MTV - channels being put out of their misery.

[NancyJohnson]

Yeah, I know MTV hasn't really been about music for several decades.

 

Half a dozen MTV channels being pulled off the air across Europe end of December.  MTV has been more about reality TV shows than music for some time, for me, no great loss, but I do have fond memories of Headbangers and Ray Cokes.

[LowB_FTW]

Headbangers Ball. That's a bit of a blast from the past. Presented by someone called Vanessa, if I recall correctly.

Also Ray Cokes. He was great doing that Most Wanted segment.

I have fond memories of watching MTV when it was actually a music channel. I started to watch that Real World show they started and at that point I started to drift away from the channel. You could see where it was heading.

 

Mark

[cetera]

15 hours ago, LowB_FTW said:

Headbangers Ball. That's a bit of a blast from the past. Presented by someone called Vanessa, if I recall correctly.

 

Yep, Vanessa Warwick. She was married to Ricky Warwick of The Almighty at the time.

[NancyJohnson]

Ray Cokes just posted to Facebook about the closure:

 

A lot has been said in recent days about the end of MTV. Although I of course feel for those who have lost their jobs at the company, I do think that this death of MTV as the end of an era has been slightly exaggerated. For me, MTV – the pure original Music Television – died a long time ago, perhaps as far back as the year 2000. For a long time now, music videos had been replaced by mindless reality shows and MTV no longer meant what it used to mean. However, I'm proud to have been a part of the revolution back then and shall be eternally grateful for my time spent there (some of the best years of my life) and the everlasting career it gave me in subsequent years, as well as the lifelong friendships forged in those heady, exciting days.

 

Now, to the future. We all know that times have changed and we no longer get our music fix from television, preferring instead to watch what we want, when we want. As most of this viewing is done on YouTube, I have an idea for a future where those who enjoy curated musical suggestions, as well as those artists who appreciate (and need) the exposure, could satisfy their needs. What if YouTube started to offer a monthly paid license fee to online creators so that we could actually host a music show on their platform without being demonetised or suffering the dreaded copyright strike? A reasonable fee that would be shared between the record company and the artist, as well as Google naturally taking a piece of the pie. I for one would be so inspired to broadcast a weekly show that featured music videos and live interviews with the bands.

 

There will of course be those who will pick apart this idea and tell me why it wouldn’t work; record companies who hate the idea of creators making (small) money off the back of their artists (although they already sold them out to the streamers) and others who will just tell me I’m an out of touch boomer or whatever. Bring it on. I don’t mind. It’s just an idea after all, and as I still meet so many people who miss the concept of MTV, as well as artists who bemoan the fact that there are hardly any outlets to promote their music these days, I still think it’s worth considering.

 

Perhaps I’ll see you one day on Most Wanted 2.0. Until then, you can always hear my curated music on radioeins in Berlin, live between 21.00 and 23.00 CET every Saturday evening. On the radio, on the radioeins app or online at radioeins.de

 

Thanks as always for your time and your never-ending positivity, love and support towards me and my work.

It’s crap but I love it!

 

 

[fretmeister]

MTV and Kerrang TV were on all the time in my house.

 

I miss when they were music channels - programming by other people is a good way of discovering new stuff rather than just me picking things I already know about. Just like the R1 Friday Rock Show years before. Used to get a cassette out and record it from the radio.

 

Happy days!

[Owen]

Snap for the FNRS. How else would I have discovered The Dixie Dregs?