By: Jaida Dent
Music is the cornerstone of pop culture. Many viral moments that circulate throughout modern media often share the common trait of music, whether it’s a song lyric, a music video, or the emergence of a new pop star.
However, what was once valued by the masses now feels like an afterthought, as the major cable channel founded on a love for music has lost its identity over the years. The Music Television Channel (MTV) used to be the prime channel to show music videos, but has now declared that by the end of 2025, the iconic chanell will be closing down five of its music channels in the United Kingdom (UK) (MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live), with only the main channel that broadcasts reality TV left standing.
So, how did a once-respected music video channel turn its back on the very thing that brought it success?
MTV started its dominance on Aug. 1, 1981, by playing “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. The channel served as a hub of music content, featuring 24/7 programming and even helping shape the careers of iconic artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna. Jackson’s Thriller music video was a turning point for the channel after much of the content displayed was rock music and featured a lack of artists of color.
MTV would continue to host music-related content until 1992 with“The Real World”. While the show is iconic for paving the way for modern reality TV, it also signaled the direction the channel would be headed.
“The Real World” created a model of reality TV, where ordinary people are brought together, often in close living quarters, and are filmed interacting with one another. The model brings together casts of diverse personalities that help ensure the show’s popularity.
“The Challenge” has contestants showcasing their athleticism in unconventional situations for a chance at winning money. “Jersey Shore” gave us a glimpse of young 20-year-olds partying and living together in Seaside Heights. “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” showed the lives of young mothers dealing with new children and changing familial relationships (and also contributed to a decrease in teen births).
Even though MTV continues to produce reality TV and celebrity-focused content, they aren’t alone in the game anymore. The television market is absolutely saturated with reality TV, with TV Channel Bravo leading the charge with the “Housewives” franchise, “Vanderpump Rules,” and “Below Deck”.
Other channels like ABC, FOX, and CBS grab viewers with their competitive reality shows and dating shows, including “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”, “Masterchef” and “Big Brother”. Streaming services are also pulling audiences in with their product, like Peacock’s successful “Love Island USA” and Hulu’s “The Kardashians”, which revived E! Network’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”.
Since MTV isn’t spotlighting music videos anymore, where do people go to interact with that content? Social media platforms have become a resource for the way artists market themselves and their music to the broader audience.
TikTok, specifically, has changed the music industry at an almost unfathomable rate, and that is through the power of trends. It has become more common for artist to preview their music before even dropping, and TikTok has been a place for snippets to live. Through the algorithm and For You Page (FYP), it is hard to escape a tune that is stuck in everyone’s heads, because when you like a few videos with similar content, TikTok will only show you more. This allows a snippet of a song, whether unreleased, new, or even something from a decade ago, to catapult an artist’s career and push them into the mainstream spotlight.
Some notable songs that have invaded my FYP in October are Kid Cudi’s “Maui Wowie” from his“A Kid Named Cudi” album from 2022, a mashup of Nicki Minaj’s “Beez in the Trap” (2012) and 4 Non Blondes “What’s Up?” (1992), and Labi Siffre’s “Bless the Telephone” from 1971.
But where TikTok succeeds, YouTube begins to fail. The creation and viewership of music videos were at their peak in the 2010s, with the most-viewed music videos on YouTube coming from that time. The Top 5 videos were released between 2012 and 2017, with “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee sitting at the top of the list with 8.8 billion views. Now, most music videos aren’t touching the billion views mark, and some artists aren’t making videos at all. Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” album had the running joke of her telling fans, “You are the visual, baby,” after the album’s lack of music videos.
One of the biggest reasons that music videos aren’t as common anymore is that no one’s actually watching them. TikTok has mastered the art of quick videos, but at the cost of reducing the attention spans of people. Many would rather listen to the quick 15 snippet of a track than watch a well-produced 3-minute video. Visuals are still a defining part of an artist’s discography, as they set the tone for their sound and album, but with artists opting for low-budget (but still entertaining) visualizers, the beauty of the well-crafted music video fades.
So what does the future hold for MTV and the state of music videos? For the latter, many artists are still creating music videos that help define their latest projects.
Doja Cat’s “Jealous Type” video helped define the ’80s theme of her new album, “Vie”. Zara Larsson’s “Midnight Sun” pulled references from the Lisa Frank-themed memes associated with her 2017 song, “Symphony.” Tate McRae and Katseye continue to pull audiences to their videos with the associated choreography brought to life.
For the former part of the question, it doesn’t look too good.
MTV has decided to close down five of its music-based channels in the UK, leaving only its reality TV channel open and running.
It’s unclear whether or not the channel will return to its original roots, but the impact of the company cannot be denied. MTV created a wave of appreciation for music videos and showcased the work of artists who didn’t have a platform to share it on until the birth of the Internet.
Without MTV, “video” wouldn’t have a chance to shine in the shadow of “radio,” and that changed the music industry, whether we recognize it or not.