Friday, August 31, 2012

Youtube Video Killed The MTV Stars










Figure 1.0. Opening scene in MTV's first broadcast
In 1981, The Buggles were cemented into history as the very first music video to be aired on the now infamous MTV (Music Television). Prior to this, music videos were a form of promotional advertising, a package used to sell musical acts to television shows but it was the ingenuity of MTV to turn this idea into an industry of its own. A cultural epidemic had been created that saw big name bands and artists, such as Madonna and Boy George, develop through the use of provocative visual imagery . Network producers had ushered in a new era in media convergence for the music industry by effectively creating the first "visual radio" through the television. Music videos were now the most effective way to promote live shows and upcoming album releases and a fight for airtime would soon peruse. Large record companies quickly redirected their resources to the production of large scale music videos to ensure the band or artist retained a healthy image and reputation. 



Fast forward to 2012 and MTV is still globally one of the most recognisable channels but no longer known for its music video programming. Nothing epitomises the change in MTV, and therefor the bulk of the music video industry,  more then simply Google searching "remember MTV" which returns Facebook pages, articles and blogs all similarly titled "Remember When MTV Play Music Videos". Even pop songs which were once the centre of MTV's programming include the lyrics "…and music still on MTV" ("Bowling For Soup - 1985"). Long gone are the days where networks paid $250,000+ to air a documentary on the making of the music video Thriller and production companies spent even more making them. TV's have been replaced with computers, laptops and mobile phones, networks have been replaced with wireless networking and MTV has been replaced with Youtube. MTV has radically changed because the medium of music video has shifted from television to online. Should we be thankful for media convergence in music videos or has this change brought about more challenges for the music industry?

Figure 2. Youtube Logo
It goes without saying that technology is and always will be one of the key contributing factors to media convergence and in the case of music videos it is no exception. In 2005 a website domain name was registered and "YouTUBE" was born. With internet speeds getting faster and cheaper, it wasn't long before a video could be streamed online instantaneously without having to wait for the movie to buffer. Consumers now had a constantly growing library of videos, accessible with a single click of the mouse and all for free. No log ins required, anyone can upload and not a single cent has to be spared. Youtube revolutionised the way videos are now shared and the music industry would never be the same again. 

It wasn't long before lovers of music videos soon switched to the online phenomenon where they could watch the videos they wanted, when they wanted and as often as they wanted. As MTV started to air more non music programming, Youtube became more like a Television. The introduction of "Channels" saw consumers allowed to subscribe to users videos like a broadcaster as well as the introduction of recommended videos, a scroll bar on the right with a list of similar videos giving users a "channel flicking" feel. Musicians now had a place to set up pages dedicated to their music where fans could subscribe, and Youtubes recommended videos ensured that other music videos of theirs were always a single click away.

To make things even more accessible for consumers, technology allows these videos to be embedded amongst other webpages. Consumers do not even have to visit Youtube to see a video, they just have to be connected online and any webpage or social networking site they surf could have an embedded video from Youtube. Artists have gained unprecedented access to consumers world wide through online websites and social networking and free video sharing services such as Youtube have been the main catalyst for this. Now add up the multiple platforms which can view online content and there is the potential for videos to be viewed by billions. To exemplify the viewing power of Youtube, in the top 10 most watched videos as of August 2nd, 2012, only 1 video is not a music video with the number 1 video, Justin Bieber - Baby, receiving over 764,000,000 views . To put this into perspective, more people than twice the population of the United States has seen Justin Bieber's music video, a statement that shows exactly the power that online content has over television viewing. Below is an example of how easily videos can be embedded and how viral this simple dance video can get with nearly half a billion views.

In order to get the views and to spread the product of musicians, uploading online content is a must but it comes at a price. Through the rapidly expanding online market of video sharing, has come the loss of control over viewable content. WIth anyone being able to upload a video for free, production companies have lost their ability to control what is deemed 'free viewable content' and despite their best efforts to take down unauthorised videos, in a matter of minutes another user can have it uploaded again. To make matters worse, sales are decreasing through the ability to download the audio to .mp3 via youtube. While Youtube doesn't allow this, there are many sites such as these which allow the audio to be ripped illegally from the video and played on mp3 players. 

It is no surprise that music videos are being produced cheaper in the aim to create a viral video as opposed to a 'blockbuster' style clip. You need only look at a list of the all time most expensive music videos produced to see that the top 10 were all made well before the birth of Youtube, a sign that the industry is not the economic powerhouse it once was, a sign that online content has stripped the power from big production companies and given it back to everyday people. A successful music video is now the product of a creative mind and a hand held camera, money is no longer a factor to obtain millions of viewers as seen in the White Stripes low budget music video Hardest Button to Button

Media convergence has seen MTV turn from a hit 24 hour music video channel to a pop culture channel which shows minimal music videos. Through fast and easily accessible content provided by online sharing sites such as Youtube, audiences have grown while production costs have dropped but all at a cost. Sales revenue in the music industry is at an all time low as online content has also paved the way for digital piracy all the while Youtubes revenue is soaring every year, leeching off the media's need to be seen and the viewers need to access with speed. The only hope for the industry is further advances in copyright detection software otherwise Youtube Videos will slowly but reassuringly kill off music television.


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