Mmmmmm... TV.
MTV, which once upon a time stood for Music Television instead of Moronic Television, has finally decided to update its logo for the first time since... well, ever. And while the change to the overall feel of the logo isn't drastic, it has removed one big part. The part that says "Music Television."
Of course, we've known that MTV is no longer about music for quite some time now. Heck, the MTV Movie Awards started in 1992. (Do people born in the mid-'90s even know that the network once showed music videos?) But to see the company actually remove the "Music Television" bit is finally the admission we've been looking for—that music has been as important to MTV in recent years as extreme sports is to Lifetime Television.
Still, the execs aren't giving up yet on pretending there is still a music connection. MTV's press release states: "The [new] logo is part of MTV's re-invention to connect with today's millennial generation and bring them in as part of the channel."
In fact, the new logo isn't one new logo, but actually a layer in Photoshop that MTV can drop its stars into. Stars like Snooki and The Situation.
MTV general manager Stephen Friedman told Ad Age that "Music is still at the center of so much of what we do, but we've really expanded what that means. We needed the logo to be flexible enough to have the artists within it but also the stars of our shows." Whatever you say, dude.
This isn't a big deal. It's not even close the Sci-Fi Channel's re-branding itself as SyFy. It's more along the lines of that one uncle you have who started wearing a little bit of makeup, then dresses, then had some hormone treatment, and years later finally started going by the name "Georgina." We all knew what was going on, but it's taken some time for MTV to feel comfortable telling us what we already knew.
Comments (74)
Everyone wants to say music is dead, but that could be further from the truth. If anything it's the networks themselves that have killed music in televised media. And WHY? That's the big question. My gut tells me a bunch of lazy hacks are the ones in charge of determining what the public wants, and if they're anything like my high school senior year yearbook committee, they're spending way more time indulging in "leisurely" activities than doing their damn job. Look at a site like tumblr, for instance. How many music related blogs are out there? Get on your facebook, how many of your friends have their favorite bands/artists listed, upload a youtube video of a song they're stuck on at the moment, just got tickets to go see Rihanna, or the Foo Fighters, or link Spotify to their account and have dozens of annoying updates about it. What about the ever present hipster population!? Aside from neck scarves and tattoo sleeves, music is basically like their lifeline. Music is ever present everywhere else EXCEPT television, with the exception of American Idol, Glee, and those blips after shows on MTv of some featured new artist you've never heard of and are already annoyed with. Or they air the SAME crap over and over again. What happened to Fuse? While I still had it, all it ever was anymore were those "take overs", where they repeated the same five interviews of Lady Gaga and showed all her videos for 17 hours! Then after her, it was 17 hours of Beyonce. Those bitches may be the pinnacle of popularity, but that's just overkill, and lazy programming. I was stoked when VH1 brought back Pop Up Video, but wait... it's on at noon (or 11am for us in CST). WHO IS HOME AT THAT TIME! Not high school kids, not young professionals (20s and 30s), and most college courses are between 10-2. Who's brilliant idea was to put it at that time block! That's just pure stupidity. Why not at 4 or 5, when people actually get home. I'm sure they rather watch that than that rerun of Basketball Wives (or ex-wives more accurately). Seriously, its that kind of decision making that has ruined music television, because as far as I'm concerned, music is still alive and well, and at the forefront of many peoples' lives, whether it's mainstream pop, or underground fusion genres. Maybe if it TV actually made room for it, and kept it fresh and changed it up now and then, people would watch it. So go stick one up your you-know-what Stephen Friedman.moreless
In my opinion mtv should still have music on it even if it's only for like an hour or two. I was a mid-90's baby and i knew mtv had music videos once upon a time. but to just drop it completely is the reason i never watch tv anymore. That was all i would do and i think MTV should just put it back on there it doesn't even have to be all rap on it, they could do a little rock too. but what they don't realize is this generation isn't only wantin' the reality tv shows we'd like to also see music videos without having to go on youtube(which doesnt even like to always work.) So MTV people if you see this.....BRING THE MUSIC BACK PLEASE.
You wanna know who cares that you don't like rap music? No one does... especially the rappers who still make money off of you. Rappers still manage to sell more CDs then the average rockstar. On to the actual topic at hand, MTV. No one plays music videos anymore. Not BET, MTV, VH1. If a network came up with a real music channel they'd probably actually be able to attract viewers, especially the ones that are sick of reality television.
Actually, it shouldn't be called music, because music, by definition, requires a melody, which rap doesn't have.
"it (rap) should not be called music at all since no one is playing real instruments."Instruments - a device used to produce music; also : a singing voiceSimply because you don't enjoy a genre or medium doesn't make it less than music.
I stopped really watching it when rap started to appear which was in the early 90's. I just cant stand that stuff, it should not be called music at all since no one is playing real instruments.
I personally blame the Internet for this happening, and we all know the Internet is the best source to put out unedited works of music.
Yes, you're all right. Rap killed MTV. Let's just ignore the fact that it is music, and actually aided the shows that aired music, but no, rap made MTV into reality shows. Yes. Rap did that.STFU. I'm a fan of Rock music more so than Rap music. Actually a lot more, but it's music and it never killed MTV. If anything it helped it during the 90s and 2000s.
WHAT???? OH NO, WHAT EVER WILL I DO WITHOUT MUSIC ON MTV????
Reality Killed The Video Star!
Another thing, the last good show I saw on MTV was that cel-shaded Spiderman show, sad isn't it?
they do show music videos way in the AM, when no one is watching, LOL. After that they show one ridiculous reality show after another
The same goes for VH1, music videos in the AM, and ridiculous reality shows throughout the rest of the day
I thought they already did give up on music
Of course Rap is to blame, not reality tv shows like The Real world >_>
Rap music killed MTV!
Does anyone watches eMpTV anymore?
Seeya in the deepest depths of Hell MTV.Oh, wait, already said that years ago.
Most people knew this day was coming the moment they started flooding the episode time slots with reality T.V. shows... Another case of: Death By Reality T.V. They should put that on the gravestone once, the entire network dies. MTV... one of the Biggest successes on cable T.V. morphs into the biggest disappointment. VH1 will soon fallow. At least MTV will have someone to keep them company in cable T.V. death.
As a Canadian, I was ALWAYS ticked off by MTV. See, the rap musicians would make videos... but they'd edit them specifically for MTV, and that video with the edited song would be the one played everywhere. So, as I tell my wife, I stopped watching ANY music videos when the rap ones started sounding like morse code. I honestly could not tell what their "standards of decency" were... mostly because every 3rd word was bleeped out, so it wasn't like somebody saying, "I'm gonna kill that mother *bleep*!"; instead, you got Ice Cube or the Luniz rapping about, "Well I *bleep* with my *bleep* so I can *bleep* all *bleep*!". And then it only gets stupider when you hear the uncensored song, like one Warren G track they used to play, the lyric was, "Warren G's leavin' bodies cold", but they'd bleep out "COLD"!! Does that make any sense? To me, if you REALLY want to reach an audience, put out hip-hop videos that were like the "originals" - you know: cheap, dirty, in the hood, acting tough as heck! Like La Costra Nostra is doing. And OT, the smart film companies releasing R-rated action or horror flicks COVER the web with the "red band trailer" for the movie. So MTV changed their logo - are they still MTV, or do they have a new name?moreless
MTV always played crappy music anyway - the only thing they had I enjoyed was Beavis and Butthead
I remember when these guys played these things called music videos. Then somebody got confused over what Music Television stands for apparently. Now thank god, the lie that they're somehow related to music is finally over with. Hopefully they go out of business soon so MTV is nothing but a memory. As it has been for us music fans for years.
Surprising, but make sense that it only shows crappy reality shows R.I.P MTV :(
lolmtv
You won't see me crying, I've never been able to stand MTV, and it's music sucked anyway so who cares.
Fortunately, clip lovers can watch Vidzone on the PS3. MTV= Moronic TeleVision.
Screw MTV
Last great thing about MTV was "Fear". Why they took that show off the air I'll never know. What they need to do is shut down MTV and start all over, and go back to what made MTV so great in the first place. I really dont give a *** about shows about Teens screwiung each other or fighting little 4 year olds. Either bring back what MTV really stood for or drop the Title of MTV altogether and let someone else have it.
I miss the music on this channel now all they have is stupid reality shows that make u lose a few IQ points every time u see them.
Things are changing - let it.
I gave up on MTV a couple of years back, and others long before that because we knew they had already given up on music and that the network had gone moronic. Internet killed the music tv star.
I know that I allow the whole MTV thing to annoy me, but really, I just want them to drop MTV completely and change their name, or atleastt change what MTV stands for, and don't say that music is still important, yea cuz what kind of reality show would it be without 5 seconds of soundtrack?
MTV gave up on music? Comgratulations, it's like all the other TV channels that were for music.
I thought MTV gave up on music when they started to play rap videos.
MTV finally gives up on the music? No kidding. It was done ages ago. They just never changed the logo. Now they have. They should've added "Moronic" under that M. Since that's what they cater to these days.
MTV is not that uncle that started out wearing a little bit of make up. It's the survivor of a freak accident that has been in a vegetative/comatose state and is only being kept alive by machines.
Yay! Finally!!! Best news I`ve heard allday. They started all that reality show crapola and Metal/Rock got pushed to the backseat over the teeny-bopper pop/ hip hop B.S. and then the boring TRL show. MTV finally got what it deserved!!! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Teach you guys to kill off Headbangers Ball and metal rock. Tom Green??? Burn in hell MTV!!!!!!!!!!
I admit, I used to pop into the channel now and then during vacation time when there was nothing good on TV, but I gave up on it completely eventually. A network that's dumb enough to give a little snot like Andy Milinokis or whatever his name is just isn't worth bothering with, except for the making of cruel jokes at their expense. Music has gone downhill quite a bit in the past couple of decades, what with artists like Brittney Spears and all those boy band clones running around, and I place all the blame solely on MTV. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!
It's so sad to see what "MTV" has done to itself. It's just like what happened to CMT. Remember CMT (Country Music Television), now it's called SpikeTV. Even VH1 sucks most of the time. I don;t even see the point of artists making videos anymore, b/c no one airs them anyway, except on YouTube.
nice article, lol. I shed a tear for the network that once gave me 'Headbanger's Ball'
it about time ..
Did you just call Snooki and The Situation "stars"? "Stars" are bright shining lights that regular people have to look up to see. Do you really think they qualify?
I believe dantheman18999 put it best! Excellent comment and true to boot.
It should be CTV- crap TV...just saying...
Vh1 is better for music, it has the best countdowns. BET's 106th and Park is entertaining for the hip hop youth. Mtv was always blah when it came to music.
I thought they gave up music a looooooong time ago?
I miss Music Television...but all things must change in time. I guess I'll have to find new music through *GASP* something else.