GANDHINAGAR: Remember MTV?📺 The channel that once beamed a world of music, fashion, and rebellion into our living rooms? Audacy– a multi-platform audio content and entertainment company–dives deep into the meteoric rise and fall of this cultural phenomenon with their new, eight-part podcast series, “Who Killed the Video Star? The Story of MTV.”🤔
Listen nowHosted by former MTV VJ (1998-2002) Dave Holmes, the new podcast series promises a nostalgic journey through nearly four decades of music and pop culture 🌊. Listeners can expect candid insights from a star-studded guest list, including fellow VJs, MTV News correspondents, and personalities like Rob Dyrdek and Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp.
Joining Holmes will be a lineup of personalities, including ex-MTV VJs Julie Brown, Damien Fahey, and Kevin Seal; past MTV News reporters Gideon Yago, Chris Connelly, and Suchin Pak; the team behind ‘Ridiculousness,’ Shane Nickerson and Rob Dyrdek; ‘The Real World: New York’ alum Eric Nies; and influential figures from Viacom’s past, Doug Herzog and Brian Graden, with Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet among others.🎉
“In the ‘80s and ‘90s, MTV💬 was a window into an alternate universe, one full of music and art and style and sex, that commanded the attention of my whole generation,” SAYS Holmes. He adds, “At the turn of the millennium, I climbed through that window and worked there, and found myself surrounded with the smartest, hardest-working people on Earth, people who loved music and pop culture the way I did. MTV is still on the air in 2024, and it’s still profitable, but my nieces and nephews know it as a logo on an Urban Outfitters t-shirt. I wanted to know what happened, and where the spirit of MTV exists now. As I gathered the story, in real time, a few other bulletproof media brands– Vice, Pitchfork, Sports Illustrated, MTV News itself– went out of business. The story of MTV is a fascinating one in its own right, but it’s also turned out to be, in microcosm, the story of media in 2024,” said Dave Holmes.🕵️♀️
The Rise and Fall of a Youth Culture Icon
MTV’s reign as the undisputed king of youth culture seems almost mythical today. The channel defined trends, launched musical careers, and shaped the way a generation viewed the world. But somewhere along the way, the magic faded.
“Who Killed the Video Star?” delves into the factors behind this decline. Did MTV lose touch with its core audience? Did the changing media landscape leave it behind? The podcast promises to answer these questions and more.
A Look Back, A Look Forward
By examining MTV’s story, the podcast sheds light on the ever-evolving media industry. As Holmes points out, the fate of MTV mirrors the struggles of other once-powerful brands.
“Who Killed the Video Star?” is a must-listen for anyone who remembers the golden age of MTV, as well as those interested in the ever-shifting sands of media consumption.🎉