On Sep 11, 2:20am, Ken Stuart wrote:
quoted 2 lines There is some techno everywhere on USA TV and radio, except in *music*> There is some techno everywhere on USA TV and radio, except in *music*
> programming.
...
quoted 1 line So, MTV is clearly afraid of something with regards to techno.> So, MTV is clearly afraid of something with regards to techno.
I don't think MTV is affraid of anything, other than loosing money/market share
(the market that MTV cares about is the advert market). (Businness people fear
no evil greater than red ink!)
The videos we saw in AMP were art, not entertainment; MTV is entertainment
programming, not art programming. MTV's viewers so far have not shown an
interest in art -- they are not interested in being challenged by their MTV,
they want to vege to their MTV! Like any other business entity, MTV's success
depends on the happiness of their clients: if the viewers aren't happy, the
advertisers aren't happy, and MTV looses money (and when MTV looses money,
Viacom isn't happy, and heads roll). This equation also works in reverse!
So the lack of mainstream airplay for IDM is caused (IMHO, of course) more by
the general apathy to art than by any fear of change. Way back when MTV
started, there was no Rap. Now, MTV probably plays nearly 50% Rap. MTV is not
affraid to change to meet viewer demand. In effect, much as the MTV "VJ"'s
would like us to believe otherwise, MTV is more a mirror of pop culture, than a
driver of pop culture.
Unfortunately, (most/many) people today do not have any interest in art -- they
want 500 channels of entertainment 24 hours a day, with no demands on thinking
greater than "if it's an advert, then change the channel". This is exactly
what I find so awesome about IDM, though: IDM is a move back towards music as
art. I'm a long-time fan of classical music (except opera -- just don't like
it), and I recently blew a number of people away by playing a few IDM cuts: the
similarities are stunning. IDM is taking music back from the entertainers, and
giving it back to the thinkers!
Think I'll stop ranting now...
-frank