We are now officially in the post-MTV era.

We thought P2P would bring the major labels down, but what is killing them is
the same thing that killed MTV, their lack of credibility.

In one weekend, one DAY actually, MTV destroyed twenty years of good will.

For over a decade now, people have been saying that there’s no music on the
channel.  But MTV perpetrated a ruse, and the media went with it, for everybody
needs a rallying point, everybody needs a clubhouse.

But MTV was running on fumes.  At least musically.  It was all about "Cribs",
"Real World", "Pimp My Ride".  But they didn’t SAY this, they said it was all
about the MUSIC!

Kind of like the major labels.  Sales are down because of FILE-TRADING!  Ever
think that you just can’t believe in the acts anymore?

Now no one can believe in MTV.  It’s a national joke.

Oh, I wouldn’t expect the ratings to tank overnight.  After all, where else
are you going to see Bam Margera threaten Don Vito?  Where else are you going
to see your demo on TV.  But no longer will anyone mistake the channel as a
music outlet.

You see MTV broke the trust.  As did the major labels.

That’s the way it used to be.  A band broke over three albums.  You gained a
small group’s trust, you constantly garnered new believers, and your fans
turned new people on to you.  To the point where you were suddenly mega, overnight
in the eyes of the straight press, but after a long hard slog in the trenches
in reality.

Can you say Peter Frampton?  Four solo albums in.  Never mind his work with
Humble Pie and the Herd beforehand.  He took the best of what he did and put it
out on a double live album.  And it wasn’t overexposure that killed him, it
was the follow-up, "I’m In You".  It didn’t speak to the fans, it spoke to the
newbies, the CASUAL fans, who aren’t really fans at all.  And, as a result,
Peter’s core fan base abandoned him, and never came back.

If only he’d put out another "Wind Of Change".  If only he’d stayed true to
himself instead of chasing the dollar.  Or, listening to Dee Anthony TELLING
him to chase the dollar.

Don’t say it’s overexposure.  Hell, nobody was as exposed as the Beatles, but
they NEVER played it safe, they kept testing the limits, to the point where
their records STILL sell.

MTV abandoned the core music listener.  They went for the instant bucks. 
And, the major labels followed them.  What was aired was flashy, with expensive
video extravaganzas.  Moved some units once, but never again.  And, nobody
wanted to SEE these bands.  They had no FANS!

It’s all about your fans.  If you think of serving them, you can’t go wrong. 
If you play it right, you’ll make a living, and, if you work really hard, and
have a little bit of luck, you’ll go big time overnight.  There was no video
for "Frampton Comes Alive", no big marketing campaign, the music sold itself,
that’s the only way.

So, it’s over.  When MTV says it’s about music not only is the PUBLIC gonna
laugh, the media is too.  All as a result of the Live 8 fiasco.  I mean if you
cut Pink Floyd off during "Comfortably Numb", you OBVIOUSLY aren’t about the
music.

Oh, but MTV’s for TEENS!

Well, hate to tell you, the teenage heads INTO music LOVE Floyd.

Then again, they’re not watching MTV…  They gave up, disgusted, long ago.

MTV didn’t stay true to its mission.  It would have grown more slowly, would
have paid fewer dividends, but it would have had a longer shelf-life.  I mean
do you want to be New Kids On The Block or Van Morrison?

It’s all about credibility.  We’re never going to believe MTV when they talk
seriously about music again.  We’re even going to see the acts that appear on
the station as whores, which they are.  Hell, did you see the 2004 Video Music
Awards?

If you want cred, if you want to garner true fans, you’re better off making
it via MySpace, which doesn’t reach as many people INSTANTLY, but is viral, and
word spreads on good shit.

MTV’s downfall is so instant because they did it in front of so many.

But, even though the whole world wasn’t watching, the major labels and
terrestrial radio have done the same thing.  They’re hollow vessels, that fans no
longer believe in.  People have moved on.

You’ve got to generate belief.  Fandom is not casual.  Fans are honest in
their devotion, you’ve got to be honest back, you’ve got to respect them.

If the foregoing doesn’t have you nodding your head, saying ah-ha, you’re in
big trouble.  Because everybody knows this.

And now control has been wrested away.  Music lives on the Internet.  It’s
not about how you look, but how you connect.  The public spreads the word on
good stuff, and kills bad stuff via instant word of mouth (ever notice that good
stuff leaked months in advance STILL sells, whereas bad stuff leaked in
advance tanks?)

It’s a new world music order.  And MTV has a marginal place in it, at best. 
And it can’t come back.  Just like you can’t get back together with your high
school girlfriend who abandoned you for someone better-looking, who was an
idiot.

It takes a lifetime to build trust, and a day to blow it.  Just ask MTV. 
They’ve proven the paradigm.