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February 11th, 2010
03:03 PM ET
MTV redesigns logo for a new generation
If you've been watching MTV lately and have been confused as to why something felt "off," here's a hint: the network has given its nearly 29-year-old logo a face lift. The new logo is almost but not quite the same as the old one - a little squatter in terms of height, the "TV" part of the logo sits lower on the "M", but most importantly, the "music television" tag line is gone. Some have taken this as a sign that MTV's design team has actually started watching the channel's programming, which offers more in the way of roommate drama than it does music television.
But, said a spokesperson, "it's less about the tag line and more about [redesigning] for a new generation. Music is still at the center of everything we do." |
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Wow! I want to respond to the kid who said that it's not about us "back-in-the-dayers" its about "what the kids want" and that's the "demographic" that MTV is going for. You know, I don't have a problem with that. The problem I have is that it should NOT be called MTV. MTV stand for Music Television. There is absolutely not one thing about that network that is music oriented. They don't need a LOGO change, they need a NAME change!
MTV – where did the music go? There is a racial divide on MTV. Only rock videos are shown in the early AM. Why does all of the current music have the following? Clap tracks, a Hey and a Hoe, the Peter Frampton "TalkBox" and of course and the newest, the super slowdown on the LP? Lets be original. And on that, "Making The Band"? Who plays instruments in these groups? I thought a band played their own music not just danced around and sing...
Martha Quinn or some other VDJ playing one, "Turn it up" song after another. I miss that.
The last time I watched MTV was when Michael Jackson died, because I knew they would play homage videos for awhile. I'll tune in again the next time someone great bites the dust.
If you have Comcast ch472 or depending where you are, check your channel line up for 24 hour MTV music
I want my MTV!!
Joel I couldn't have said it better myself.
Well, at least they took the "music television" bit off the logo, but they should have taken it one step further and just done an outline of a "V" with nothing inside, since that's pretty much what the network has become.
If they ever start producing stuff stuff like "Liquid Television," "Daria," Aeon Flux,", "The Maxx," et. al., I might start watching again. But for now – nah.
The tagline was dropped because Music has been replaced with Mucus. The sputum of the programmers is the only thing they can hack up.
Remember when there was different types of music programs on MTV? like headbangers ball....yo mtv raps......oh yea and then videos to go with it all?!!!! Ahh the good ol days........I havent watched MTV in years I guess since it stopped being MTV. ....Sad
Miss the old MTV too. When I came to the U.S. for school studies, I remember the 24 hr music. Now it's like any other junk channel.
I remember an old MTV commercial with John Cougar, his line was: "MTV, you just don' get it". Sorry to say it, but the MTV honchos just don't get it. Music videos was MTV's reason for being. What happened to the music videos?
MTV has definitely changed since I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to watch it back then because my mom was strict and thought some of the things were too mature for me, but OMG if she could see what stuff is on there now......it's total trash.
MTV hasn't meant anything to music or about music in a long time they need to drop music from the title completley and call it Fox Reality Channel 2
Sure there are other MTV stations but like one person wrote...not everyone can or will pay for the extra MTV channels. And sure if you are up at the crack of dawn or stay up til 3 am you will see music videos but it is the same crap. What made MTV great in the beginning was the diversity. You had Headbangers Ball, Alternative Nation, Yo! Mtv Raps, 120 mins...etc. IF..again..IF you find actual music on MTV it is the same sounding mess of pop and rap. Bring back the music and bring back the diversity!!
Joel T you so hit the nail on the head. WE WANT OUR MTV.....back.
MTV is NOT music television any longer. It's a now a sad network, that at one time was a godsend to popular culture and music from all over the world, a revolution that actually helped to drive the music industry, but also drove cable television into homes across the country and around the world. It made artists into household names and world-wide superstars. It provided a hip cultural outlet to people 13 to 25 which advertisers jumped all over.
Then in the 90's they introduced 'reality television' with the Real World, and apparently the rest of the world followed suit. and the execs that programmed and originated MTV as something unique and important left or lost their way, never to return.
Music is not at their core any longer, garbage is, and garbage must be cool...MTV is dead.
i miss MTVe (europe). i always thought they not only had lots of music playing, but GOOD music. i'm very picky and they filtered out a lot of pop stuff a lot of the time. great variety basically. just felt like sharing.
Then bringing music back to mtv would be important again..People still listen to the radio,they still create stars-its an ongoing cycle.
When you penalize those who want to enjoy music by overcharging product then attacking the internet or just extract it out of the equation, thats when your "business black hole"started..
Until MtV and the music companies start thinking alike and working together again-then maybe I'll start buying music again..
Oh and by the way i=I used to be a loyal fan
700+ cds-that are all scratched to hell. Where's my refund??
MTV is partly to blame for the lack of interest and loss of money in the record making business..When you stop promoting music on a station that was invented for that very purpose thus hireing "VJ"s and "Music consultants" from the get go. Then as a result, being able to make or break a band based on viewership or interest alone is or was remarkable and especially during the summertime when music is the most popular-entertaining the pre-teens to upper 20 demographic was key. Once "the Real World" and "Jackass" took off,that was pretty much the end of MTV...I used to work at Musicland at the Mall during the late '90s and I'll tellya, RapMusic was big and the most important music that came out on Tuesday..Our clientele,mostly middle-high schoolers would have a crapload of reservations for their fav artists, thanx to MTV. Why has the Music business suffered you may ask?? Well being unable to improve their product or neglecting their fanbase for one. Attacking those who got the music w/o paying for it by treating them like a criminal-spreads bad word of mouth,then complaining that the reason no one buys music at musicstores anymore is because of illegal downloading. That's not the only cause, when money comes into question + quality, why would I pay the same amount of money for a cd that can easily get scratched up, is worth the same and of the same quality cds that i can buy in a pack in the store or should I spend that money on a new Blu-ray film,that has just as many features if not more and is far less easier to scratch.
If the companies would stop complaining,improve their old ass product thus creating a reason to go out and buy music-then tthey can charge more money thus making their money back...Then you wouldn't have to worry about "USED CDs"anymore..
MTV not playing videos to promote music and bands+ Less people buying cds that scratch easily and are not blu-ray = More people downloading free music,more people buying blu-ray FILMS,more people not watching MTV and a record business turning into a joke.
Back in the day, meaning throughout the 80's, I had mtv on for hours a day, when I was doing homework it would be on, etc, and especially when 120 minutes was on, the only time I could catch videos that were for my kind of music.
I haven't turned mtv on since probably 1995 or so. All the music has disappeared, and now they show spoiled brats hooking up, or they show how thugs are living in fake mansions with the spoils from their ghetto rhymes. Vomit.
...and your parents said "the movies USED to be great" and their parents said, "music USED to be great" and their parents said "radio USED to be great." You all need to spend a little less time lamenting "what used to be" and a little more time accepting what your kids want. Despite reports of the early deaths, TV & music remain alive and well...you just have to look elsewhere to find 'em. MTV is a PRODUCT and, like any profitable product, they're evolving/catering to their demographic...they're not some evil guy in a suit, plotting insidious ways to destroy what you loved in 8th grade. Let it go. Move on. Grow up. Do you really want to be that "things USED to be better" person?
Friday night video fights.
MTV? Where the hell is the music? BRING BACK THE MUSIC YOU CLOWNS! I don't even think the teenie boppers are watching these fake reality shows!
There may be a glimpse of hope though. I have turned on the tv in the early mornings flipping channels and saw MTV playing old concerts. *shrugs* Maybe there's hope yet!
Yes WE WANT OUR OLD MTV BACK!! Bring back headbangers ball, MTV news, MUSIC VIDEOS!!!!, Live concerts!! BRING BACK THE VJS!!!
The "new" logo is just as lame as your channel, btw.
Yeah, but SOMEBODY is watching this drivel or there would be no MTV. I think the problem here is that most of us who are writing comments are probably at LEAST 30 years old (or close). The brainless "children of the media" who do watch the moronic pablum on MTV today are between 14-25; exactly the demographic TV is aiming for.
MTV is not about music in any way. It's simply- like all other networks- a channel for advertisers. Just like popular, newsstand magazines are about pleasing advertisers, so is MTV. The lucrative money-spenders are 16-25. If you're above that, nobody cares about you (sorry). So while all our comments are valid (about the lack of music, etc.), the stupid, 19-year-old brainless morons are tuning into the crap on MTV in droves.
It's all about money, my friends. Nothing more.
Hey MTV...
Bring back the 24 hour music televison.
Bring back "Headbangers ball" with Ricki Rachman
(not sure of spelling). This time make it classic metal...
Bring back Remote control...
Yo!!! might as well bring back MTV RAPS...
Bring back the weekend concerts... I think they were on just before
"Headbangers Ball".
The crap you call music television is why I am no longer a fan and no longer have you on my cable.
Judging by the comments here... We – the ORIGINAL FANS of MTV have spoken...
AND WE WANT OUR MTV !!!
Might just have to build me a face book page... Who's with me???
The M is for Misc.
PALADIA is a MTV/Viacom offshoot channel. You're better off finding music videos on VH1 Classic on satellite TV.
MTV blows. Change the name of the network to "mindless adolescent demographic fake reality programming." Any MBA worth their salt knows that the network has strayed from its core values and mission, and that means it's only a matter of time before it disappears into obscurity. Sad, considering the role it played in so many of our lives growing up.
MTV hasn't been any good for years. In fact, it started it's downward spiral with "The Real World". Come to think of it, TRW is probably to blame in large part for all of the crappy "reality" programming that is so prevalent.
I too miss being able to see music videos and music-related programming on MTV.
It is clear that the comments about watching videos at 6:00 a.m. or using alternative MTV channels come from younger viewers who don't know what the original MTV was like. MTV stands for music television videos! Back when Martha Quinn was a DJ on MTV, videos played almost non-stop. That is what we are talking about. Getting up early or subscribing to alternative channels defeats the whole purpose of MTV. It use to be easy to access and fun at any time of the day.
MTV= Moran Television- good line whoever that was
It terms of rock being dead, that is not the case. It just isn't main stream which is great. You hear stories about your parents or other relatives first discovering The Beatles, Stones, Who, Zeppelin, etc. and how fresh & raw it was. Then rock went mainstream with MTV in the 80s. Then hip/hop too over in the 2000s. Now you have to go digging in the crates to find some rock gems. It's all cyclical.
I would much rather listen to Them Crooked Vultures on my ipod or SiriusXm instead of having their music video appear on MTV 40x a day. That's just me.
With the internet today there is no need for MTV (Music Television). It was needed in the 80s & 90s. RIP MTV. Thank you for what you have done. Even though your death was slow & painful to wach at least you recognize what you are now and it has very little to do with music.
MTV is the single most damaging force against music and art to appear in the history of pop music. Their early association with it was not justification enough for them to keep pimping it... when they found something else to exploit: bad taste. It's nowadays a good litmus paper test for brain activity: if you watch it, yours is as dead as the soul of Bob 'da Mac' Pittman, may he pay for his sins...
I stopped watching MTV a long time ago....and VH1...
MTV has lost it's way and the creative management team needs to be replaced.
Viewers have left the cable channel in droves too bad management will never know what they really had.
Mtv is no longer what I use to watch! It is all but Music Television that is why they drop Music Television from their new logo! SO SAD!
It is pretty much the same logo. All they did was crop off the bottom and took the side off the V. That should be good for another 30 years! I used to watch the original MTV, it was great. When they got away from "music television", I lost interest.
Yeah there's nothing "redesigned" about this..... it looks like a poorly cropped version of the original.
IDIOTS. Someone at MTV please read this: YOU ARE IDIOTS.
One thing to say...CD101
Um... this isn't a redesign of their logo. They just chopped a bit off the bottom. As a graphic designer, I can guarantee you that their designer most likely turned in a dozen designs and some genius in their marketing department who thinks that he knows something about design had the brilliant idea of just removing the bottom part of the logo. haha... the MTV execs are brainless.
Paladia is part of MTV! I agree with Paul the graphic designer who said the logo is not very imaginative. The old logo was much more iconic and I think this is one case where a re-design was not warranted. If the tag line at the bottom was the issue maybe they should have just removed it.
"Music is stil at the heart of everything we do"
I have never heard more BS in my life. I mean, i get more music listening to my 6 month daughters toys then i do on MTV. All it is now is nothing but reality shows that, honestley, no body cares about. I mean, i grew up with mtv and stopped watching because the music is gone. The 80's great, noting but music after music so it was called, music televison. I am so glad that they finally got rid of that stupid saying under the logo.
@ Adam: We care because when it branded for our generation, we turned to it for what it had to offer. It was at the time a station dedicated to music broadcasting. Sure, it might not have been 24/7 music but the ratio of music to "other" was about 8:1. Now there's a 2 hour block in the middle of the night which repeats the same Owl City video and TRL. Total Request Live? Really? So, while it's never been only about music, they at least played music videos or showcased artists of varied genres. Beavis and Butthead had music. Jackass did not. And now they're most proud of Jersey Shore... The same company owns VH1 which is really just about Dr. Drew telling people why they're drinking their fellings and CMT which no one with cable actually watches. I haven't given them my ratings in years and I never will again.
The hilarious part is the MTV has only, ever been about style. They rode the music video train when it was the newest thing and now they've switched to the reality "drama" train. They'd board the "selling aluminum siding" train if they thought it would deliver their demographic to advertisers. I'm sure any MTV execs you could talk to (off the record) would agree. They're a business....only. They're only concerned about rocking the vote or saving the planet because it looks right for them. Lucky for them, their target audience is easily swayed into thinking that Jersey Shore is quality programming.
PALADIA is all I have to say.
This is hilarious. MTV has never been about music only, it's always been about the marriage of music and programming. Even "back in the day", there were non-music oriented shows. Some good, some bad. Most, pointless and forgettable at best. The thing that makes me cringe, is simply, why do any of you care? When was the last time you watched/went to MTV for your music consumption? It's not about that anymore, it's about a connectivity (like it or not) to a "branded" (ie: programmed/programmable) culture. You either are into it or, you're not. Arguing that it's about the music, as if the channel were based soley on artists, promoting them or fostering a community for them in anyway is preposterous. It's **never** been only about the music (which is a shame).
Mtv is awful. It should be shut down. I have a hd channel on cable called Paladia that is truly the best music channel I have ever watched. People need to stop watching MTV and watch Paladia.
I miss MTV...the "real" MTV. Great videos, good music! It was all there. It's true that you can still see videos on reaallll early in the morning but it would be nice to see videos in prime time! That reality crap they have on now just bites! I never watch it anymore...haven't for years. Hey, MTV, how about actually showing music videos again???!!
@ec
Most people don"t get up at 5:30, 6 in the morn to watch videos. We're still sleeping or getting ready to go to work. Mtv used to play music vids ALL DAY long with shows about music artists and contemporary music history.
I got up this morning at 9:00am and when I flipped by Mtv what I saw was some stupid reality show. Not music videos. Mtv is garbage now.
ec, I work late so I don't get up early enough to see these elusive videos you speak of. I would love if MTV would get back to music. My question is: how do they even have the VMA's? I have no idea if Beyonce's video really was better then Taylor Swift's because I have never seen either one of them! Not that I watched the VMA's, but still....
eh-eh-eh...hey y'all remember when MTV used to play music videos?...yeah...that was pretty sweet! I honestly don't know anyone who watches it now.
Drama TV is more likely a better name for it... Mtv, what a joke.
all of you guys are telling lies. Becaue most of the morning i get up at 6 or 5:30 and they play some really good videos just like mtv 2.So if you wake up early like me then you will see that. It's alright mtv i got your back. I have to get up early for school anyway.Artists like lil'wayne, keri hilson, ashanti, beyonce, jay sean, lady gaga, birdman, young money and other good artists.
mtv sucks these days same corny bull crap reality show not enough videos hello we all want some music not some dum reality shows!
I wish MTV could be personified, so I could smash its head open with a baseball bat and send it to Hell where it would burn for eternity. But maybe that just needs to be done to all the MTV executives who do nothing more than think up ways to maximize their garbage output while maximizing their revenues.
There should be another 'T' in there. MTTV. That's what it is now. But, then again, that's what most tv is...
Music TV that never plays music! What a joke! Just more crap reality TV...!
I wonder how many years it took them to decide that's how they wanted the new M to look and lower the "tv" portion.
@Taylor, yes, there are music videos on other MTV stations, but not everyone is going to pay for more than just basic cable.
Taylor –
Yeah and there is still air in our lungs so what's your point???
The point I am making is Mtv – THE ORIGINAL was the PLACE for up and comers and established artist back in the day.
I had Directv for years and all I ever saw on their package was Mtv and Mtv-2 so apparently these others you are talking about are pretty lame.
For the old school Mtv viewers like my self...
Pick up that remote and block this crap. Maybe then MTV will return to what got them on the air in the fisrt place.
They "redesigned it for a new generation"? By making it squat and fat? I'm sure the "new generation" appreciates the message.
MTV stinks... Where did the music go? Unreal how they forget their roots and what made them great in the first place... Such a shame...
I really miss my old MTV. I don't even know what channel MTV is on anymore because I haven't watched it since I was in college (which I think was the last time they ever played videos on a regular basis).
If music is still the center of everything they do, they need to prove it. Show us the videos!!!
I agree Joel T...I'm 40 but still want my MTV!
there is still music videos 24/7 on mtvU and MTVjams.....you dont have to watch their other two channels if you dont want to.
I am a graphic designer and all I can say is WHOMEVER designed this logo and got paid by MTV for doing, KUDOS to you!!! Because, man, it bites. Not very imaginative.
BLAH,
Reality tv killed the video star. Mtv programming is like a train wreck its hard to look a way. Snooky and Jwow are a good representation of the combined I. Q. of the mtv network.
Its not just mtv, rock and roll itself is dead. Think about this; I live in NYC, and there is not a SINGLE MAJOR RADIO STATION which plays contemporary rock. Even most rap stations have turned into crappy pop and dance stations. Its not that Music Television is dead, its that good commercial music is dead. You have to get out there and search now if you want to hear good music.
"Music is still at the center of everything we do."
Well that's so much garbage. Mtv stopped being Music Television years ago and I truely miss it. No music videos, no Mtv Unplugged. Their programing is nothing but garbage now with shows like Jersey Shore.
What happened? Where's the music???
C'mon MTV...
Back in the day, you guys ROCKED!!!
The day we saw "video klled the radio star" for the first time was awesome!!!
The night we saw KISS w/o make up was awesome!!!
Who can forget the premiere of Michael Jackson's "Thriller"???
We could keep up with our favorite metal bands on "headbangers ball"
and then see what was up in the "new music" known as Rap on
"Yo!!! Mtv Raps".
Now, you guys are nothing but trash. There are more folks out there who enjoyed the original MTV and WE WANT OUR M TV!!!
80's Mtv = Music television
2010 Mtv = Televison for morons
personally I miss the old MTV... I can't remember the last time I watched a video before 3AM
MTV is the biggest joke ever. They never play music, they fill the airwaves with garbage. Teen Mom? Really, who gives a crap about 16 year olds with loose morals parading around pretending they how to be a parent. Stick the music, or put this crap on MTV2 and give us more videos. The most videos you can ever catch are on an old episode of Beavis and Butthead. Whatever happened to decent TV?
"Music is still at the center of everything we do."
Oh really? Cuz judging from the programming, hook-ups and bling are at the center of everything MTV does. I'm glad they got rid of the "Music Television" tagline, because that made about as much sense as if SpikeTV's tagline was "Television For Women".
I don't see ANY music on MTV anymore. They don't even show shows ABOUT music .... with the exception of the VMA's. It's a little stupid – I miss being able to turn the tv on and watch NKOTB "Hangin Tough" or Bobby Brown dancing and being dirty! Geez, you can't even find Brittany Spears talking about threesomes! Where is are the videos??