“There is no non-commercial part of MTV.” the Frontline video “The MTV Machine” states. While that may have held true for the MTV in the beginning and its’ past, the face of the world famous music channel has changed. There are now a set number of hours devoted to music videos, usually in the early hours of the morning. The rest of the time reality television programs capture the audience, with many of them being a spin-off of the original that started it! Maybe the iconic channel has changed its image to better fit the socially defined perception of ‘cool’. I wonder where they will go, now that TRL has called it quits. Personally, I was a bit upset to hear that TRL was finished – I rushed home from middle school on the days my favorite bands would be performing. I made sure to stand in front of the window when I visited Times Square; it was a part of my pop-culture childhood. I have a feeling that once reality television has run its course and the next big idea for the cable-based audience appears (because hopefully we as a public will get sick of peeping into other peoples’ lives and invading their privacy, though that shall surely be far far into the future), MTV will shift itself to incorporate that new dynamic. Why? Because ultimately they are a business, seeking profit however they can make it.



Russian duo t.A.T.u. performing on TRL/March 3, 2003.
(taken from JAMD via Google Image search)
I clearly remember screaming on the phone to my friend that they were on TRL & performing live.