After the first airing of The Buggles' classic song Video Killed The Radio Star, the world of music changed radically. all the serious consequences are probably seen now. in 2006, when you switch on the MTV all you can see are the overrated, manufactured, voiceless teen pop idols and the mainstream indie fucks

 

was it really a good idea starting to broadcast music videos? what's the point of these music videos and MTV anyway, aside of commercial success, artificial and temporary popularity and more money?

 

artists like Bob Dylan or Neil Young were "killed" thank to invention of music videos. they never even had a chance to be commercialy successful after MTV has aired their first video.

 

but let's analyse the situation a bit

 

go back in the time till the 70s. there was no music videos. music artists worked hard to get appreciated and mostly they got rated by their music talent, song writing and instrument playing. people liked and appreciated their music. commercial success doesn't play a big role, obviously

 

after, we jump a bit in the time and go to the 90s.

MTV reaches the highest level in it's history. they are as popular as never before. the MTV made up pop stars are as popular as NOBODY has ever been since Elvis and The Beatles.

 

unfortunately, as i experience day to day, the growing up generation depends on TV, music videos, pop stars' opinions and the musical fashion. and i'm not even surprised if 8 of 10 people choose Razorlight and only the other 2 choose a real classic artist like Morissey/The Smiths for example.

 

what is music today anyway?

 

of course, you can always say it hangs on the musical taste, if you like artist a you might not like artist b, that's fine by me.

 

but what is more important now: the artists and their musical interests or the same artists and their commercial interests?

 

my opinion is clear and obvious: music video killed/killing the real music artists and there's absolutely no need of MTV and music videos and there was never

 

think about this when you watch your favorite video on MTV next time and think about all those artists who don't have a chance to get well-known and be mainstream, although they are probably not worse musically, moreover...

As I've said all along - don't watch videos.;)

I don't watch MTV for that very reason.

Man Nik you are really making me think with this question....I don't even know what to vote....

 

I really got to think about it because I find it interesting....so I hope I can post something about that soon...

Music videos are for bands which release singles, some bands I know don't release singles full-stop, so they have no need for music videos and go on by classical ways of word-by-mouth and live performances.

 

A lot of music videos these days are crap, but you get some classic videos.

Music videos are for bands which release singles, some bands I know don't release singles full-stop, so they have no need for music videos and go on by classical ways of word-by-mouth and live performances.

 

A lot of music videos these days are crap, but you get some classic videos.

 

many bands release singles without videos, it's not necessary to produce a video for the single. depends on the artist and heavily on the music industry. if they say "this and this and that are gonna be the singles and you'll have to make 3-4 videos for that album. if you won't do that, you won't get the contract", the bands don't really have many chances, do they?

 

can you imagine this situation? because i do.

 

unfortunately, the weight of videos and singles releases is very heavy in the 21st century. this situation would never happen 25-30 years ago, i guess. the power and the pressure of the music label is endless, probably

 

i'm not really blaming MTV, because i know it's cool and everything and of course there is a plenty of really good music videos, i just want to show the bad consequence of the MTV, because i think it turned out as it wasn't supposed to be

Music videos are very unnecessary, and to me ruin my own creative ideas that enter my head upon listening to a song by presenting a concrete interpretation (kinda like a movie version of a book)

The last time I watched MTV, it was showing endless repeats of rubbish music-related shows, I can't remember the last time I saw an actual video on MTV.

 

when i want to watch a video for a band, I search for it on youtube. Can't be arsed waiting around for it to come onto tv.

Well music vids can help a song , but i mean you can have this really bad artist that can make it big , coz they are good looking , and they have this stupid song that says nothing , thats what videos make at least that's what it think

Well music vids can help a song ' date=' but i mean you can have this really bad artist that can make it big[/quote']

 

e.g. Britney Spears. Her career was basically built on the back of the "Hit Me Baby" video.;)

^^ Right

I think the usefulness of the music video as a medium depends somewhat on what you are watching the video for, too. I love a good video- but more as commercially viable way to see a good short film- to get some great (or at least good) art to the public.

 

Music videos made for the purpose of being interesting (as opposed to showing off bling and booty- that’s just another category entirely) have 3 main elements that make them work- a short time frame: about 3 to 5 minutes, little or no dialogue, and very often a much larger budget than an average 3 minute short film would ever get. Throw in an artist or director who likes a bit of capital A R T, and you have the potential for something brilliant.

 

Mind trips, experimentation, some great storytelling- the potential is all there. Storytelling can be especially powerful when done well, because the lack of dialogue and the mood generated by the music can makes it so abstract yet still accessible. I love mixed up non-sequential stuff that makes me think, and videos specialize in that.

 

That said, yes the large majority of videos that get heavy rotation are self serving crap, and catching the occasional glimpse of ‘retro’ stuff goes to show it was always pretty bad. I loathe that the video is in part to blame for an entire era when I couldn’t buy a shirt long enough to actually keep my midriff from freezing. I’m pissed off that the main image of women out there right now are the sluts in the rap videos shaking their rear ends around and being treated like possessions. I hate that they encourage an image obsessed, materialistic society to be even more shallow and materialistic- *News flash* there are better things to do with your money than paste diamonds on everything.

 

On one hand, a video can be great in giving you a glimpse of the artist behind the music, which can be nice when you happen to live at the edge of the world where anyone either big or interesting rarely comes to perform because of the distance involved. On the other hand, the need for shameless self-promotion stifles the creativity, gets in the way of the actual music, and is usually pretty cheesy.

 

I’d say video has its place, but lost its soul the day it became more about manufacturing cool than actually making a video to accompany the music. And the music channels seem to be realising it- I have to stay up past midnight to actually see them play an entire video besides the top ten countdown. (How do they know what should be in the top ten if all they ever show is the top ten to begin with? :freak: ) Prime time is usually all about dumb reality shows now. They just aren’t supporting the medium anymore. Definitely easier to watch on Youtube, though the resolution sucks.

 

As for what it did to music in general? Well, Britney had MTV, but the Beatles had Ed Sullivan. And back then there were only two or three channels to watch, so most people did. It's the same idea if you ask me.

Nik, by any chance, did you listen to that radio 4 show about music videos killing real artists before making this thread?

Nik' date=' by any chance, did you listen to that radio 4 show about music videos killing real artists before making this thread?[/quote']

 

nope, i don't listen to radio

 

the inspiration of this thread was "25 years of MTV" program and the buggles song which i listened to yesterday by coincidence

Nik, you're right.

you made me think about that even more.

of course i enjoy watching videos of my favourite artists, but MTV is crap anyway. i can't remember the last time i heard good music there.

it's crap.. i mean... if there was no internet, i'd be listening to all the shit they play on MTV.

i would've never been introduced to real bands.

music videos are unnecessary somehow, but there's nothing wrong with shooting a good one as well. people just judge artists by their videos nowadays. that's where it all goes wrong.

fuck the music industry and those money making arseholes.

Without the internet, I'd probably be watching MTV too.. now I'm addicted to youtube, but I usually don't watch music videos, I prefer to watch videos from concerts, they're so much more real. There're so many great bands who don't get publicity they deserve if they don't make videos, whatever the reason. I stopped watching MTV, if I want to get to know some band, I first want to listen to their music and then if I'm interested, I'll try and search youtube for videos (from live performances, if possible). Since I live in a place where it's practically impossible to see any great bands live, internet is for me the only way to see bands and their videos, not MTV.

 

But my answer to the topic's question would be yes. Sure there're plenty of excellent music videos, but I bet many of the videos that get airtime are from artists who don't even write their own music.

Ok...at least I voted now...and I voted for No.....because I think there is no need for music videos at all.....same as there is no need for a fast cooking cooking pot....

 

but I still havenät finished to build up my mind about it...

I dont think that there is a need for music videos....although there are some that are well made and directed; ones that do not involve the band/singer are usually good. But anyway....there isnt a need for videos. People should be able to infer their own thoughts about the music on its own....I often find that a video can influence the way you think about a song/its meaning, and that annoys me sometimes.

I dont think that there is a need for music videos....although there are some that are well made and directed; ones that do not involve the band/singer are usually good. But anyway....there isnt a need for videos. People should be able to infer their own thoughts about the music on its own....I often find that a video can influence the way you think about a song/its meaning' date=' and that annoys me sometimes.[/quote']

 

If it annoys you, why not switch off the tv or switch over to another channel?

If it annoys you' date=' why not switch off the tv or switch over to another channel?[/quote']

I dont watch music videos these days unless one has been recommended to me.

I dont watch music videos these days unless one has been recommended to me.

 

That's the best way to approach it.;)

pheee.

this thread really changed my opinion. we should've voted BEFORE we read this thread and afterwards.