Taking on the System- Response 6

MTV, which originally stood for Music Television, was once the powerhouse of the music industry, popularized in the 80’s as a network strictly devoted to playing music videos.  They introduced some of the biggest names on the music scene, including Justin Timberlake, Nirvana, and Men at Work.  After a decade or so, MTV eventually exploded and developed into something much more than an outlet for solely videos, incorporating conventional television into their prime time segments.  This decline in music videos and rise in reality TV is directly correlated to the rise of the Internet, which acted as a trouble-free outlet for viewing and listening to the music videos that were once featured on the MTV network.

Taking on the System, by author and blogger extraordinaire Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, is based on the evolutionary idea that technological change and more specifically the introduction of the Internet, is breaking down societal barriers.  We as citizens, and active members of society, are participating in this never-ending conversation we call the Internet and must bypass traditional barriers of mass communication.  These barriers refer to new medias devoid of gatekeepers.  YouTube, blogs, and podcasts, are all user-friendly and user-generated medias that allow the average citizen to set the agenda for the news.  In order to bring about change, one must learn to adopt these revolutionizing ideas and embrace this new informational age.  

“Technology has unlocked the doors and facilitated a genuine democratization of our culture.  No longer content to sit on the sidelines as spectators, a new generation of participants is taking an active role in our culture and democracy.  This has left the original gatekeepers and the elites they guard with few choices.  Some are embracing this democratization, welcoming the new participants.  Others are simply tolerating the interlopers, acknowledging the process as an inevitable evolution in our culture.  Then there are those digging in their heels, and fighting a losing battle to protect their domain.”

Now more than ever, user-generated content is driving big business.  In terms of entertainment, music, fashion and politics, the average citizen has the ability to facilitate the conversations taking place.  In the past, powerhouse networks and fortune 500 companies were the only ones setting the news agenda.  We, the public, now have the ability to generate the news ourselves. 

Take MTV for example.  As previously mentioned, MTV was the gatekeeper for the music industry, and we as consumers relied on this network to tell us what to listen to and when to listen to what. There was once a time when a band or artist could expect their CD sales to rise and their concerts and tours to be sold out, if they were featured on an MTV segment.  I for one am guilty of watching MTV when I wanted new music, and I’m talking about old school MTV when there were still music video reels.  In short, MTV was in charge of the dissemination of music. 

Now, years later, in the middle of the technological age, we have the ability to introduce music ourselves.  No longer is MTV the gatekeeper.  Outlets such as YouTube, and MySpace allow average citizens to contribute their own examples of musical excellence.  Take Rebecca Black or Justin Beiber (yes, I know the amount of times we’ve talked about these two people in this class is absurd, but then again, they are the perfect examples.)  Anyway, both these two artists (if you will) were discovered via the Internet, more specifically YouTube.  MTV took no part in popularizing these two individuals and thus, MTV did not act as a gatekeeper.  This barrier was broken. 

“And its not just music.  These new empowering technologies are allowing “amateur” filmmaker to use inexpensive video and editing equipment to create content, then post it on sites like YouTube for free and instant worldwide distribution.”

The afore mentioned passage applies specifically to Rebecca Black.  As far as I am concerned the girl’s mother rented out an inexpensive recording studio, filmed the video for dirt cheap and voila… uploaded it to YouTube, only to receive instantaneous recognition.  Now a billionaire from advertisements on YouTube alone, Rebecca Black was able bypass the gatekeepers of the music industry entirely.  Believe it or not, (and by no means did I mean to upset or offend anybody with what I am about to tell them) I did in fact hear “Friday” on the radio earlier this week.  This is even more of an indication that as technology changes, we must adapt with it in order to contribute to the never-ending conversation on the Internet. 

In the book, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga talks about MySpace rather than YouTube with regards to the music industry, and how artists such as Radiohead and the Arctic Monkeys exploded on the music scene due to a fan’s MySpace page.  Zuniga describes in his book how a fan of the group the Arctic Monkeys uploaded all their music to his MySpace page.  This fans entire social network thus had access to the uploaded music.  In theory, the music was passed from consumer to consumer and so on, until it got into the hands of a production company which wanted to help promote Arctic Monkeys as a group.  Here, MTV and other gatekeepers in the music industry such as VH1, were cut out of the equation.  The musical group was popularized by an innocent fan’s online profile. 

Today, MTV is still associated with musical talent, however it will never be the musical powerhouse it once was.  Sure MTV is still the proud sponsor of the VMA’s and creator of Unplugged, but today, media outlets such as YouTube and MySpace hold the greatest power of all.  The steps taken to achieve success have been rerouted, which can most likely be attributed to the development of technology and the new digital age.