Back in the 80's and until the beginning of the 90's, musicians knew "they had made it" if MTV broadcasted one of their musical videos. But as years went by, the channel started to change, playing less and less music videos. By 2010 the network would occasionally air video premieres, and by 2016 MTV would center their programming completely around series, reality TV, and original non-music programming, leaving music videos to its alternative channels like MTV2.
Legendary Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash recently expressed his views about moden MTV, coincidentally during the 42nd anniversary of the channel, saying that the channel "died" in the 1990s.
"We just celebrated 42 years of MTV. But honestly, the MTV we grew up with, died in the '90s." wrote Slash in an Instagram post. "MTV should have always been about music videos. They should have used MTV2 as the channel to air only shows. So if you wanted your shows, jump over to MTV2 cuz MTV only has music videos! Hell, it's in the name, Music Television…."
Slash is not the first musician to criticize MTV. In an interview before his death Ronnie James Dio said that MTV killed heavy metal genre: "You had to have a video, which is very true, if you did'’t you were doomed. And I think all of us hated that. The ones who didn't grow up in the video era hated, because then we had to become something that was competing with something we didn’t like.”
Slash's comments come as MTV is facing declining ratings. In 2022, the channel's average viewership was down 30% from the previous year, and in 2023 their news branch shut down completely. It is possible that MTV can be saved. However, it would require a major change in direction. The channel would need to focus on music videos again, and it would need to find a way to reach a younger audience.
It is also possible that MTV will simply fade away. The channel is facing a lot of competition from streaming services like YouTube and Spotify. These services offer a wider variety of music, and they are more convenient for viewers. It is unclear what the future holds for MTV, yet it is clear that the channel is no longer the cultural force that it once was.
