's or those 'concerts' that Nickelodeon puts on for newcomer teeny groups that perform for preteenies. ugh.

Viacom own both Nickelodeon & MTV.

[DDM]

he's right he got shafted....what was the first dumb thing he said btw??

He got shafted by MTV. Really, it does not mean much.

[DDM]

How'd it get eaten by the boards?

I ask because I tend to get irritating problems when browsing this message board.

Either internet explorer just disappears, and I have to re-open it from scratch, or I get some "Virtual Debug" error message (Something like that) which doesn't allow me to do anything unless I click on "retry" or "abort"......Of course, doing such closes the screen, and I have to start over.

It's a real bitch when I've been typing something out and one of those two situations occur.

I don't know. If you look, you'll see that my post get eaten or deleted again. It seems to happen to me almost exclusively on the TV/Film board in the last 6 weeks or so.

Y'all might want to run your virus scan program to see if you have any hidden trojan horses on your system. If this does not work, delete your cookies in your IE.

[Jamal]

well the rapper mos def from my understanding is banned from mtv.and Janet Jackson was also banned because of the whole boob thing. but get this they still more or less support Justin Timberlake :rolleyes: .they also tend to shun metal bands,and hardcore rappers.they're especially more hostile to rappers with socio-political undertones in their videos. mtv however is a much lesser evil compared to its black counterpart.BET is waaaay more biased,and selective when it comes to music.especially when it concerns getting on their top 10 countdown.

for instance a favorite group of mines called bone-thugs-n-harmony has a hard time getting on their top 10 countdown despite having a fansite thats 80,000+ strong.we managed to get them to number 10 on TRL but never could get them on bet for whatever reason.but the next day they premiered a video by pretty ricky and it showed up on the countdown the next day =/.that just screams debotchary

also bet has a list of old and new artists that they banned from bet.cause they said they were either "irrelevant" or too "intelligent" for their audiences. good example of this is when they would only play dead prez after hours on a program called "un-cut" (which no longer airs).this and a whole shit load of other things thats been said about the network by past video programmers/producers.

You may already know this but MTV owns BET. They bought them out then started banning and or not playing videos of artist that didn't fit the mtv mold. They also got rid of "Un-Cut" ( which was a hold over from the old BET ) because a lot of viewer were tuning in to see those old/new artist they could see any were else and taking away viewer from shows like MTV Jams. Another trick they use is they censor the videos more on BET than they do other MTV shows. If you don't believe me watch the same videos from both channels and compare.

As for the VMA they've sucks for the past 5 years and didn't expect them to get any better and I honestly think that Britney heart isn't in it any more, but has looked so bad over the years that she's doing anything not to look like a laughing stock. Maybe now she'll call it quits and focus on repairing what's left of her life.

The only highlight of the show ( Between commercial breaks of Lords of Dogstown ) was with Dr. Dre coming out looking like a Pro-Wrestler. Dre looked like he could press 50 Cent with one hand...LOL
First 50, then Timberland, now Dr. Dre, Congress might have a hearing on Rapper and Roids next...:p :D

And last I'm not a Kid Rock fan but it sounds like Tommy Lee was asking for it, then to get backhanded and punched like in front of everybody...Damn!
When will the Rock on Rock violence end. :D

[mattx110]

VH1 seems to have found a nice niche with 30-somethings by reveling in pop culture from the 80s. MTV has the harder job of constantly trying to stay relevant to youth culture with an ever-decreasing attention span.

so... 30 somethings like shows about music, movies and tv shows from when they were a kid. 16 year olds like whiny?

i don't get it. at least vh1 is only 1 degree away from music at it's worst. but mtv, remember when real world and undressed were the oddity? and daria... and road rules... ok this started earlier than i thought. but at least daria had a supporting character who played music.

and what did mos def do to get banned from mtv? was it the theater work? i respect and enjoy maybe 5 rappers... and well, he's probably the brightest of them. and the random "quadruple threat" categories... it's like no musicians are involved in creating the categories to judge musicians. you'd think that'd be your number one resource.

[Royal]

Mos is banned cause he's true to the Four elements.

[Chase]

It's a shame the building, housing all of that 'talent', wasn't a giant rocket ship with a course straight into the sun.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

mtv however is a much lesser evil compared to its black counterpart.BET is waaaay more biased,and selective when it comes to music.especially when it concerns getting on their top 10 countdown.

for instance a favorite group of mines called bone-thugs-n-harmony has a hard time getting on their top 10 countdown despite having a fansite thats 80,000+ strong.we managed to get them to number 10 on TRL but never could get them on bet for whatever reason.but the next day they premiered a video by pretty ricky and it showed up on the countdown the next day =/.that just screams debotchary

also bet has a list of old and new artists that they banned from bet.cause they said they were either "irrelevant" or too "intelligent" for their audiences. good example of this is when they would only play dead prez after hours on a program called "un-cut" (which no longer airs).this and a whole shit load of other things thats been said about the network by past video programmers/producers.this is so true,106 & Park is so rigged.its almost in your face when it comes to being rigged.the rest about censorship and black listing is true as well.i'm just tired of the politics of it all.there was a time when you were a nobody and still got played on rap city.but now its completely different.:(

[DDM]

You may already know this but MTV owns BET.

MTV & BET are separate companies that are owned by Viacom.

[Jamal]

MTV & BET are separate companies that are owned by Viacom.

My bad, I should have said Viacom but the things I was saying are true.

[Michael P]

VH1 seems to have found a nice niche with 30-somethings by reveling in pop culture from the 80s. MTV has the harder job of constantly trying to stay relevant to youth culture with an ever-decreasing attention span.

And an ever-decreasing number of people on staff who know anything about youth culture.

[Black Atom]

And an ever-decreasing number of people on staff who know anything about youth culture.

Aye, that too.

[mattx110]

And an ever-decreasing number of people on staff who know anything about youth culture.

they're still MTV. they shouldn't be trying to figure out youth culture. just play videos and concerts and behind the musics... do what they advertise and the audience will come.

[StoneGold]

they're still MTV. they shouldn't be trying to figure out youth culture. just play videos and concerts and behind the musics... do what they advertise and the audience will come.

Except that's not really true. If it were, the niche channels that were doing that wouldn't be switching over to non-music content as well.

[Jared]

Mos is banned cause he's true to the Four elements.

I have no idea what that means. I do know that Mos Def is a rapper, but I've only seen him in movies. God, I'm so white.

[ultramandingo]

dead kennedys - mtv get off the air
frankenchrist 1985 (!!!!!)

hi
i'm your video dj
i always talk like i'm wigged out on quaaludes
i wear a satin baseball jacket everywhere i go

my job is to help destroy
what's left of your imagination
by feeding you endless doses
of sugar-coated mindless garbage

so don't create
be sedate
be a vegetable at home
and thwack on that dial
if we have our way even you will believe
this is the future of rock and roll...

how far will you go
how low will you stoop
to tranquilize our minds with your sugar-coated swill

you've turned rock and roll rebellion
into pat boone sedation
making sure there's nothing left of the imagination

m.t.v. get off the
m.t.v. get off the
m.t.v. get off the air
get off the air

see the latest rejects from the muppet show
wag their tits and their dicks
as they lip-sync on screen

there's something i don't like
about a band who always smiles
another tax write-off
for some schmuck who doesn't care

m.t.v. get off the air

and so it was
our beloved corporate gods
claimed they created rock video
allowing it to sink as low in one year
as commercial tv has in 25

"it's the new frontier," they say
it's wide open, anything can happen
but you've got a lot of nerve
to call yourself a pioneer
when you're too god-damn conservative
to take real chances

tin-eared
graph-paper brained accountants
instead of music fans
call all the shots at giant record companies now
the lowest common denominator rules

forget honesty
forget creativity
the dumbest buy the mostest
that's the name of the game

but sales are slumping
and no one will say why
could it be they put out
one too many lousy records?!?

m.t.v.--get off the air!
now!

.......nothing has changed

[Rattlehead]

Youtube is the place to go for music videos, new or old nowadays. MTV has to keep churning out "My Sweet 16" and The Real World 105, because showing videos these days won't cut it. Even FUSE has become dominated by non-music programming.

[Fatguy]

Oh man, I've been reading some interviews from Kanye West about the VMA's, and that dude couldnt possibly do more bitching. Its pathetic.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

Oh man, I've been reading some interviews from Kanye West about the VMA's, and that dude couldnt possibly do more bitching. Its pathetic.apparently his comments was taken out of context...

[Comic_Mobsta]

I know one former BET producer pretty much admitted the show 106 & Park is "rigged".After AJ and Free left the rigging became absolute.I'm not sure about TRL.i think they actually count their votes unlike BET....

heres a link...http://drewreports.com/Features/index.html

[Comic_Mobsta]

Another link http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=2018322178

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm0mEfL8S9s

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Oh man, I've been reading some interviews from Kanye West about the VMA's, and that dude couldnt possibly do more bitching. Its pathetic.

Nah..he was right. Kenye>Britney.

[Royal]

I have no idea what that means. I do know that Mos Def is a rapper, but I've only seen him in movies. God, I'm so white.

The Four Elements of Hip Hop:

Taggin
Breakin
MC
DJ

He isn't bullets, bitches and bling.

[Toreador]

A few people keep saying that go to the web or youtube for music videos. But have you seen those videos? Low quality and low resolution. Stage 6 is a little better but not terribly much.

[titanfan]

A few people keep saying that go to the web or youtube for music videos. But have you seen those videos? Low quality and low resolution. Stage 6 is a little better but not terribly much.

I dunno, I don't really have a problem with the video quality on MTV.com....(Yeah Youtube isn't that great in terms of resolution though)

[mattx110]

I have no idea what that means. I do know that Mos Def is a rapper, but I've only seen him in movies. God, I'm so white.

don't worry. his acting career stands up fine to his music career. and i thought royal mighta been a bit touched in the head when he went with "he's true to the four elements" answer... something planateer-y about it.

but i guess it makes sense. the image of "mainstream rapper" doesn't exactly fit a skinny guy who reads newspapers. plus he uses the f-word. none of that snazzy "i'm so goddamn cool i get to make up cursewords that little kids whose education credentials include calling school 'gay' like to use."

being white has nothing to do with anything. the idea of white people all being country club snobs who can't dance is just stupid. plenty of people of any background can't dance, so i'm allowed to suck at one thing. and i've never been near a country club or the game of golf.

[Fatguy]

Nah..he was right. Kenye>Britney.

Well, to be fair, Everybody > Britney, but that doesnt make it any less sad to see a grown man throw a fit that he isnt being showcased enough by a channel that doesnt care about the music anyways at a non legit award show. He even complained that they featured Justin over him for the finale. Not getting into who's more talented, 'cause I like neither, but clearly Justin is the one with the bigger fanbase, why WOULDNT mtv pick him over Kanye?

[I Must Break U]

to answer your question: NO

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Well, to be fair, Everybody > Britney, but that doesnt make it any less sad to see a grown man throw a fit that he isnt being showcased enough by a channel that doesnt care about the music anyways at a non legit award show. He even complained that they featured Justin over him for the finale. Not getting into who's more talented, 'cause I like neither, but clearly Justin is the one with the bigger fanbase, why WOULDNT mtv pick him over Kanye?

Kenye has only put what? Two albums until Tuesday? I wouldn't say Justin is a bigger artist. Carrie Underwood is bigger than both based on sales but you didn't see her anywhere near that show.

[HomerJay]

Oh man, I've been reading some interviews from Kanye West about the VMA's, and that dude couldnt possibly do more bitching. Its pathetic.
You don't care about black people.

Seriously, I'm not sure there's another person in music right now that takes himself as seriously as Kanye West.

[jesse_custer]

Kanye West is a joke reel. A very tiring joke reel that should be torn in half.

[Captain_Video]

You don't care about black people.

Seriously, I'm not sure there's another person in music right now that takes himself as seriously as Kanye West.

I like his style, the world of music needs a couple of good honest egotists to keep things interesting, be it Jagger, Bowie, Morrissey or Kanye West I love someone who is not going to be a bitch boy if only because it goes against his own ego and nepotism.

[jesse_custer]

I think Chris Rock's mockery of Kanye West is classic: "George Bush hates midgets."

[Black Atom]

Kanye's huge ego is part of the persona he's created. He makes fun of himself on his albums and videos.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

Kanye's huge ego is part of the persona he's created. He makes fun of himself on his albums and videos.basically....

[WeAreGoingToEatYou]

I like his style, the world of music needs a couple of good honest egotists to keep things interesting, be it Jagger, Bowie, Morrissey or Kanye West I love someone who is not going to be a bitch boy if only because it goes against his own ego and nepotism.

Please, don't ever compare David Bowie to Kanye West.

[Jared]

If there's one good thing to have come from Britney's debacle, it's the crazy fan's video on Youtube. I'm sure Best Week Ever and the Soup will be all over it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc

[The Mutt]

If there's one good thing to have come from Britney's debacle, it's the crazy fan's video on Youtube. I'm sure Best Week Ever and the Soup will be all over it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc

I love instant comedy. That was brilliant. This is even better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPbg75Q8Ss4