MTV Removes "Music Television" From Iconic Logo

[Fresh]

MTV Removes "Music Television" From Iconic Logo



In a move that signifies the end of an era, MTV will no longer include the words "Music Television" under its iconic logo. The Wrap was the first to report on the new logo, which will still feature the monolithic "M" and its dripping "TV," but no underlying text. The shift seems to confirm what many have suspected for years: Following the cancellation of TRL and the success of Jersey Shore, The Hills and the Real World spin-offs, music is no longer MTV's main priority.

"The people who watch it today, they don’t refer to MTV as music television. They don't have the same emotional connection that, say, the people who are writing about [the logo change] do," MTV's head of marketing Tina Exarhos told the Los Angeles Times. Exarhos adds that the marketing department had previously toyed with removing "music television" but felt the text was too sacred and that higher-ups wouldn't approve the idea. Since the network is introducing some new on-air designs, "now felt like the right time" to update the logo, Exarhos said.

It remains to be seen if the logo change will have any further impact on MTV's scheduling. The network will likely continue to schedule their Video Music Awards and provide ancillary between-commercial coverage to musical figures. However, the removal of "Music Television" makes it harder for critics to point out that MTV's programming isn't really dedicated to music. At the 2007 VMAs, Justin Timberlake used MTV's own stage to chastise the network for its shift away from music. "Play more damn videos. We don’t want to see the Simpsons on reality television," he said.

There's a brief history of the MTV logo posted on the Website for Frank Olinsky, one of the designers who created it; according to Olinksy, the logo originally was not accepted by the fledgling network until the words "Music Television" were added underneath. Nearly 30 years later, Olinsky’s original design has returned.

Daniel Kreps

www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2010/02/09/mtv-removes-music-television-from-iconic-logo/

[ColdAsFire_Baby]

I remember when MTV used to still have relevancy for music (even when I was a kid). Sittin' at home, watchin' TRL. Man, those were the days.

I wish MTV could still be in the TRL era, I miss that show :(

[galvanize]

About 6 years too late then.

Because Snookie is such a massive improvement, MTV. Oh well, other than the VMAs, I haven't watched MTV in over 3 years!

[HolidayGuy]

Hasn't it been more than 6 years, that MTV really hasn't been about music?

VH1 probably will follow at some point. It plays more videos than MTV, but, still- nothing like it used to.

[Janhova's Witness]

Why is Lil Kim in the new logo?

[dbt88]

Feb 9, 2010 19:12:41 GMT -5 Janhova's Witness said:

Why is Lil Kim in the new logo?

That's not Kim. That's X-tina!

Anyways, MTV is so 2000 and late! Seriously, it's sad to watch this channel that pioneered the music video and helped careers of legends like MJ and Madonna, and kick started careers of Britney and Eminem, to promoting low lifes found on both ends of the country ( Jersey Shore and The Hills ). Go Fist pumps

[galvanize]

Feb 9, 2010 19:10:52 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

Hasn't it been more than 6 years, that MTV really hasn't been about music?

VH1 probably will follow at some point. It plays more videos than MTV, but, still- nothing like it used to.

You could even say that it verges back to 1997-1999 when Celebrity Deathmatch, Singled Out, The Real World, & Daria (though I ADORE that show) were dominating the TV waves then.

Although atleast VH1 were 100% music in the late '90s and even up to early 2002 - I guess MTV Networks just looked at "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race"s' successes and wanted to earn more money for themselves.

[Kishi KCM]

But in 1998, music was the MAIN POINT of MTV. In the mid-2000s, video time was regulated to TRL and After Hours.

Who in the HELL wants to see crap like NEXT and ROOM RAIDERS over good music??

[skizzo]

Thank god VH1 Europe and MTV Europe are nowhere near as bad as the american counterparts. Vh1 Europe still plays music 24 hours per day. MTV Europe is nowhere near as good as back in the 90s/early00s, but at least there is still music played.

[cartman2002]

How about changing their name period by MTV died around 2002.

[PDC1987]

This should be their new logo:

[Tanisha Thomas.]

They should rename it "RTV" for Reality Television. That's all the hell it shows anyway.

[colbyco]

Feb 9, 2010 21:37:35 GMT -5 skizzo said:

Thank god VH1 Europe and MTV Europe are nowhere near as bad as the american counterparts. Vh1 Europe still plays music 24 hours per day. MTV Europe is nowhere near as good as back in the 90s/early00s, but at least there is still music played.

MTV UK is pretty much like US MTV where it's basically dominated by reality tv shows with minimal video play. However, to make up for this MTV has about 6 other UK channels that play music videos 24/7:

MTV Two
MTV Hits
MTV Base
MTV Dance
VH1
VH1 Classic

Also, UK MTV also has another channel called MTV R which plays nothing but reality TV and the UK also offers about 20 other music video channels if you have digital cable.

[felipe]

Feb 9, 2010 19:27:30 GMT -5 Kishi KCM said:

But in 1998, music was the MAIN POINT of MTV. In the mid-2000s, video time was regulated to TRL and After Hours.

Who in the HELL wants to see crap like NEXT and ROOM RAIDERS over good music??

Considering the ratings some people obviously do.

[Tea-why]

LOL at the Lil' Kim comment.

Feb 9, 2010 23:37:28 GMT -5 Tanisha Thomas. said:

They should rename it "RTV" for Reality Television. That's all the hell it shows anyway.

Does the M still stand for music?

[reidster]

It's understandable. Why would people sit in front of the TV for hours to see the videos they want when they can just log onto youtube and watch it with no commercials or waiting. I think what went wrong was that MTV wasn't really inventive in the way they would show videos, and would only show like half the video when they did.

Anyway, being Canadian I hope MuchMusic continues to play video in the form of MOD, and the Countdown (which has lost relevance), along with reality TV.

[hitseeker.]

well, suits it right, they are all about crappy reality shows anyway...

[Kishi KCM]

Those who I've discussed this with aren't surprised. BUT...not every one has access to the other MTVs. Some of us with cable have been used to MTV for YEARS.

CMT is the only music channel that serves it's purpose!

[radicaltheory]

Feb 9, 2010 23:37:28 GMT -5 Tanisha Thomas. said:

They should rename it "RTV" for Reality Television. That's all the hell it shows anyway.

[Libra]

Feb 9, 2010 23:19:00 GMT -5 cartman2002 said:

How about changing their name period by MTV died around 2002.

I do smell a name change in their near future...

[620 Soul Train]

Well, it is what is. It's about time that they changed the logo. MTV isn't what it used to but then again neither are some of us. People change and our tastes certain does just as well. The ratings are what counts people, it's apparent that reality TV is dominating households across the globe. I honestly enjoy watching some of these deemed silly, mindless, and ridiculous reality TV shows, it's entertainment. I mean, do honestly think that music videos have as much influence on product sales as they have in the 1980s or even early 1990s? Shoot, even when a single is released it takes a long time to release a video clip to accompany the record sometimes even after it's initial peak. Back then, single and video releases used to correlate with one another, these times are certainly different.

[CookyMonzta]

Feb 10, 2010 11:33:53 GMT -5 Libra said:

Feb 9, 2010 23:19:00 GMT -5 cartman2002 said:

How about changing their name period by MTV died around 2002.

I do smell a name change in their near future...

As it must be. It is highly illogical for them to dump the words "Music Television" and keep the initials MTV, when just about everyone in the world recognizes what the initials stood for.

I didn't get MTV until 1992, and back then even I recognized that it was almost always about the music, with the exception of a little-known new show called The Real World, and maybe the few entertainment and animated shows they televised at the time. But primarily, it was mostly music.

Then in 1995 came Road Rules and Singled Out, and the floodgates opened, to the point where in 1996 they launched MTV2, for videos they would not normally show on MTV1.

As most of you have obviously observed, by 2000 the music was getting pushed aside for more entertainment and reality. If you look at the shows that made their MTV debuts since 2000, with the exception for a show like America's Best Dance Crew, almost none of them have anything to do with music.

The more shows that popped up on MTV1, the more the music was moved to MTV2, until the only hours for music videos were somewhere between 3:00 and 10:00 A.M. and even those hours shrunk. Then, sometime around 2004-05, the music on MTV2 started to disappear, and was replaced with more shows having nothing to do with the music; and as a result, they launched more networks solely for music.

Am I mistaken, or should it be the case where MTV's supplementary channels should be reserved for reality and everything else, while MTV1 and 2 should be music only? I'm sure you agree with me that they've got their priorities completely backwards.

Bottom line: They have clearly abandoned the idea (though that started in 2000) that either MTV 1 or MTV 2 (since 2005) are music stations. If they don't want either one to be identified as a music network, they should get rid of the initials "MTV" completely.

[galvanize]

VH1 is heavily nearing that road too - the initials stand for Video Hits One. Their original slogan was VH1: Music First although we know that ship has sailed since 2003. It's insane how their non-music reality shows keep expanding by the month.

[Rurry]

I was just thinking the other day that kids born in recent years must be confused as to why it's even called Music Television in the first place They definitely need a name change.

But that's a good point that it might not be relevant anymore anyway considering you can just watch music videos whenever you want on YouTube now...but still, I don't get why they can't show more music-related shows and stuff like TRL. The reality shows obviously are popular, but I don't get why they can't go back to how it was in the late '90s when they had a pretty good balance of music TV and other shows.

And to me VH1 is even worse than MTV now At least they have the Top 20 Countdown but the shows on VH1 are even worse than MTV's...Rock of Love much???

[galvanize]

Feb 11, 2010 20:27:44 GMT -5 Rurry said:

And to me VH1 is even worse than MTV now At least they have the Top 20 Countdown but the shows on VH1 are even worse than MTV's...Rock of Love much???

Frank The Entertainer's Basement Show alone make New York & Bret Michaels look like the Kennedys in comparison.

[jebsib]

I'm going to sound like a total old fogey here, but is there a unified top website that people go to to watch music videos (like Yahoo!)? Or if kids want to see the latest clips, do they just go to YouTube?

[CookyMonzta]

Feb 11, 2010 20:19:31 GMT -5 @galvanize said:

VH1 is heavily nearing that road too - the initials stand for Video Hits One. Their original slogan was VH1: Music First although we know that ship has sailed since 2003. It's insane how their non-music reality shows keep expanding by the month.

Feb 11, 2010 20:27:44 GMT -5 Rurry said:

And to me VH1 is even worse than MTV now At least they have the Top 20 Countdown but the shows on VH1 are even worse than MTV's...Rock of Love much???

Aye! Why have a top-20 countdown when they don't even play those videos on their main channel?

And yes, this network (the main channel) needs a complete name change as well, because they no longer play video hits until deep into the graveyard shift, and even then only for a couple of hours.

I wouldn't be surprised if VH1's Top-20 Countdown bites the dust (either this year or early next year), just like TRL. Notice that they hardly shoot the show in music superstores these days, because there are none now...

...Come to think of it, could it be that the extinction of music shows on MTV1/2 and VH1 contributed to the demise of HMV, Tower and Virgin in the U.S., if not the decline of the music industry in general? The absence of any music on these channels basically deprived the public of whatever motivation the videos might have given them to go out and buy the records. It's as if these networks were telling the public that they didn't care much about the music anymore.

So, if Viacom (which owns MTV and VH1) doesn't give a damn, why should the public? That's why it could be a very long time before we see an album reach 10 million sales again.

[galvanize]

Feb 12, 2010 2:00:43 GMT -5 CookyMonzta said:

So, if Viacom (which owns MTV and VH1) doesn't give a damn, why should the public? That's why it could be a very long time before we see an album reach 10 million sales again.

Add to that Oprah leaving the air which also leaves music's #1 promotion outside of the Grammies as dust in the wind. :(

I've pretty much given up on the music channels - there's always video blocks on random channels that I enjoy to watch (like REELZ' "Movies & Music" program - the only one that plays '90s videos - which VH1 Classic still refuses to play). Speaking of which, VH1 Classic is godawful as well - they either only play metal, documentaries, or non-music related movies. [although they are airing remastered episodes of Behind The Music so I have to give them credit there]

[Houster]

Don't know how long it will last, but FUSE is definitely more about the music than MTV or VH1.

[Epic Fail]

I applaud the decision. Watching music videos on TV is just odd. When you can watch whatever video you want on demand via the internet