September 5, 2025 • 51 mins
Today's hyper-individualized digital consumption, where music is a personalized playlist and social media dictates trends, the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in 2025 stands as a unique, and increasingly vital, cultural event.
While the show has seen its share of ups and downs in relevance, particularly throughout the streaming era, it has evolved into a crucial platform attempting to bridge the fractionalized landscape of modern music. The 2025 VMAs, in particular, showcases a deliberate effort to be a singular meeting point for a diverse array of genres, from traditional pop and hip-hop to the global rise of Afrobeats, K-Pop, reggaeton, and corridos.
Bridging the Musical Divide: A VMA ImperativeHistorically, the VMAs were a bellwether for what was "next" in pop culture. In 2025, that role has become more complex. Streaming services and social media have created a world of micro-genres and niche communities, making it difficult for any single artist or sound to dominate the cultural conversation in the way they once did. The VMAs have responded to this challenge by expanding their tent, and the 2025 ceremony is a testament to this strategy.
The inclusion of new categories for Best Pop Artist and Best Country Artist, for example, is a direct acknowledgment of the industry's evolving landscape. The show's nominations and performances reflect this expansive approach, featuring a roster of artists that spans the globe and a multitude of sounds. This year's lineup includes established pop stars like Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter, alongside country artists like Jelly Roll and Megan Moroney, hip-hop heavyweights like Doja Cat and Post Malone, and Latin music icons like J Balvin and Ricky Martin. The ceremony actively seeks to be the one night where a K-Pop act can share the same stage and audience with a rock band or a reggaeton star, creating a cultural conversation that simply doesn't happen on an algorithmically-driven platform.
The Streaming Era: A History of Peaks and ValleysThe history of the VMAs in the streaming era has been marked by a struggle for cultural oxygen. The initial decades of the awards show were defined by their status as a "Super Bowl for youth," a must-see event that generated moments of collective shock and awe. The rise of YouTube and other video platforms, however, democratized the music video and diminished MTV's role as the primary gatekeeper of visual music.
This has led to a perceived lack of "notable moments" in recent years, as the kind of spectacles that once dominated headlines now compete with countless viral clips and online personalities.
Furthermore, the live performances have increasingly focused on solo artists, with a few singing groups making an appearance. The lack of traditional bands on the VMA stage is a notable trend, reflecting the current dominance of solo performers and producers in the music industry.
The show often leans on a sense of nostalgia, bringing back veteran artists like Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, and Busta Rhymes to perform and receive special honors, giving viewers a taste of the show's past glory while also connecting with artists who have shaped the industry.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-broadcasters-podcast--3684131/support.
Contact KOP for professional podcast production, imaging, and web design services at http://www.kingofpodcasts.com
Support KOP by subscribing to his YouTube channel and search for King Of Podcasts
Follow KOP on X and TikTok @kingofpodcasts (F Meta!)
Listen to KOP’s other programs, Podcasters Row… and the Wrestling is Real Wrestling Podcast and The Broadcasters Podcast.
Buy KOP a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/kingofpodcasts
Drop KOP a PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3TAB983ZQPNVL
Drop KOP a Venmo https://account.venmo.com/u/kingofpodcasts
Drop KOP a CashApp https://cash.app/$kingofallpodcasts
While the show has seen its share of ups and downs in relevance, particularly throughout the streaming era, it has evolved into a crucial platform attempting to bridge the fractionalized landscape of modern music. The 2025 VMAs, in particular, showcases a deliberate effort to be a singular meeting point for a diverse array of genres, from traditional pop and hip-hop to the global rise of Afrobeats, K-Pop, reggaeton, and corridos.
Bridging the Musical Divide: A VMA ImperativeHistorically, the VMAs were a bellwether for what was "next" in pop culture. In 2025, that role has become more complex. Streaming services and social media have created a world of micro-genres and niche communities, making it difficult for any single artist or sound to dominate the cultural conversation in the way they once did. The VMAs have responded to this challenge by expanding their tent, and the 2025 ceremony is a testament to this strategy.
The inclusion of new categories for Best Pop Artist and Best Country Artist, for example, is a direct acknowledgment of the industry's evolving landscape. The show's nominations and performances reflect this expansive approach, featuring a roster of artists that spans the globe and a multitude of sounds. This year's lineup includes established pop stars like Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter, alongside country artists like Jelly Roll and Megan Moroney, hip-hop heavyweights like Doja Cat and Post Malone, and Latin music icons like J Balvin and Ricky Martin. The ceremony actively seeks to be the one night where a K-Pop act can share the same stage and audience with a rock band or a reggaeton star, creating a cultural conversation that simply doesn't happen on an algorithmically-driven platform.
The Streaming Era: A History of Peaks and ValleysThe history of the VMAs in the streaming era has been marked by a struggle for cultural oxygen. The initial decades of the awards show were defined by their status as a "Super Bowl for youth," a must-see event that generated moments of collective shock and awe. The rise of YouTube and other video platforms, however, democratized the music video and diminished MTV's role as the primary gatekeeper of visual music.
This has led to a perceived lack of "notable moments" in recent years, as the kind of spectacles that once dominated headlines now compete with countless viral clips and online personalities.
Furthermore, the live performances have increasingly focused on solo artists, with a few singing groups making an appearance. The lack of traditional bands on the VMA stage is a notable trend, reflecting the current dominance of solo performers and producers in the music industry.
The show often leans on a sense of nostalgia, bringing back veteran artists like Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, and Busta Rhymes to perform and receive special honors, giving viewers a taste of the show's past glory while also connecting with artists who have shaped the industry.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-broadcasters-podcast--3684131/support.
Contact KOP for professional podcast production, imaging, and web design services at http://www.kingofpodcasts.com
Support KOP by subscribing to his YouTube channel and search for King Of Podcasts
Follow KOP on X and TikTok @kingofpodcasts (F Meta!)
Listen to KOP’s other programs, Podcasters Row… and the Wrestling is Real Wrestling Podcast and The Broadcasters Podcast.
Buy KOP a Coffee https://buymeacoffee.com/kingofpodcasts
Drop KOP a PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=3TAB983ZQPNVL
Drop KOP a Venmo https://account.venmo.com/u/kingofpodcasts
Drop KOP a CashApp https://cash.app/$kingofallpodcasts
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Podcasting since two thousand and five. This is the King
of Podcasts Radio Network, King of Podcasts dot Com.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Cmas are gone, Soultraine Awards are gone. Be the awards
are gone, but the VMAs they're still here. And it's
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
The King of Podcasts Radio Network proudly presents to the
Broadcasters Podcast. Here is the King of Podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome to episode for zero two of The Broadcasters Podcast.
Speaking of Podcasts, Here with you for another episode. And
it's one of those random episodes that I always do.
If you've heard this show for any length of time,
you know I talk about the VMA's quite a bit.
I first started talking about it about this when I
had my win I'm my podcasting series, because it's just
that right spot to be. But there's a relevance this
(00:51):
year and a significant effort now that CBS or Paramount
or Skydance now have control of the MTV Video NEWSIC wards. Now,
of course MPTV that have not been the same as
it was. You know, we know that very clearly. No
music television that is no longer the identity of the network.
(01:13):
It hasn't been like that for well over twenty years.
Tr was the last moments where we still felt that
was still there, and there have been times where they
add a little bit of videos here and there. But
of course YouTube technology streaming have changed everything. But that
doesn't mean that MTV, much like radio, could not find
(01:35):
then a new identity for themselves in this technological age.
It's changed, this digital disruption I constantly talk about, it
doesn't mean they cannot stay relevant. And there's a reason
why they have survived past the CMAS, past bet and
past whole train. Me well, there might be certain entities
(01:56):
that own those properties that decided not to go and
continue it. The American Music Awards came back and it
was a fiasco last year. It was horrible, really out
of touch. But meanwhile, the MTV brand call it what
you will. It still holds up somewhat today, and I
think what they're doing with the VMA's this Sunday, it's
(02:18):
going to hold up.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I'm actually kind of surprised and very thankful and thrilled
they're actually going to be able to keep this in
a certain way somewhat relevant and finding a way themselves
because they've been able to kind of revolutionize themselves. They've
been trying to at least try to keep moving in
a direction where they are looking to try to hold
(02:40):
onto the nostalgia. Obviously, we have, you know, fans like
myself that grew up on MTV from the very beginning,
and MTV I still think in some way, shape or form,
if it were a music video channel, or if it
was the bastion of music in general of what would
be in the mainstream, it would still be important today.
(03:02):
But of course there's still money to be made in it.
When I've listened to certain people to talk about where
MTV was that people would go ahead and flip from
other channels to watch music videos on MTV. But that
doesn't mean that people would go aha and stay to
watch music videos for long times of retention, only to
then go to commercial break, and once the commercial break happened,
(03:22):
they would just dip. And that's understood. The short oftension
span really destroyed any chance of MTV continued to be
that way. But I still think there's something to be
said about where MTV this was the place to go
for the music videos to see the stars. It doesn't
mean you could still you couldn't still do something like
(03:43):
this now, but I mean even MTV, you know, in
the last twenty years by having True Life for teen
Mom or The Challenger Jersey Shore, by completely just going
reality shows and ridiculousness and completely alienating anything that has
to do with music and having it being pushed off
(04:03):
to the other channels. Was I mean at that time,
I guess you had to go and do that kind
of thing, because once something's not relevant anymore, you want
to still keep that brand still around. So MTV Classic
still remains, and MTV two and other MTV channels that
are around as well that cater to different areas, whether
(04:24):
it's the hip hop area for jams, or it's for
the rock or if it's for the Spanish crowd with Trace,
it's all those kind of things. But we already know
that right now MTV, in the same world that they
have multiple channels on cable, those could be consolidated right now,
take those channels away and put everything back into the
(04:45):
main property of MTV itself and just put that content
in there and make it the Hodgepodge it was as
a place for music, as a haven and where taste
making and trendsetting could be made. You see the stars
of music on and you find a way to use
social media to go and take that advantage, and maybe
(05:06):
you could find some stars or some people that are
kind of influencers, much like in the MTV days you
found people that were more or less influencers. The early
influencers came from there. You could do something with that now,
but they don't, but they could. The thing is, you know,
it's always a change of trying to keep up with
the times. Yeah, you're not gonna do spring break anymore.
(05:28):
You're not gonna do various events they would do. But
like you could go to concerts, you could do the
social media and go out there and catch what's going on.
And the brand could have been embedded into other things,
maybe into radio, maybe into streaming, maybe into podcasting. Other
things could have happened, but the resources were never made
to be put there. And that's because where MTV is
(05:50):
at right now, in that current paramount, they were more
worried about other things, you know. I mean all their
cable channels have suffered. Nickelodeon has greatly so for Comedy
Central has greatly suffered. I mean there's certain programming that
goes on these channels that we all grew up as
kids that identify what those channels are. And so for MTV,
(06:13):
it's ridiculousness. And you know, now I forget the other
shows they oh love it hip hop because they moved
that over from VH one to MTV. Other than that,
that's like the identities of those of that network. For Nickelodeon,
I don't even know what it is anymore. And as
for Comedy Central at South Park and other shows that
they've picked up from other entities as well to fill
(06:36):
up the lineup. But it doesn't mean music television couldn't
have been put together. And the thing was there have
been other channels that tried and failed, and you know,
Viva was trying to go and fill that kind of
void and that hasn't really panned out. I don't even
know if this dealand exists anymore. I couldn't tell you.
But all those areas of music, we don't have one
(06:59):
place where we can go to catch up on the music,
because in other markets they have might either state run
media that does it. You know, BBC is very big
about covering everything when it comes to music. They might
not have Top of the Pops anymore, but they still
have music programming. They still have things where they cover Eurovision,
especially their radio programming. BBC Radio one is a bastion
(07:20):
of music, popular music, of the mainstream of various genres.
They do a great job of programming to cater to
everybody in their market and a younger demographic as well,
and they as competition on the private route. This could
still happen here, but a big corporate Enterry. I mean,
I hope that sky Dance could see the value of
(07:42):
MTV as a property and be able to use that
more because MTV doesn't need to be about the channel.
It could just be what represents the identity. Like MTV
is iconic as Playboy, it's iconic as Coca Cola. I mean,
I just think that people know what is and what
you mean by that. And for someone like me, I
(08:04):
have various memories of MTV. What that is, the VJs,
the spring breaks, you know, the award shows, the VMA's
all of it. Like, there was a lot of things
to remember, your TV raps or head Baker's Ball or
one hundred and twenty minutes. There was so much. It
covered everything. And the idea was you have to remember
(08:28):
that MTV used to be able to generate sales when
you talk about there was music that would have music
videos of artists from other countries, Okay, especially from the UK.
Another British invasion was as a result of the fact
that American artists were not really big of than music videos.
It didn't really catch on. It caught on moarn to Europe,
and that's why a lot of artists that we saw
(08:50):
in the early eighties moving on before we got on
that caught on, where Madonna and Michael Jackson and Prince
and others caught on to the bug of music videos
and realize how important that was, but before they got
into the play Duran Duran culture Club. Those are the
artists that we saw first and foremost the police. They
(09:12):
were the ones we saw and we caught onto them,
and they were smart to go ahead and take advantage
of MTV because what you didn't realize was the bump
that it also gave for the kind of record sales
that were able to be made in other markets like
So it wasn't even have to be where it was
in New York, LA. It's you could be a small
town America and if you have the cable channel MTV,
(09:34):
you caught these songs in heavy rotation and you went
and bought the records and the bump wasn't from radio,
it was from video airplay on MTV. We got had
the ratings, we would know how many people were watchually
watching the programming over there at least a sample of it.
(09:55):
And I bring all this together because I feel like
there is a relevance that can still be made to
MTV today. It's not a brand that I think has
gotten completely old yet either, And I think it's because
the people that get to go ahead and work together
every year to do this award show. Some years have
been different than others, but they have found a way
to continue to keep this show relevant. It still gets something.
(10:17):
They don't get the kind of rating thing they used to,
but I mean they get turned about four million viewers
on average. They don't get a complete erosionally they did.
But I think the one thing that didn't help them,
if I'm right, last year they ran it not on
Sunday nights. If I'm right, I'm just trying to remember
what they did last year. But when I look at
(10:39):
what they did previously, I remember last year, I don't
think they even ran it on a Sunday. They ran
it on a different night, and I'm just trying to
remember what it was. The plan was to run it
on a Tuesday, September tenth, but the event was pushed
back because of the presidential of a presidential debate. It
was pushed back by a day, so they ran out
(11:00):
on a Monday night. Crazy and it would be MTV
is the main channel that we would go ahead and
carry the show. But then what happened this time around
is a few things are different. Number One, Paramout Global,
the cover parent of MTV. They announced before the sky
Dance merger that CBS would carry the event for the
(11:23):
first time network television along with all the other channels,
but CBS would be the main carrier of it, and
of course Paramount would have a pre show before the
CBS show airs it live, and it'll be on Paramount
Plus at all other places. But it's a great thing,
and actually the truth is what they have done this
year is also a really good list of stars that
(11:48):
are going to be appearing. This is not a Taylor
Swift led show this time around. Last year, there was
a lot to be said about Taylor Swift, where she
won a lot of awards for herself. Video of the Year.
Artists of the Year broke the record for most awards
won overall thirty wins in two thousand and nine, and
(12:09):
she won for a Video of the Year Fortnite, which
extended a record for most wins and most cause secutive
wins excuse me in the category five wins three years respectively. Anyway,
So this year, well, at our long pre show, they're
getting pretty smart on who to bring on who are
(12:32):
pretty viral and very important to bring on for the
particular set up for this show. I saw that Kat's
Eye is going to be performing. Pre show nominees includes
Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, and Morgan Wallham. But he got
all leads with twelve nominations, and that is also a
spotlight on no nominees like Rose, one of the members
(12:52):
of Black Pink, who became the first Korean artists to
be nominated for Vity of the Year, along with Sabrina Carpenter,
Jenny Jimmin and g also Far this year that are
going to be scheduled for that. And as for this
year's event performing live at the MTV Video USIC Awards
because it's on CBS, they're putting a bigger crowd out,
(13:12):
and the CBS also runs the Grammy Awards the air
that show every February. They want to make this a
big deal because for television network TV, they realize live
events are what's going to carry the bulk of programming.
Because right now with Skydance taking over CBS, they want
to make live sports and live events become more important
(13:34):
and kind of start weaning off more of the scripted
programming they've already been taking off because they realize if
you have events that are going on regularly throughout the
network year, people are going to go to watch the
live events on network TV. People will go for that.
So for football and for various things that are going
on before or after an event, they'll also watch network television.
(13:55):
It's still a place where people will go to watch
because it's there as accessible as free. Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga,
Tate McCrae, Alex Warren, and Sabritta Carver will all be
performing that's already scheduled to perform so far. That's a
big good lineup legends right there. And then Tate McCrae,
who's been touring all this year and had a great,
pretty remarkable album this year, also was on the F
(14:17):
one soundtrack, Alex Warren putting out his album earlier this year.
Sabrita Carver having her a big monster year for her
last year with Shorten Sweet and now putting out Man's
Best Friend that's leading out here, so obviously for her
it's a big deal to promote for that being held
on Sunday, and the women behind the song Golden, which
(14:38):
is the current number one single right now on the
Hot one hundred, will present on the show as though
well the women behind Hunterricks, the fictional trio. They will
be appearing at the MTV VMAs And for Mariah Carey,
she will be performing and she'll be receiving this year's
Video Vanguard Award for her, and we'll be performing a
(14:59):
career spanning man of her hits. She still performs great,
and she has a new opment on the works working out,
and she's already gotten a couple of singles and he's
already put out leading up to the album release. And
they're definitely going for somebody that's a pretty renowned and
universally accepted for a host of this year, Ella cole
(15:20):
J who's already within the CBS Umbrella working with n
cis as he has or yeah, as he has Stormans
No no, l A s right, No, yeah, it was
a CSA SAS I forget. I think it's in CIS
l A. That's what I think it is. But ll
co g is gonna be going to be there at
the show, and the show will be from the Ubs Arena,
New York and Long Island first on CBS, I'm say,
(15:44):
MTV and also string on Paramount Plus. So I don't
know if it's gonna be airing on the other channels
or not. I don't know yet. There'll be a one
hour pre show. Were already said that cats I will
be performing their latest singles in early and Gabriella on
the pre show there. She will be alive on all
the Paramount related networks, and the VMA's will have their
(16:06):
extended playstage where they always put some spotlight on various
artists there and among those will be having is Bailey
has never remember featuring with the Kids. Roy was the
new song he's gonna be featuring there. Lola Young will
be performing her smash hit Messy on that extended playstage.
That's great for her and Mega Maroney Walls be performing
her track six months later. We also know that a
(16:29):
couple other areas of genres buster rhymes will beginning the
NTVVM A Rock the Bells, Mistiononary Award, Ricky Martin is
gonna be coming back, and I believe he's gonna be
performing as well. He'll be receiving the inaugural Latin Icon Award.
Big big deal on that, and god will be performing
for the first time in the VMA since twenty twenty
when she took home multiple trophies. Right now, Lady god
(16:52):
Got leaves the pack with total nominations, followed closely by
her fellow collaborator for Now with a smile, Bruno Mars
with the eleven. Kendrick Lamar is there with ten nominations,
Somebody Covered with nine Rose eight, Arena Gonde on the
Weekend seven, Billy Eilich and Tait McCrae six each, Charlie
h Chiks five, Alex Warren, Bad Bunny Doci Ed Shearon,
(17:14):
Jilly Roll Moley, Cyrus, Morgan Wall I'll each have four nominations.
And the messaging in marketing of this is trying to
be made a big deal so for TV as leading
up to the show, they've been marketing as music's most
surprising night. They don't want to call it music's biggest
night like the Grammys, but they're saying it's music's most
iconic night.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Also know the.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
ConA Gray Doja, Cat Java with the DJ Snake Jelly
Roll are also supposed to perform Post Malone and Somber
is supposed to be performing as well. He has a
forthcoming album as well, or his album just came out
as well, so good for him. That's kind of covering
the ground of who they have. And you know what,
for a year of music stagnation, MTV's kind of got
(18:00):
their finger on the pulse of who to bring and
who they were able to bring for this VMA show.
So people have been trying to magnify and really dig
deep into the idea of MTV and the Video Music
Awards were still relevant and Cannonball, the podcast from New
(18:21):
York Times, actually took some time to talk about this
and the point of the music videos and the music
industry in general. So shows hosted by Wesley Morris and
Neila Orr and Ela Or starts off in here in
this transcript, we're going to take from the podcast they
basically recently put out about if the vams are still relevant,
and Ela says, I think there are some people who
still are making some great videos. There are still people
(18:43):
who are really visually minded, have great esthetic impulses, and
really care about the medium and the music video. Those
people still exist, and there's some great music videos that
still come out, but I think the state of the
music video is greatly diminished. Some of the biggest artists
of our times don't even make music videos anymore. They
mentioned Beyonce when it came to her car on Boy
Carter album or for Renaissance. You just get visualizations in
(19:04):
looping and the moment you're of the art is just
doing something that just gets looped and looped and looped.
It feels like we're losing the art form of the
music video to social media. People are on their phone,
So I think it's that, and also that you have
to make reels or TikTok to very bite size visual
accompaniments for their projects, and I think it's part of
the problem. And then Wesley Morris goes on to talk
(19:25):
about the industrial concern because the thing that has kept
music videos for being taken seriously from the outset was
we didn't use this word back then, but they were
treated like content and they were essentially a commercial for
this long form music format called the album, and each
video essentially bankrolled by the big record who we need
to promote an album to sell songs, but also sell albums.
And I think that's what happened essentially, is that MTV
(19:47):
wasn't paying the run these videos. It was always EMPTV,
please pay our video, break our artists sell us millions
of albums, please, And the streaming era music labels don't
need that, They don't need MTV anymore. MTV theory, if
they really wanted to stay in business, they'd be paying
the labels themselves, Like it's not just in an artist's
interest of now just throw the music video on MTV
(20:07):
where a payamount Viacom sorry, sky Dance. But the thing
is that MTV could still be relevant in that case.
I still think so. I mean, the thing is, the
music labels are the ones that are kind of holding
themselves back. They're more worried about trying to make the
money on catalogs for previous music and whatever they want
(20:29):
to do with that, but for new music, they're not
trying to take the time to go ahead invest in
talent or build them out. But they could be using
radio on MTV to go ahead and build and develop talent.
It's obvious that you can still go ahead and try
to develop talent and make them into something. I mean, look,
Katsay is a great example from an artist that came out.
They had songs like Debut and Touch they put out
(20:50):
initially last year, and then this year they come up
with an extended play an EP and it's catching some
ground and they've gotten themselves in some viral campaigns that
are getting themselves more noticed and right now there's a
chance for them to try to peak. So for them,
you had the song Narley and Gabrielle that both took
off on the EP, and for them, what really helped
(21:14):
out was that they got to be part of the
Gap Jeans campaign right now, which is viral as we speak.
So what a better time to go and have Catsy
now perform at the pre show for MTV and it's
gonna get plastered all over the place virally. And that's
the thing that will help well, is that. I mean,
here's the thing I'll say, like this too. I remember
(21:35):
the last real memorable and amazing MTV Video Music Award
show was the one in COVID in twenty twenty, because
remember when they didn't have an audience, but they just
created this whole setup. Like it was amazing how they
went ahead and did it. It's like they were basically
doing music videos on location live, so of course they
couldn't have everybody on stage together, but the personal performances,
(21:58):
it didn't feel wrong when without the audience actually turned
out really good. I was amazing how well that went,
and that was something I thought that you could take
some of that cinematic value and bring that back in
that stagecraft. But the stage crack hasn't been much of
that anywhere anyways. Like even other artists we have right now,
(22:20):
I don't know how much accouterment they're gonna have, like
how much of a choreography they're gonna have, or how
much of a backdropp are they're gonna have to performed,
because you look at those artists, these are not people
that are like super out there and wild, like I mean,
Lady Gaga will obviously put a big performance out there
for herself, now, don't you get We'll probably do the
(22:44):
same but like the real artists that are gonna go
out there and really present themselves in something wild and crazy.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Those are the two.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Otherwise everybody else I think they're gonna just keep it
within a normal setup. I mean, Tate McCrea will obviously
have a big choreography with her show, Britta Carver will
do something special with her because there's always gonna be
like some kind of set up for the visuals to
go along with her work on the video. Like last
year and then she kissed the moon Man or something
(23:12):
like that. I forget what she did. But either which way,
there hasn't been much that's been very memorable. But to
see all these artists performed live and get out here,
especially the ones that you know that are right now
in the les Kana music today. And we're not just
talking about radio, we're talking about streaming because all these
artists that you're taking right now, we're not taking artists
(23:34):
here that are just radio friendly than just coming in here.
I mean, when you're looking at the current setup of
music right now, Cassi Somber, Tam McCrae, sa Brina Carpenter,
Lilo Young for that case as well, and you can
put Dojakat, you can put Jelly Roll in there. You
could definitely say that they have been an Alex Warren.
(23:54):
They have all been very prominent in streaming all this year,
big big thing. There isn't much else in the setup
you could have, Like, I mean, I don't know what
other artists you could bring on board that would make
a bigger difference or that be much more of an
impact right now of who they have. Because the other thing, too,
(24:14):
is that there is no be Ethy Awards, so like
some of those artists could have been put over there,
but they're not probably better off because we're not. We
haven't enjoying much of the Bethy Awards, at least I
haven't really enjoyed it too much. It's too much of
the fanfare and too much of it's not even about
the music so much anymore. Like it's I mean, some
of it's okay. I've caught clips here and there, but
(24:35):
I never would sit down and watch the beat the awards,
not in a long time anyway. But one thing that
was being said about in the Canniball podcast from New
York Times when they talked about the Video Music Awards
and literally taken the video of music of music videos
literally into this. It's not a bit about the music
videos themselves. Let's just make that clear. Music videos have
(24:56):
not been important in the VMA's it's an awards show
for music period. But now they go on to say
here and this is from Wesley Warris, he says that
you know, we're not really reconcerned with the video. We
experienced it, but only for the song. The videos like
a message of a period in which it was once
a primal source of artistic imagination and commercial viability. So
(25:17):
we have this award show for the first time I'm
going to be on CBS. But they also talk about
the fact that a CBS broadcast award show cannot live
on videos alone. So now they have Album of the Year,
Song of the Year, and other non video oriented categories.
So they're gonna do things just like the Grammys would do, which,
(25:38):
by the way, Grammys areun on CBS. They're gramifying the VMAs.
And I understand why they're doing that. Why keep some
of the structure of what MTV was When you would
think that originally what the MTV format was was based
on the music videos themselves and how they would be evaluated.
(26:00):
Have that right now, it's just a music in general.
If they happen to have a music video, great, If
they don't, it doesn't matter. But for the most part,
most of these artists, I think all of them still
do put out music videos anyway regardless, and there's efforts
into those anyway. And I went ahead and got into
some of the things that were being brought up in
(26:21):
terms of what the VMA's mean. I still think they
are a unique and increasingly vital cultural event. And I
think what they're doing right now in terms of having
the CBS broadcast and changing the awards set up to
have other categories to make this more of a music
intensive show with the MTV brand front and center, makes
(26:42):
us a better show. MTV still is trying to create
an effort, a deliberate effort, to be a singular meeting
point for a diverse array of genres, because I know
there's other genres they always put in here as well,
so they always like to go into Latin, and I'm
sure they're gonna probably lookt the areas of K pop
or afrobeats or reggaeton, like just those areas are gonna
(27:04):
be evaluated as well. Somewhere they're going to make sure
you're going to see some of these different categories being
brought up. So the v Mays have been a bell
weather for what's next in pop culture. There's not really
a next in pop culture. What it is right now
is what we have is who is the here and
now of music? And I can tell that what they're
(27:24):
also doing is they're not even focusing so much on
the past. They are a little bit, but they're like
the artists are going to bring on board they could perform,
like whether it's Ricky Martin or Mariah Carey or Lady
Gaga or Buster Rhymes. I think there's something there about
who they're gonna bring on that they're gonna not delve
too much into the old. They're gonna just steal more
(27:46):
into the now. There's enough in the here and now
to cover. So they should be the bell whether to say, hell,
if MTV is recognizing you, that means you've made it.
You're in the mainstream right now. And so the v
Mays are responding to the challenge of being that bell weather.
Looking at streaming services and social media because there's a
fraction a fractioning that's been going on for years of
(28:07):
music ever since MTV decided not to play music videos
anymore like this, and then of course Napster that ultimately
changed the game because we've had a fractioning of music
for a lot of different reasons. Number one would be
radio deregulation in the nineties that didn't help. And then
when music sales took a die physical music sales took
(28:29):
a die for Napster, that changed everything too, because right
now so many independent artists out there that are not
going to be represented here. That's okay, but at least
you're gonna get some artists here that they resonate well
with the grassroots following and their mainstream and they don't
feel like they're all industry plants, which is the other
(28:50):
part that's very important. I think the choice of the
artists they bring on board, plus also bringing incorporating country
into the mix as well. That works, and all like
where they're going with that. I like to have one
which is a full hodgepodge of all of it. Now,
the inclusions for best Pop Artists in Best Country Artists
is acknowledging the industries of halving landscape. The ceremony they're
(29:13):
going to have looks like the night where a Kate
pop app can share the shame stage and audience with
a rock band or a Regazon star with a cultural
conversation that can be made that doesn't happen on the
algorithmically driven platform. My point is is that while YouTube
is the haven for music videos now, it's still important
because they're Facebook try to go ahead and experiment to
music videos on a Spotify is trying to do that
(29:34):
as well, to try to get into the music videos
as well, and I hope they do someday because that
will really help because then anything that will encourage music
videos to be made is important, and where they can
be seen is important. But MTV's played the gatekeeper. They
at least when they remark and say, okay, this artist
is going to be on the VMAs, or this person
(29:54):
is going to perform, or this person's going to get
an award, that's something that important because I think even
the awards that's secondary compared to who is able to
be seen performing, being there, appearing or giving out an award,
whoever's presenting all those things. I think what the fact
of who appears on that program is extremely important because
(30:17):
you realize who is there and the other part I
always got to think about too, is that if MTV
is able to get themselves on such a presence right
now with a CBS broadcast, that it will do the
one thing that streaming services will pay attention to, and
then for the music industry yourself, because what CBS is
trying to do here, what Parent's trying to do with
this show is if the VMAs do what it's supposed
(30:40):
to do, all these artists that appear should get a bump.
There's no Grammy bump anymore for music out there, because
there's only certain things that are out there that will
create a bump for an artist. When it's something viral
that goes up on social media, that's one. If it's
a super Bowl that's two. Other than that, what else
(31:02):
is there that creates a bump? The VMA's used to
do that, and now they're a chance to try to
go and build a bigger audience to make it where
even if they're not gonna catch it so much on
the broadcasts themselves, but if they do a good jo
almost sciminia to go and put that word out there
and they market it and they send out clips all
over the place. I mean one of the things they're
(31:24):
doing right now. In terms of the fan base, you
have a lot of artists that are in the mix
that are gonna be performing. They're gonna have their fans
all over the place that are gonna be like cult like.
They will go ahead and try to promote the best
they can for all their artists. So Casside will get
a big following, Sabrina's got a big following. Take McCray
has got a big following. You know, Black Pink and
(31:47):
Rose and all those also a big following. Just think
about like that, You're gonna have that kind of push
that you would hope from all these armies of fans.
They're gonna be pushing their individual artists and trying to
get them off the ground, and that will have this
footage of MTV and doing their performance, a live performance
at that which normally they don't. You don't get a
chance to go and see much of unless you seem
(32:09):
a concert. This is a good chance to go and
see it. And if it's done and choreographed, it it's
and if it's it's shot done right and you get
the good and see it like, it makes a difference.
It will make MTV relevant in that case, and I
think people need to go and see some of that
more countless viral clips online personalities. And I think the
other thing too is that to get away from some
(32:30):
of the online personality they've been having on and some
of the things they've been doing in terms of what
the structure of the reward shows have been, I'll tell
you like this too. I think they've also attached a
little too much into the cultural guy stuff, trying to
be diverse DEI be, you know, diverse, equitable and inclusive.
(32:51):
I think you can tell even by this award show,
they know that the culture has changed. There's been a
shift something much more to do, much more conventional that
we've had before. And from what they're doing with this
award show, it deals like that's what's going to happen
to where we get it to where it's somewhere in
(33:11):
a place where a bigger audience is going to catch
on and watch. I don't want to make this political.
I just think that there is a cultural shift that
we've had and it's been obvious this year. Just look
at the jeans campaigns. Okay, there's a cultural shift going on,
and who's going to be performing live, it'll be a
bigger story. Of course, what might happen is that we
might have a certain artists that will have some political view.
(33:32):
They might try to use the platform for political statements.
That could probably happen, that's okay whatever. The other thing
I've also noticed too, is that how many times do
you see live performances where it's just solo artists. So
of course they need a coupon of it. They needed
a couturemont right, and they need backup dancers, need the
other things going on in the background to help for
that performance. And of course, going to make the veteran
(33:54):
artists that are going to be part of this a
taste to the show's past glory. With some of the
artist are gonna bring on board of the veterans, they're
gonna be stand out and people will know the songs
it be, it'll be loved. They'll be really wonderful to
go and see that. There's iconic instances that MTV's show
has done, and I think that's one of those things
(34:15):
that social media could totally go for. There are no
viral moments, but in the times of MTV's Video Music
Awards in their history, if done that in the first
VMA like a virgin Madonna rolling around on the floor
in a wedding dress, all in white, version of white, provocative, theatrical, unforgettable.
(34:39):
Everybody remembers that always Nirvana performing lithium explosive amp trashing,
looking like the who out there? That was you know again,
the change of the glam rock of the hair bands,
showing hey rock has changed, We're in an alternative sense.
The rise of al music was there. The triple Kiss
(34:59):
Brittany Ma Donna, Christina two thousand and three, again, three
of the biggest names and pop all together, Hilo Swift
being interrupted by Kanye West. I'm gonna let you finish moment,
Beyonce showing she was pregnant with her first with her
daughter and performing low on top, and you see that,
(35:21):
And that's those things that come across. So it's fragmentation.
The musical industry is completely fragmented. So it's very rare
for something to go in rees or rise to the
creams criminal the crop to the rise of the top.
It's just not happening right now. TikTok and Spotify democratized
music discovery, and it's great. That's the one thing I
(35:42):
will say, I enjoy the fact that TikTok and YouTube
and Spotify, we get to see lots of music of
various genres, various stars, various everything. It's an open platform.
Everybody can put their content up there. Okay, so music discovery,
(36:03):
there's lots of music discovery, but we need to have
a room where there used to be that kind of
It's almost like the idea of like the small closcert halls,
the small clubs, and certain artists would get to perform
and they would work their way up. And this is
the same kind of we're getting that virtual sense right
now with Spotify, YouTube and TikTok, But there was always
(36:25):
a point where, Okay, in order for you to take
that next step to become mainstream, to become famous, you
need to have that extra step. You need to find
out where is your end goal for somebody, These artists,
they don't know what the end goal is. I mean,
what is it. I mean to get yourself to be
important so that you could be on tour making, you know,
(36:46):
playing for millions of fans every year and putting out
albums and selling them out. It's so hard to do
that now in today's of Spotify, TikTok and YouTube and
this fragmented, democratized music discovery environment, which is why radio
and MTV they can still make themselves relevant today to
(37:07):
take care of this problem, to be the solution for
this problem. But the music industry, I have said it
over and over, they need to come back and play
ball with them. Just because the folks on Cannonball on
New York Times said, well, music needs to be paid for. Fine,
get them on royalties, find out other pipeline for royalties
through them. But until then, you need them. You need MTV,
(37:33):
you need radio, just like MTV and radio need music.
And I'm just saying MTV doesn't have to necessarily be
in the same realm as it was with a cable channel.
It doesn't have to be. That's fine, But that brand
could be the visual marketing arm, the social arm, all
of it, because MTV could still be the social arm
if they would put the resources behind it and make
(37:55):
it important and put music videos on there and put
other and find out of the place over the go
ahead and put some long form content out that people
will go ahead and catch on to it and listen
to the credit MTV has done them, you know, they
got tootal TV, they get their platforms over there, they
have the cable channels. I don't know how much of
an online presence they have for that kind of content.
(38:15):
But the one thing is that they've been continuing to downside.
They don't have that MTV news department anymore. They got
rid of that all together, but the the news also
went a way too. That's okay, I understand that part.
But it doesn't mean that you can't do something where
in the social media environment. It doesn't mean that there
are certain artists that they might have in their own
case that they should try to create artists out of
nowhere that people should be paying attention to. They should
(38:38):
just say, okay, these are artists that are making themselves
headway and streaming and other places, and these are the
people that need to put in front. Because MTV was
important and was recognizable for certain artists, they said, these
are people that are spanking new. You need to pay
attention to them. They're breaking out. So MTV could be
the place for them to break out themselves. It could
(39:00):
still be done. I really do believe that. All right,
there's a few other topics I want to get into
outside of the normal realm of things Series six M
and Howard Stern did not return to address a potential
new contract for him on his setup. We don't know
why Howard Stern did not return back to a Series
(39:22):
six M P show, but he had promised to go
and tell people all next Monday. They say now, but
it's a week delay. Amid fresh speculation about Howard Stern's future,
Series XM President and Chief Content Officer spoke of the
Bank of America's media conference and did not hedge on
the host's value on Wednesday. And here's what he said.
(39:43):
That Howard, quote, for all these years and right up
until now, is as important to content, a single piece
of content as we've had. He's the best interviewer out
there period, you know, bar none end quote. And I
said that a few weeks ago that if he were
to do anything going forward, he's an interviewer. He's the
longer a morning show host. He doesn't fit that role
Anymore's seventy one years old. No, it's done.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
Now.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
As we know Stern's normal acceptance when since two thousand
and six is normally getting a five year, five hundred
million dollar pack with the company. We've done it several
times and for those years since two thousand and six,
his multi hundred million dollar deal has been long justified
as a driver to have subscoverty retention and brand identity.
(40:26):
But now people question how much longer this platform can
destain costs speculation and the eventual exit could be a
recurring storyline a GreenSet. He told investors, quote, we'd love
to see him stay. It certainly has to make sense,
but we feel pretty good that we've done this before.
We'll see where it goes.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Now.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
They've been report saying that he's gotten a monster pay day,
but there's been nothing confirmed. The CEO, Jennifer Witz, says
that quote, he's been quarter o a platform for twenty years,
over twenty years, and I'm confident we'll get to the
right place. And when they look at what they will
do about Stern and evaluate how much they can offer him,
Greenstein says that the team is asking what a personality
(41:06):
means to the service and the specific audience segments, and
an example right now is Stephen A. Smith is someone
as an example of a deliberate bet on talent after
the company signed him to a deal in June, and
they also were asked about their work in podcasting and
that podcasting gets a way, that Series six M is
increasingly leveraging its reach, as well as his relationship with
(41:28):
relationships with talent and executives. Told investors they're approaching podcast
acquisitions and renewals with a heavy focus on data and
predictable returns. Greenstein talked about the fact that video has
become a major player on YouTube obviously in podcasting. Over time,
we have to figure out what we're going to do there,
and I'll tell you when it comes to podcasting, I
was actually going through that with some of the content
(41:49):
I do on a regular basis, not for my channel,
but forever the things, and you know, it's a hit
or miss. If you decide to do a video for podcasting,
people want to do it anyway. I think if you
do it in the short form and then you decide
to go ahead and take important content or very high
profile content and make sure you put out on the video,
that's one thing to get out there. But for the
(42:10):
most part, unless you're recognizable or you think that you're
gonna really do something out there and it's gonna be
significant that warrants a video podcast, I don't think video
is important. I don't think it's a priority. I think
it's if you can do it, and you can put
it together and you can edit it and you can
produce it, great, But you gotta have something more than
(42:32):
two talking has on the screen. It's gotta be more
than that. And it can't just be the said. It's
gotta be something more. But that's very tough for some people.
And as for Series six M, they said their revenue
trends and cost cutting has allowed them to raise their
free cash flow guidance, and Jennifer West told the investor
conference they're reiterating revenue guidance at approximately eight point five
(42:55):
billion dollars for the year and earnings of approximately two
point six billion dollars, and they feel good about those numbers. Now,
another story I want to talk about that I've been
hammering on for a couple of weeks is the broadcast
ownership rules. As we know, the SEC is looking to
reevaluate broadcast ownership, which means they could very well make
a point to let broadcast ownership be whatever, because right
(43:16):
now a lot of media companies are saying, well, the
Internet is our competition now, not amongst ourselves, So they
want to find a way to say, Okay, let us
be able to value whatever newspaper, magazine, radio station, TV
station that we want and there's no limit to it.
That's what they want, and of course the lobby arms
that's importantly trying to go and hedge that effort and
(43:37):
trying to lobby that to the finish line is a
National Association of Broadcasters. So the NAB is putting out
facts of how their campaign right now to update decade
its old ownership rules is reaching significant traction both on
air and Washington. So since April, they had an initiative
that started with nearly a quarter million radio and TV
spots across one hundred nineteen markets, equitting the more than
(44:00):
four forty three million dollars in air time in over
one billion impressions, and the NAB says that push has
led to more than one hundred and twenty four thousand emails,
thirty four thousands we restricted to members of Congress and
SEC comminists in a grass roots support for reform and
a new round of creative spotlights the risk through free
live sports if the rules are not modernized. And Curtisagate,
(44:22):
the CEO and president of NAB says that outdated rules
are checking stations from growing and innovating at a time
when big tech operates with limited scale and zero public
interest obligations. Curtisgate said also the SEC needs to act quickly,
saying modernized ownership policies are necessary for broadcasters to continue
investing in journalism, emergency coverage, and sports programming. So they're
(44:44):
making their effort. Nobody else is stopping them from doing it.
The music industry is not helping out at all. To
push back on the fact that, you know, the NAB
has been controlling a lot of things when it comes
to the control of royalties and money that's being made
by radio stations at the detriment of record companies and
(45:08):
the artists and the songwriters and publishers themselves. Wheready to
talk about was it two weeks ago about the change
of the royalties that are coming up? There's something that increases,
but really not that much. Nothing only that there is
right now. If they were able to put the build
the Congress to make it where actual world is being
(45:29):
paid out based on the size of stations, and to
get that pushed across too. But the ANEB has been
a big monolith that's able to go ahead control of
the environment keep it from A lot of people are
getting involved. Last day I had a round here was
from Radio Insight. They put a story out about streaming
versus research, So what radio is doing to try to
(45:51):
go ahead and determine what songs on the country dials
are determined to be songs that people should be playing,
because it's one of the last places I think where
it comes to country as a genre where they're not
so antiquated. And I know probably people will good give
me shit about saying that, but like music grow Nashville. Yeah,
(46:11):
of course they have their artists that want to go
and push out there and what they want to do
with it. But I think something needs to be said
about the fact that country streaming is important to the
detriment of any songs going on the radio. That you know,
there's a little more enterprising efforts being done by country
stations to pay attention to what streaming is doing right
(46:31):
now for artists along the research of the hits and
what needs to be a hit. So Sean Ross puts
the story about this. He talked to the vice presentor
programming at iHeartRadio in Minneapolis, about the discussion between the
influence of streaming versus call at country radio. It was
one of the panels that the Country Music Seminar or
the Country Radio Seminar back in February, And the point
(46:53):
is that if streaming versus call is an next essential question,
it's for something that cody words don't mean. The country's
existence is the most comfortable of the current based formats
in terms of ratings and the radio label relationship. Right,
labels and radio stations actually work together, except for that
little caveat where you had radio stations that were forcing
the artists to play free shows that radio can make
(47:16):
money off of those little concert things, as I think
that's a little bit of the pill that should not
be allowed. And I remember that will still being looked at.
I don't know if that's still gotten any farther yet,
but we're gonna keep an eye on it. And that's
a contrast to pop formats, where pure radio records are
in short supply, but where both product flow and the
label relationship are disintegrating quickly but slow building. Call driven
(47:38):
hits are remnant of the pre Morgan Wall and country
format where passive records we even dominated the chart, but
now label reps who remain committed would like to see
the process expedited. They think it's a happy medium between
thirteen weeks for superstar releases in fifty weeks, but ideally
they want to get to thirty weeks where an artist
that might be rand new and if a song goes
(47:59):
and gets streaming, it does very well that eventually radio
is going to pick up on it and make it
popular and give it that extra push to be a
reallyant top song in the genre. So they talk to
the operations manager at Kygo and Denver, a major market
country station been very successful being informed by streaming. Brian
(48:19):
Mitchell says that country quote needs more active records than
ever because of the infinite choices entertainment. We need to
drive passion and desire to engage with our brands. Passive
just aids being forgotten doesn't mean that some of those
passive songs don't develop in the real hits. For the audience,
there has to be a modicum of give a care.
That doesn't mean play everything that is newer, everything that
streams either brand expectations should be considered. It's amazing because
(48:43):
I know my brother listens to serious as a Highway sixteen,
at least he did when he had serious until they keep,
you know, pushing the price up for subscriptions up too much,
which you know is no surprise there. But they do
a really good job on that channel of a I
defind songs that are doing well on streaming versus the
radio hits, and even some of the songs they think
(49:04):
that should be putting out there themselves, being a taste
peck in a trend center, which is good too. So
they go into some of the things about some of
the songs that have gotten out there that have become
mainstream crossover hits. Shabuzi's good News the follow up single
to a bar some Tipsy It's cracking Spotify's Top two
hundred and now in July, and a researcher Matt Bailey
(49:25):
says that that was driven by airplay that at the
time good News was strong in research and not just
Country but a certain CHR stations, and the telling the
differences between Country and CHR is that the song is
taking ads for a push week at Country as it
closes on number one, but moved on from top forty
after it peaked at number five, So Country at least
(49:46):
wants to try to go ahead and move ahead of
the pack and at least make it where radio is
not gonna be that far behind to streaming when it
comes to songs becoming popular and making you know, crowning
an artist that is performing very well on streaming and
making them the big hit overnight and giving them the
extra boost they need from radio to get themselves at
the very top of the country charts and maybe very
(50:06):
well on the mainstream charts. Because we see how the
one hundred has a lot of country songs on there,
more than ever and it's any any given time. I
think it's a big deal to get pay attention to
that as well. But anyway, I'm looking forward to the
VMA's this weekend. I can't wait to go and see
what they have. And you know, I actually like the
lineup of artists they have this year. They are missing
(50:28):
a rock artists, that's whether they don't have much of
But again, they can't play any of the older artists.
There's not anybody wore out there that's really relevant to
put out there. Movie League at Park, but that's already
gone past. Who else is there? I love to know
what you think and I hope you get a chance
to watch. Let me know what you think about it.
We'll talk about it next week. I don't know the
broadcast podcast counted as king, and the control your content
(50:49):
is in your hands.
Podcasting since two thousand and five. This is the King
of Podcasts Radio Network, King of Podcasts dot Com.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Cmas are gone, Soultraine Awards are gone. Be the awards
are gone, but the VMAs they're still here. And it's
this weekend.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
The King of Podcasts Radio Network proudly presents to the
Broadcasters Podcast. Here is the King of Podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome to episode for zero two of The Broadcasters Podcast.
Speaking of Podcasts, Here with you for another episode. And
it's one of those random episodes that I always do.
If you've heard this show for any length of time,
you know I talk about the VMA's quite a bit.
I first started talking about it about this when I
had my win I'm my podcasting series, because it's just
that right spot to be. But there's a relevance this
(00:51):
year and a significant effort now that CBS or Paramount
or Skydance now have control of the MTV Video NEWSIC wards. Now,
of course MPTV that have not been the same as
it was. You know, we know that very clearly. No
music television that is no longer the identity of the network.
(01:13):
It hasn't been like that for well over twenty years.
Tr was the last moments where we still felt that
was still there, and there have been times where they
add a little bit of videos here and there. But
of course YouTube technology streaming have changed everything. But that
doesn't mean that MTV, much like radio, could not find
(01:35):
then a new identity for themselves in this technological age.
It's changed, this digital disruption I constantly talk about, it
doesn't mean they cannot stay relevant. And there's a reason
why they have survived past the CMAS, past bet and
past whole train. Me well, there might be certain entities
(01:56):
that own those properties that decided not to go and
continue it. The American Music Awards came back and it
was a fiasco last year. It was horrible, really out
of touch. But meanwhile, the MTV brand call it what
you will. It still holds up somewhat today, and I
think what they're doing with the VMA's this Sunday, it's
(02:18):
going to hold up.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I'm actually kind of surprised and very thankful and thrilled
they're actually going to be able to keep this in
a certain way somewhat relevant and finding a way themselves
because they've been able to kind of revolutionize themselves. They've
been trying to at least try to keep moving in
a direction where they are looking to try to hold
(02:40):
onto the nostalgia. Obviously, we have, you know, fans like
myself that grew up on MTV from the very beginning,
and MTV I still think in some way, shape or form,
if it were a music video channel, or if it
was the bastion of music in general of what would
be in the mainstream, it would still be important today.
(03:02):
But of course there's still money to be made in it.
When I've listened to certain people to talk about where
MTV was that people would go ahead and flip from
other channels to watch music videos on MTV. But that
doesn't mean that people would go aha and stay to
watch music videos for long times of retention, only to
then go to commercial break, and once the commercial break happened,
(03:22):
they would just dip. And that's understood. The short oftension
span really destroyed any chance of MTV continued to be
that way. But I still think there's something to be
said about where MTV this was the place to go
for the music videos to see the stars. It doesn't
mean you could still you couldn't still do something like
(03:43):
this now, but I mean even MTV, you know, in
the last twenty years by having True Life for teen
Mom or The Challenger Jersey Shore, by completely just going
reality shows and ridiculousness and completely alienating anything that has
to do with music and having it being pushed off
(04:03):
to the other channels. Was I mean at that time,
I guess you had to go and do that kind
of thing, because once something's not relevant anymore, you want
to still keep that brand still around. So MTV Classic
still remains, and MTV two and other MTV channels that
are around as well that cater to different areas, whether
(04:24):
it's the hip hop area for jams, or it's for
the rock or if it's for the Spanish crowd with Trace,
it's all those kind of things. But we already know
that right now MTV, in the same world that they
have multiple channels on cable, those could be consolidated right now,
take those channels away and put everything back into the
(04:45):
main property of MTV itself and just put that content
in there and make it the Hodgepodge it was as
a place for music, as a haven and where taste
making and trendsetting could be made. You see the stars
of music on and you find a way to use
social media to go and take that advantage, and maybe
(05:06):
you could find some stars or some people that are
kind of influencers, much like in the MTV days you
found people that were more or less influencers. The early
influencers came from there. You could do something with that now,
but they don't, but they could. The thing is, you know,
it's always a change of trying to keep up with
the times. Yeah, you're not gonna do spring break anymore.
(05:28):
You're not gonna do various events they would do. But
like you could go to concerts, you could do the
social media and go out there and catch what's going on.
And the brand could have been embedded into other things,
maybe into radio, maybe into streaming, maybe into podcasting. Other
things could have happened, but the resources were never made
to be put there. And that's because where MTV is
(05:50):
at right now, in that current paramount, they were more
worried about other things, you know. I mean all their
cable channels have suffered. Nickelodeon has greatly so for Comedy
Central has greatly suffered. I mean there's certain programming that
goes on these channels that we all grew up as
kids that identify what those channels are. And so for MTV,
(06:13):
it's ridiculousness. And you know, now I forget the other
shows they oh love it hip hop because they moved
that over from VH one to MTV. Other than that,
that's like the identities of those of that network. For Nickelodeon,
I don't even know what it is anymore. And as
for Comedy Central at South Park and other shows that
they've picked up from other entities as well to fill
(06:36):
up the lineup. But it doesn't mean music television couldn't
have been put together. And the thing was there have
been other channels that tried and failed, and you know,
Viva was trying to go and fill that kind of
void and that hasn't really panned out. I don't even
know if this dealand exists anymore. I couldn't tell you.
But all those areas of music, we don't have one
(06:59):
place where we can go to catch up on the music,
because in other markets they have might either state run
media that does it. You know, BBC is very big
about covering everything when it comes to music. They might
not have Top of the Pops anymore, but they still
have music programming. They still have things where they cover Eurovision,
especially their radio programming. BBC Radio one is a bastion
(07:20):
of music, popular music, of the mainstream of various genres.
They do a great job of programming to cater to
everybody in their market and a younger demographic as well,
and they as competition on the private route. This could
still happen here, but a big corporate Enterry. I mean,
I hope that sky Dance could see the value of
(07:42):
MTV as a property and be able to use that
more because MTV doesn't need to be about the channel.
It could just be what represents the identity. Like MTV
is iconic as Playboy, it's iconic as Coca Cola. I mean,
I just think that people know what is and what
you mean by that. And for someone like me, I
(08:04):
have various memories of MTV. What that is, the VJs,
the spring breaks, you know, the award shows, the VMA's
all of it. Like, there was a lot of things
to remember, your TV raps or head Baker's Ball or
one hundred and twenty minutes. There was so much. It
covered everything. And the idea was you have to remember
(08:28):
that MTV used to be able to generate sales when
you talk about there was music that would have music
videos of artists from other countries, Okay, especially from the UK.
Another British invasion was as a result of the fact
that American artists were not really big of than music videos.
It didn't really catch on. It caught on moarn to Europe,
and that's why a lot of artists that we saw
(08:50):
in the early eighties moving on before we got on
that caught on, where Madonna and Michael Jackson and Prince
and others caught on to the bug of music videos
and realize how important that was, but before they got
into the play Duran Duran culture Club. Those are the
artists that we saw first and foremost the police. They
(09:12):
were the ones we saw and we caught onto them,
and they were smart to go ahead and take advantage
of MTV because what you didn't realize was the bump
that it also gave for the kind of record sales
that were able to be made in other markets like
So it wasn't even have to be where it was
in New York, LA. It's you could be a small
town America and if you have the cable channel MTV,
(09:34):
you caught these songs in heavy rotation and you went
and bought the records and the bump wasn't from radio,
it was from video airplay on MTV. We got had
the ratings, we would know how many people were watchually
watching the programming over there at least a sample of it.
(09:55):
And I bring all this together because I feel like
there is a relevance that can still be made to
MTV today. It's not a brand that I think has
gotten completely old yet either, And I think it's because
the people that get to go ahead and work together
every year to do this award show. Some years have
been different than others, but they have found a way
to continue to keep this show relevant. It still gets something.
(10:17):
They don't get the kind of rating thing they used to,
but I mean they get turned about four million viewers
on average. They don't get a complete erosionally they did.
But I think the one thing that didn't help them,
if I'm right, last year they ran it not on
Sunday nights. If I'm right, I'm just trying to remember
what they did last year. But when I look at
(10:39):
what they did previously, I remember last year, I don't
think they even ran it on a Sunday. They ran
it on a different night, and I'm just trying to
remember what it was. The plan was to run it
on a Tuesday, September tenth, but the event was pushed
back because of the presidential of a presidential debate. It
was pushed back by a day, so they ran out
(11:00):
on a Monday night. Crazy and it would be MTV
is the main channel that we would go ahead and
carry the show. But then what happened this time around
is a few things are different. Number One, Paramout Global,
the cover parent of MTV. They announced before the sky
Dance merger that CBS would carry the event for the
(11:23):
first time network television along with all the other channels,
but CBS would be the main carrier of it, and
of course Paramount would have a pre show before the
CBS show airs it live, and it'll be on Paramount
Plus at all other places. But it's a great thing,
and actually the truth is what they have done this
year is also a really good list of stars that
(11:48):
are going to be appearing. This is not a Taylor
Swift led show this time around. Last year, there was
a lot to be said about Taylor Swift, where she
won a lot of awards for herself. Video of the Year.
Artists of the Year broke the record for most awards
won overall thirty wins in two thousand and nine, and
(12:09):
she won for a Video of the Year Fortnite, which
extended a record for most wins and most cause secutive
wins excuse me in the category five wins three years respectively. Anyway,
So this year, well, at our long pre show, they're
getting pretty smart on who to bring on who are
(12:32):
pretty viral and very important to bring on for the
particular set up for this show. I saw that Kat's
Eye is going to be performing. Pre show nominees includes
Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, and Morgan Wallham. But he got
all leads with twelve nominations, and that is also a
spotlight on no nominees like Rose, one of the members
(12:52):
of Black Pink, who became the first Korean artists to
be nominated for Vity of the Year, along with Sabrina Carpenter,
Jenny Jimmin and g also Far this year that are
going to be scheduled for that. And as for this
year's event performing live at the MTV Video USIC Awards
because it's on CBS, they're putting a bigger crowd out,
(13:12):
and the CBS also runs the Grammy Awards the air
that show every February. They want to make this a
big deal because for television network TV, they realize live
events are what's going to carry the bulk of programming.
Because right now with Skydance taking over CBS, they want
to make live sports and live events become more important
(13:34):
and kind of start weaning off more of the scripted
programming they've already been taking off because they realize if
you have events that are going on regularly throughout the
network year, people are going to go to watch the
live events on network TV. People will go for that.
So for football and for various things that are going
on before or after an event, they'll also watch network television.
(13:55):
It's still a place where people will go to watch
because it's there as accessible as free. Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga,
Tate McCrae, Alex Warren, and Sabritta Carver will all be
performing that's already scheduled to perform so far. That's a
big good lineup legends right there. And then Tate McCrae,
who's been touring all this year and had a great,
pretty remarkable album this year, also was on the F
(14:17):
one soundtrack, Alex Warren putting out his album earlier this year.
Sabrita Carver having her a big monster year for her
last year with Shorten Sweet and now putting out Man's
Best Friend that's leading out here, so obviously for her
it's a big deal to promote for that being held
on Sunday, and the women behind the song Golden, which
(14:38):
is the current number one single right now on the
Hot one hundred, will present on the show as though
well the women behind Hunterricks, the fictional trio. They will
be appearing at the MTV VMAs And for Mariah Carey,
she will be performing and she'll be receiving this year's
Video Vanguard Award for her, and we'll be performing a
(14:59):
career spanning man of her hits. She still performs great,
and she has a new opment on the works working out,
and she's already gotten a couple of singles and he's
already put out leading up to the album release. And
they're definitely going for somebody that's a pretty renowned and
universally accepted for a host of this year, Ella cole
(15:20):
J who's already within the CBS Umbrella working with n
cis as he has or yeah, as he has Stormans
No no, l A s right, No, yeah, it was
a CSA SAS I forget. I think it's in CIS
l A. That's what I think it is. But ll
co g is gonna be going to be there at
the show, and the show will be from the Ubs Arena,
New York and Long Island first on CBS, I'm say,
(15:44):
MTV and also string on Paramount Plus. So I don't
know if it's gonna be airing on the other channels
or not. I don't know yet. There'll be a one
hour pre show. Were already said that cats I will
be performing their latest singles in early and Gabriella on
the pre show there. She will be alive on all
the Paramount related networks, and the VMA's will have their
(16:06):
extended playstage where they always put some spotlight on various
artists there and among those will be having is Bailey
has never remember featuring with the Kids. Roy was the
new song he's gonna be featuring there. Lola Young will
be performing her smash hit Messy on that extended playstage.
That's great for her and Mega Maroney Walls be performing
her track six months later. We also know that a
(16:29):
couple other areas of genres buster rhymes will beginning the
NTVVM A Rock the Bells, Mistiononary Award, Ricky Martin is
gonna be coming back, and I believe he's gonna be
performing as well. He'll be receiving the inaugural Latin Icon Award.
Big big deal on that, and god will be performing
for the first time in the VMA since twenty twenty
when she took home multiple trophies. Right now, Lady god
(16:52):
Got leaves the pack with total nominations, followed closely by
her fellow collaborator for Now with a smile, Bruno Mars
with the eleven. Kendrick Lamar is there with ten nominations,
Somebody Covered with nine Rose eight, Arena Gonde on the
Weekend seven, Billy Eilich and Tait McCrae six each, Charlie
h Chiks five, Alex Warren, Bad Bunny Doci Ed Shearon,
(17:14):
Jilly Roll Moley, Cyrus, Morgan Wall I'll each have four nominations.
And the messaging in marketing of this is trying to
be made a big deal so for TV as leading
up to the show, they've been marketing as music's most
surprising night. They don't want to call it music's biggest
night like the Grammys, but they're saying it's music's most
iconic night.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Also know the.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
ConA Gray Doja, Cat Java with the DJ Snake Jelly
Roll are also supposed to perform Post Malone and Somber
is supposed to be performing as well. He has a
forthcoming album as well, or his album just came out
as well, so good for him. That's kind of covering
the ground of who they have. And you know what,
for a year of music stagnation, MTV's kind of got
(18:00):
their finger on the pulse of who to bring and
who they were able to bring for this VMA show.
So people have been trying to magnify and really dig
deep into the idea of MTV and the Video Music
Awards were still relevant and Cannonball, the podcast from New
(18:21):
York Times, actually took some time to talk about this
and the point of the music videos and the music
industry in general. So shows hosted by Wesley Morris and
Neila Orr and Ela Or starts off in here in
this transcript, we're going to take from the podcast they
basically recently put out about if the vams are still relevant,
and Ela says, I think there are some people who
still are making some great videos. There are still people
(18:43):
who are really visually minded, have great esthetic impulses, and
really care about the medium and the music video. Those
people still exist, and there's some great music videos that
still come out, but I think the state of the
music video is greatly diminished. Some of the biggest artists
of our times don't even make music videos anymore. They
mentioned Beyonce when it came to her car on Boy
Carter album or for Renaissance. You just get visualizations in
(19:04):
looping and the moment you're of the art is just
doing something that just gets looped and looped and looped.
It feels like we're losing the art form of the
music video to social media. People are on their phone,
So I think it's that, and also that you have
to make reels or TikTok to very bite size visual
accompaniments for their projects, and I think it's part of
the problem. And then Wesley Morris goes on to talk
(19:25):
about the industrial concern because the thing that has kept
music videos for being taken seriously from the outset was
we didn't use this word back then, but they were
treated like content and they were essentially a commercial for
this long form music format called the album, and each
video essentially bankrolled by the big record who we need
to promote an album to sell songs, but also sell albums.
And I think that's what happened essentially, is that MTV
(19:47):
wasn't paying the run these videos. It was always EMPTV,
please pay our video, break our artists sell us millions
of albums, please, And the streaming era music labels don't
need that, They don't need MTV anymore. MTV theory, if
they really wanted to stay in business, they'd be paying
the labels themselves, Like it's not just in an artist's
interest of now just throw the music video on MTV
(20:07):
where a payamount Viacom sorry, sky Dance. But the thing
is that MTV could still be relevant in that case.
I still think so. I mean, the thing is, the
music labels are the ones that are kind of holding
themselves back. They're more worried about trying to make the
money on catalogs for previous music and whatever they want
(20:29):
to do with that, but for new music, they're not
trying to take the time to go ahead invest in
talent or build them out. But they could be using
radio on MTV to go ahead and build and develop talent.
It's obvious that you can still go ahead and try
to develop talent and make them into something. I mean, look,
Katsay is a great example from an artist that came out.
They had songs like Debut and Touch they put out
(20:50):
initially last year, and then this year they come up
with an extended play an EP and it's catching some
ground and they've gotten themselves in some viral campaigns that
are getting themselves more noticed and right now there's a
chance for them to try to peak. So for them,
you had the song Narley and Gabrielle that both took
off on the EP, and for them, what really helped
(21:14):
out was that they got to be part of the
Gap Jeans campaign right now, which is viral as we speak.
So what a better time to go and have Catsy
now perform at the pre show for MTV and it's
gonna get plastered all over the place virally. And that's
the thing that will help well, is that. I mean,
here's the thing I'll say, like this too. I remember
(21:35):
the last real memorable and amazing MTV Video Music Award
show was the one in COVID in twenty twenty, because
remember when they didn't have an audience, but they just
created this whole setup. Like it was amazing how they
went ahead and did it. It's like they were basically
doing music videos on location live, so of course they
couldn't have everybody on stage together, but the personal performances,
(21:58):
it didn't feel wrong when without the audience actually turned
out really good. I was amazing how well that went,
and that was something I thought that you could take
some of that cinematic value and bring that back in
that stagecraft. But the stage crack hasn't been much of
that anywhere anyways. Like even other artists we have right now,
(22:20):
I don't know how much accouterment they're gonna have, like
how much of a choreography they're gonna have, or how
much of a backdropp are they're gonna have to performed,
because you look at those artists, these are not people
that are like super out there and wild, like I mean,
Lady Gaga will obviously put a big performance out there
for herself, now, don't you get We'll probably do the
(22:44):
same but like the real artists that are gonna go
out there and really present themselves in something wild and crazy.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Those are the two.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Otherwise everybody else I think they're gonna just keep it
within a normal setup. I mean, Tate McCrea will obviously
have a big choreography with her show, Britta Carver will
do something special with her because there's always gonna be
like some kind of set up for the visuals to
go along with her work on the video. Like last
year and then she kissed the moon Man or something
(23:12):
like that. I forget what she did. But either which way,
there hasn't been much that's been very memorable. But to
see all these artists performed live and get out here,
especially the ones that you know that are right now
in the les Kana music today. And we're not just
talking about radio, we're talking about streaming because all these
artists that you're taking right now, we're not taking artists
(23:34):
here that are just radio friendly than just coming in here.
I mean, when you're looking at the current setup of
music right now, Cassi Somber, Tam McCrae, sa Brina Carpenter,
Lilo Young for that case as well, and you can
put Dojakat, you can put Jelly Roll in there. You
could definitely say that they have been an Alex Warren.
(23:54):
They have all been very prominent in streaming all this year,
big big thing. There isn't much else in the setup
you could have, Like, I mean, I don't know what
other artists you could bring on board that would make
a bigger difference or that be much more of an
impact right now of who they have. Because the other thing, too,
(24:14):
is that there is no be Ethy Awards, so like
some of those artists could have been put over there,
but they're not probably better off because we're not. We
haven't enjoying much of the Bethy Awards, at least I
haven't really enjoyed it too much. It's too much of
the fanfare and too much of it's not even about
the music so much anymore. Like it's I mean, some
of it's okay. I've caught clips here and there, but
(24:35):
I never would sit down and watch the beat the awards,
not in a long time anyway. But one thing that
was being said about in the Canniball podcast from New
York Times when they talked about the Video Music Awards
and literally taken the video of music of music videos
literally into this. It's not a bit about the music
videos themselves. Let's just make that clear. Music videos have
(24:56):
not been important in the VMA's it's an awards show
for music period. But now they go on to say
here and this is from Wesley Warris, he says that
you know, we're not really reconcerned with the video. We
experienced it, but only for the song. The videos like
a message of a period in which it was once
a primal source of artistic imagination and commercial viability. So
(25:17):
we have this award show for the first time I'm
going to be on CBS. But they also talk about
the fact that a CBS broadcast award show cannot live
on videos alone. So now they have Album of the Year,
Song of the Year, and other non video oriented categories.
So they're gonna do things just like the Grammys would do, which,
(25:38):
by the way, Grammys areun on CBS. They're gramifying the VMAs.
And I understand why they're doing that. Why keep some
of the structure of what MTV was When you would
think that originally what the MTV format was was based
on the music videos themselves and how they would be evaluated.
(26:00):
Have that right now, it's just a music in general.
If they happen to have a music video, great, If
they don't, it doesn't matter. But for the most part,
most of these artists, I think all of them still
do put out music videos anyway regardless, and there's efforts
into those anyway. And I went ahead and got into
some of the things that were being brought up in
(26:21):
terms of what the VMA's mean. I still think they
are a unique and increasingly vital cultural event. And I
think what they're doing right now in terms of having
the CBS broadcast and changing the awards set up to
have other categories to make this more of a music
intensive show with the MTV brand front and center, makes
(26:42):
us a better show. MTV still is trying to create
an effort, a deliberate effort, to be a singular meeting
point for a diverse array of genres, because I know
there's other genres they always put in here as well,
so they always like to go into Latin, and I'm
sure they're gonna probably lookt the areas of K pop
or afrobeats or reggaeton, like just those areas are gonna
(27:04):
be evaluated as well. Somewhere they're going to make sure
you're going to see some of these different categories being
brought up. So the v Mays have been a bell
weather for what's next in pop culture. There's not really
a next in pop culture. What it is right now
is what we have is who is the here and
now of music? And I can tell that what they're
(27:24):
also doing is they're not even focusing so much on
the past. They are a little bit, but they're like
the artists are going to bring on board they could perform,
like whether it's Ricky Martin or Mariah Carey or Lady
Gaga or Buster Rhymes. I think there's something there about
who they're gonna bring on that they're gonna not delve
too much into the old. They're gonna just steal more
(27:46):
into the now. There's enough in the here and now
to cover. So they should be the bell whether to say, hell,
if MTV is recognizing you, that means you've made it.
You're in the mainstream right now. And so the v
Mays are responding to the challenge of being that bell weather.
Looking at streaming services and social media because there's a
fraction a fractioning that's been going on for years of
(28:07):
music ever since MTV decided not to play music videos
anymore like this, and then of course Napster that ultimately
changed the game because we've had a fractioning of music
for a lot of different reasons. Number one would be
radio deregulation in the nineties that didn't help. And then
when music sales took a die physical music sales took
(28:29):
a die for Napster, that changed everything too, because right
now so many independent artists out there that are not
going to be represented here. That's okay, but at least
you're gonna get some artists here that they resonate well
with the grassroots following and their mainstream and they don't
feel like they're all industry plants, which is the other
(28:50):
part that's very important. I think the choice of the
artists they bring on board, plus also bringing incorporating country
into the mix as well. That works, and all like
where they're going with that. I like to have one
which is a full hodgepodge of all of it. Now,
the inclusions for best Pop Artists in Best Country Artists
is acknowledging the industries of halving landscape. The ceremony they're
(29:13):
going to have looks like the night where a Kate
pop app can share the shame stage and audience with
a rock band or a Regazon star with a cultural
conversation that can be made that doesn't happen on the
algorithmically driven platform. My point is is that while YouTube
is the haven for music videos now, it's still important
because they're Facebook try to go ahead and experiment to
music videos on a Spotify is trying to do that
(29:34):
as well, to try to get into the music videos
as well, and I hope they do someday because that
will really help because then anything that will encourage music
videos to be made is important, and where they can
be seen is important. But MTV's played the gatekeeper. They
at least when they remark and say, okay, this artist
is going to be on the VMAs, or this person
(29:54):
is going to perform, or this person's going to get
an award, that's something that important because I think even
the awards that's secondary compared to who is able to
be seen performing, being there, appearing or giving out an award,
whoever's presenting all those things. I think what the fact
of who appears on that program is extremely important because
(30:17):
you realize who is there and the other part I
always got to think about too, is that if MTV
is able to get themselves on such a presence right
now with a CBS broadcast, that it will do the
one thing that streaming services will pay attention to, and
then for the music industry yourself, because what CBS is
trying to do here, what Parent's trying to do with
this show is if the VMAs do what it's supposed
(30:40):
to do, all these artists that appear should get a bump.
There's no Grammy bump anymore for music out there, because
there's only certain things that are out there that will
create a bump for an artist. When it's something viral
that goes up on social media, that's one. If it's
a super Bowl that's two. Other than that, what else
(31:02):
is there that creates a bump? The VMA's used to
do that, and now they're a chance to try to
go and build a bigger audience to make it where
even if they're not gonna catch it so much on
the broadcasts themselves, but if they do a good jo
almost sciminia to go and put that word out there
and they market it and they send out clips all
over the place. I mean one of the things they're
(31:24):
doing right now. In terms of the fan base, you
have a lot of artists that are in the mix
that are gonna be performing. They're gonna have their fans
all over the place that are gonna be like cult like.
They will go ahead and try to promote the best
they can for all their artists. So Casside will get
a big following, Sabrina's got a big following. Take McCray
has got a big following. You know, Black Pink and
(31:47):
Rose and all those also a big following. Just think
about like that, You're gonna have that kind of push
that you would hope from all these armies of fans.
They're gonna be pushing their individual artists and trying to
get them off the ground, and that will have this
footage of MTV and doing their performance, a live performance
at that which normally they don't. You don't get a
chance to go and see much of unless you seem
(32:09):
a concert. This is a good chance to go and
see it. And if it's done and choreographed, it it's
and if it's it's shot done right and you get
the good and see it like, it makes a difference.
It will make MTV relevant in that case, and I
think people need to go and see some of that
more countless viral clips online personalities. And I think the
other thing too is that to get away from some
(32:30):
of the online personality they've been having on and some
of the things they've been doing in terms of what
the structure of the reward shows have been, I'll tell
you like this too. I think they've also attached a
little too much into the cultural guy stuff, trying to
be diverse DEI be, you know, diverse, equitable and inclusive.
(32:51):
I think you can tell even by this award show,
they know that the culture has changed. There's been a
shift something much more to do, much more conventional that
we've had before. And from what they're doing with this
award show, it deals like that's what's going to happen
to where we get it to where it's somewhere in
(33:11):
a place where a bigger audience is going to catch
on and watch. I don't want to make this political.
I just think that there is a cultural shift that
we've had and it's been obvious this year. Just look
at the jeans campaigns. Okay, there's a cultural shift going on,
and who's going to be performing live, it'll be a
bigger story. Of course, what might happen is that we
might have a certain artists that will have some political view.
(33:32):
They might try to use the platform for political statements.
That could probably happen, that's okay whatever. The other thing
I've also noticed too, is that how many times do
you see live performances where it's just solo artists. So
of course they need a coupon of it. They needed
a couturemont right, and they need backup dancers, need the
other things going on in the background to help for
that performance. And of course, going to make the veteran
(33:54):
artists that are going to be part of this a
taste to the show's past glory. With some of the
artist are gonna bring on board of the veterans, they're
gonna be stand out and people will know the songs
it be, it'll be loved. They'll be really wonderful to
go and see that. There's iconic instances that MTV's show
has done, and I think that's one of those things
(34:15):
that social media could totally go for. There are no
viral moments, but in the times of MTV's Video Music
Awards in their history, if done that in the first
VMA like a virgin Madonna rolling around on the floor
in a wedding dress, all in white, version of white, provocative, theatrical, unforgettable.
(34:39):
Everybody remembers that always Nirvana performing lithium explosive amp trashing,
looking like the who out there? That was you know again,
the change of the glam rock of the hair bands,
showing hey rock has changed, We're in an alternative sense.
The rise of al music was there. The triple Kiss
(34:59):
Brittany Ma Donna, Christina two thousand and three, again, three
of the biggest names and pop all together, Hilo Swift
being interrupted by Kanye West. I'm gonna let you finish moment,
Beyonce showing she was pregnant with her first with her
daughter and performing low on top, and you see that,
(35:21):
And that's those things that come across. So it's fragmentation.
The musical industry is completely fragmented. So it's very rare
for something to go in rees or rise to the
creams criminal the crop to the rise of the top.
It's just not happening right now. TikTok and Spotify democratized
music discovery, and it's great. That's the one thing I
(35:42):
will say, I enjoy the fact that TikTok and YouTube
and Spotify, we get to see lots of music of
various genres, various stars, various everything. It's an open platform.
Everybody can put their content up there. Okay, so music discovery,
(36:03):
there's lots of music discovery, but we need to have
a room where there used to be that kind of
It's almost like the idea of like the small closcert halls,
the small clubs, and certain artists would get to perform
and they would work their way up. And this is
the same kind of we're getting that virtual sense right
now with Spotify, YouTube and TikTok, But there was always
(36:25):
a point where, Okay, in order for you to take
that next step to become mainstream, to become famous, you
need to have that extra step. You need to find
out where is your end goal for somebody, These artists,
they don't know what the end goal is. I mean,
what is it. I mean to get yourself to be
important so that you could be on tour making, you know,
(36:46):
playing for millions of fans every year and putting out
albums and selling them out. It's so hard to do
that now in today's of Spotify, TikTok and YouTube and
this fragmented, democratized music discovery environment, which is why radio
and MTV they can still make themselves relevant today to
(37:07):
take care of this problem, to be the solution for
this problem. But the music industry, I have said it
over and over, they need to come back and play
ball with them. Just because the folks on Cannonball on
New York Times said, well, music needs to be paid for. Fine,
get them on royalties, find out other pipeline for royalties
through them. But until then, you need them. You need MTV,
(37:33):
you need radio, just like MTV and radio need music.
And I'm just saying MTV doesn't have to necessarily be
in the same realm as it was with a cable channel.
It doesn't have to be. That's fine, But that brand
could be the visual marketing arm, the social arm, all
of it, because MTV could still be the social arm
if they would put the resources behind it and make
(37:55):
it important and put music videos on there and put
other and find out of the place over the go
ahead and put some long form content out that people
will go ahead and catch on to it and listen
to the credit MTV has done them, you know, they
got tootal TV, they get their platforms over there, they
have the cable channels. I don't know how much of
an online presence they have for that kind of content.
(38:15):
But the one thing is that they've been continuing to downside.
They don't have that MTV news department anymore. They got
rid of that all together, but the the news also
went a way too. That's okay, I understand that part.
But it doesn't mean that you can't do something where
in the social media environment. It doesn't mean that there
are certain artists that they might have in their own
case that they should try to create artists out of
nowhere that people should be paying attention to. They should
(38:38):
just say, okay, these are artists that are making themselves
headway and streaming and other places, and these are the
people that need to put in front. Because MTV was
important and was recognizable for certain artists, they said, these
are people that are spanking new. You need to pay
attention to them. They're breaking out. So MTV could be
the place for them to break out themselves. It could
(39:00):
still be done. I really do believe that. All right,
there's a few other topics I want to get into
outside of the normal realm of things Series six M
and Howard Stern did not return to address a potential
new contract for him on his setup. We don't know
why Howard Stern did not return back to a Series
(39:22):
six M P show, but he had promised to go
and tell people all next Monday. They say now, but
it's a week delay. Amid fresh speculation about Howard Stern's future,
Series XM President and Chief Content Officer spoke of the
Bank of America's media conference and did not hedge on
the host's value on Wednesday. And here's what he said.
(39:43):
That Howard, quote, for all these years and right up
until now, is as important to content, a single piece
of content as we've had. He's the best interviewer out
there period, you know, bar none end quote. And I
said that a few weeks ago that if he were
to do anything going forward, he's an interviewer. He's the
longer a morning show host. He doesn't fit that role
Anymore's seventy one years old. No, it's done.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
Now.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
As we know Stern's normal acceptance when since two thousand
and six is normally getting a five year, five hundred
million dollar pack with the company. We've done it several
times and for those years since two thousand and six,
his multi hundred million dollar deal has been long justified
as a driver to have subscoverty retention and brand identity.
(40:26):
But now people question how much longer this platform can
destain costs speculation and the eventual exit could be a
recurring storyline a GreenSet. He told investors, quote, we'd love
to see him stay. It certainly has to make sense,
but we feel pretty good that we've done this before.
We'll see where it goes.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Now.
Speaker 2 (40:42):
They've been report saying that he's gotten a monster pay day,
but there's been nothing confirmed. The CEO, Jennifer Witz, says
that quote, he's been quarter o a platform for twenty years,
over twenty years, and I'm confident we'll get to the
right place. And when they look at what they will
do about Stern and evaluate how much they can offer him,
Greenstein says that the team is asking what a personality
(41:06):
means to the service and the specific audience segments, and
an example right now is Stephen A. Smith is someone
as an example of a deliberate bet on talent after
the company signed him to a deal in June, and
they also were asked about their work in podcasting and
that podcasting gets a way, that Series six M is
increasingly leveraging its reach, as well as his relationship with
(41:28):
relationships with talent and executives. Told investors they're approaching podcast
acquisitions and renewals with a heavy focus on data and
predictable returns. Greenstein talked about the fact that video has
become a major player on YouTube obviously in podcasting. Over time,
we have to figure out what we're going to do there,
and I'll tell you when it comes to podcasting, I
was actually going through that with some of the content
(41:49):
I do on a regular basis, not for my channel,
but forever the things, and you know, it's a hit
or miss. If you decide to do a video for podcasting,
people want to do it anyway. I think if you
do it in the short form and then you decide
to go ahead and take important content or very high
profile content and make sure you put out on the video,
that's one thing to get out there. But for the
(42:10):
most part, unless you're recognizable or you think that you're
gonna really do something out there and it's gonna be
significant that warrants a video podcast, I don't think video
is important. I don't think it's a priority. I think
it's if you can do it, and you can put
it together and you can edit it and you can
produce it, great, But you gotta have something more than
(42:32):
two talking has on the screen. It's gotta be more
than that. And it can't just be the said. It's
gotta be something more. But that's very tough for some people.
And as for Series six M, they said their revenue
trends and cost cutting has allowed them to raise their
free cash flow guidance, and Jennifer West told the investor
conference they're reiterating revenue guidance at approximately eight point five
(42:55):
billion dollars for the year and earnings of approximately two
point six billion dollars, and they feel good about those numbers. Now,
another story I want to talk about that I've been
hammering on for a couple of weeks is the broadcast
ownership rules. As we know, the SEC is looking to
reevaluate broadcast ownership, which means they could very well make
a point to let broadcast ownership be whatever, because right
(43:16):
now a lot of media companies are saying, well, the
Internet is our competition now, not amongst ourselves, So they
want to find a way to say, Okay, let us
be able to value whatever newspaper, magazine, radio station, TV
station that we want and there's no limit to it.
That's what they want, and of course the lobby arms
that's importantly trying to go and hedge that effort and
(43:37):
trying to lobby that to the finish line is a
National Association of Broadcasters. So the NAB is putting out
facts of how their campaign right now to update decade
its old ownership rules is reaching significant traction both on
air and Washington. So since April, they had an initiative
that started with nearly a quarter million radio and TV
spots across one hundred nineteen markets, equitting the more than
(44:00):
four forty three million dollars in air time in over
one billion impressions, and the NAB says that push has
led to more than one hundred and twenty four thousand emails,
thirty four thousands we restricted to members of Congress and
SEC comminists in a grass roots support for reform and
a new round of creative spotlights the risk through free
live sports if the rules are not modernized. And Curtisagate,
(44:22):
the CEO and president of NAB says that outdated rules
are checking stations from growing and innovating at a time
when big tech operates with limited scale and zero public
interest obligations. Curtisgate said also the SEC needs to act quickly,
saying modernized ownership policies are necessary for broadcasters to continue
investing in journalism, emergency coverage, and sports programming. So they're
(44:44):
making their effort. Nobody else is stopping them from doing it.
The music industry is not helping out at all. To
push back on the fact that, you know, the NAB
has been controlling a lot of things when it comes
to the control of royalties and money that's being made
by radio stations at the detriment of record companies and
(45:08):
the artists and the songwriters and publishers themselves. Wheready to
talk about was it two weeks ago about the change
of the royalties that are coming up? There's something that increases,
but really not that much. Nothing only that there is
right now. If they were able to put the build
the Congress to make it where actual world is being
(45:29):
paid out based on the size of stations, and to
get that pushed across too. But the ANEB has been
a big monolith that's able to go ahead control of
the environment keep it from A lot of people are
getting involved. Last day I had a round here was
from Radio Insight. They put a story out about streaming
versus research, So what radio is doing to try to
(45:51):
go ahead and determine what songs on the country dials
are determined to be songs that people should be playing,
because it's one of the last places I think where
it comes to country as a genre where they're not
so antiquated. And I know probably people will good give
me shit about saying that, but like music grow Nashville. Yeah,
(46:11):
of course they have their artists that want to go
and push out there and what they want to do
with it. But I think something needs to be said
about the fact that country streaming is important to the
detriment of any songs going on the radio. That you know,
there's a little more enterprising efforts being done by country
stations to pay attention to what streaming is doing right
(46:31):
now for artists along the research of the hits and
what needs to be a hit. So Sean Ross puts
the story about this. He talked to the vice presentor
programming at iHeartRadio in Minneapolis, about the discussion between the
influence of streaming versus call at country radio. It was
one of the panels that the Country Music Seminar or
the Country Radio Seminar back in February, And the point
(46:53):
is that if streaming versus call is an next essential question,
it's for something that cody words don't mean. The country's
existence is the most comfortable of the current based formats
in terms of ratings and the radio label relationship. Right,
labels and radio stations actually work together, except for that
little caveat where you had radio stations that were forcing
the artists to play free shows that radio can make
(47:16):
money off of those little concert things, as I think
that's a little bit of the pill that should not
be allowed. And I remember that will still being looked at.
I don't know if that's still gotten any farther yet,
but we're gonna keep an eye on it. And that's
a contrast to pop formats, where pure radio records are
in short supply, but where both product flow and the
label relationship are disintegrating quickly but slow building. Call driven
(47:38):
hits are remnant of the pre Morgan Wall and country
format where passive records we even dominated the chart, but
now label reps who remain committed would like to see
the process expedited. They think it's a happy medium between
thirteen weeks for superstar releases in fifty weeks, but ideally
they want to get to thirty weeks where an artist
that might be rand new and if a song goes
(47:59):
and gets streaming, it does very well that eventually radio
is going to pick up on it and make it
popular and give it that extra push to be a
reallyant top song in the genre. So they talk to
the operations manager at Kygo and Denver, a major market
country station been very successful being informed by streaming. Brian
(48:19):
Mitchell says that country quote needs more active records than
ever because of the infinite choices entertainment. We need to
drive passion and desire to engage with our brands. Passive
just aids being forgotten doesn't mean that some of those
passive songs don't develop in the real hits. For the audience,
there has to be a modicum of give a care.
That doesn't mean play everything that is newer, everything that
streams either brand expectations should be considered. It's amazing because
(48:43):
I know my brother listens to serious as a Highway sixteen,
at least he did when he had serious until they keep,
you know, pushing the price up for subscriptions up too much,
which you know is no surprise there. But they do
a really good job on that channel of a I
defind songs that are doing well on streaming versus the
radio hits, and even some of the songs they think
(49:04):
that should be putting out there themselves, being a taste
peck in a trend center, which is good too. So
they go into some of the things about some of
the songs that have gotten out there that have become
mainstream crossover hits. Shabuzi's good News the follow up single
to a bar some Tipsy It's cracking Spotify's Top two
hundred and now in July, and a researcher Matt Bailey
(49:25):
says that that was driven by airplay that at the
time good News was strong in research and not just
Country but a certain CHR stations, and the telling the
differences between Country and CHR is that the song is
taking ads for a push week at Country as it
closes on number one, but moved on from top forty
after it peaked at number five, So Country at least
(49:46):
wants to try to go ahead and move ahead of
the pack and at least make it where radio is
not gonna be that far behind to streaming when it
comes to songs becoming popular and making you know, crowning
an artist that is performing very well on streaming and
making them the big hit overnight and giving them the
extra boost they need from radio to get themselves at
the very top of the country charts and maybe very
(50:06):
well on the mainstream charts. Because we see how the
one hundred has a lot of country songs on there,
more than ever and it's any any given time. I
think it's a big deal to get pay attention to
that as well. But anyway, I'm looking forward to the
VMA's this weekend. I can't wait to go and see
what they have. And you know, I actually like the
lineup of artists they have this year. They are missing
(50:28):
a rock artists, that's whether they don't have much of
But again, they can't play any of the older artists.
There's not anybody wore out there that's really relevant to
put out there. Movie League at Park, but that's already
gone past. Who else is there? I love to know
what you think and I hope you get a chance
to watch. Let me know what you think about it.
We'll talk about it next week. I don't know the
broadcast podcast counted as king, and the control your content
(50:49):
is in your hands.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com