European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse A a a a nth tube Wei a mtg solid after 10 years of Rock around the clock by Jane Hall los Angeles times i the officers inside new York City police Headquarters surely done to realize it but the rappers at their Doorstep Are , a controversial los an. Geles group thit those to Fame with tha police and other songs of rage from the streets. , whose latest album efil4zaggin, is near the top of the pop charts is using the site As the backdrop for a segment on to mtg raps. There a no anger today however. A a Ted a my Homeboy a says writer rapper . Ren slapping the Palm of Ted Demme the producer of to mtg once was criticized for ignoring even mainstream Black performers. But its popular rap series has Given Many groups including , their first National exposure. A a mtg is Cool a Ren says. A hell yes they helped us sell records a endorsements for mtg come from Many directions these Days. The 24-hour Cable network has fans on Wall Street and Madison Avenue. Since its debut aug. 1,1981, mtg music television has built a billion Dollar business out of being both corporate and Cool a hip hopping member of the establishment. Marrying television with Rock music mtg has Given Young viewers from Seattle to Shreveport la., and from Senegal to the soviet Union a to network they can Call their own. It is a Triumph of a a a combination of music videos that Are the record Industry s commercials for its artists advertisers commercials for products aimed at Young people and its own ingenious promotion spots. For mtg not Only Sells records it also Sells mtg a Amhe creative reflection of what its viewers Are into or soon will be into. A a lot of people thought mtg last and now we re accepted As an institution on the to dial a Tom Freston the 45-year-old chairman of mtg networks observed during a recent interview in his new York office. As mtg enters its second decade its greatest Challenge remains essentially what it has been from the Start staying in Tunc with a Young Audi once that Falls in and out of love with trends faster than you can say air Jordans. A when we started mtg the baby Boom generation was the heart of our audience a Freston said. A today there a a new generation coming up the they look at a life where increasingly they live with their parents the environment sucks there is aids and they re in i music television creasing by resentful of being handed some sort of recycled pop culture from the baby Boomers. At the same time they have Many different choices for entertainment and the pop music world has become increasingly fragmented. We re trying to Deal with All of that in a Way that makes sense for mtg. The ongoing creative Challenge for us is to stay fresh and relevant for our mtg so far has been remarkably successful at that task. A a there very few things on television that have been hot for 10 years a said Larry Ger Brandt a Media analyst for the investment research firm of Paul Kagan and associates. A a mtg is at the cutting Edge of music and culture and they continually have to reinvent themselves. They be been Able to attract and keep their key demographic a 12 to 25-Ycar-Olds a Oyer a Long period of time with one generation already having moved through that a mtg has done it with what by conventional broadcast standards Are meager ratings. A tvs a average rating Over a 24-hour period according to the . Nielsen co., is 0.6 a a figure that has remained about the same Over the last four years. The highest rated shows on mtg achieve Between a 1 and a 2 rating the lowest rated shows on lbs and generally Garner 4s and 5s. Each Point represents 931,000 households nonetheless mtg is a hot ticket because of who is in that relatively Small audience. A a mtg is not for every advertiser but its great for reaching the disposable income of teenagers a said Betsy Frank senior vice president at the Saatchi and Saatchi advertising Agency. A teen agers really hard to find on traditional network with an estimated $203 million in Revenue mtg will generate about $85 million in Cash flow this year according to Gorbrandt making it one of the most profitable Cable to networks. While critics debate the Impact that the Cable news network is having As it spreads around the Globe mtg is quietly expanding into an International Force whose cultural Impact is As yet unknown. The company is wired into 201 million Homes in 38 countries with mtg channels in Europe South America and the soviet Union. Next month mtg will spread in Asia adding another 33 countries from Kuwait to Malaysia. Although mtg still plays top pop hits with mind numbing regularity throughout the Day the network has expanded its repertoire in recent years. �?o1 wish they a play More alternative music but they re a breaking More bands today than radio is a said Steve Leeds a former mtg Programmer who is director of video promotion at plug the poly ram Label group. A a mtg is the biggest radio station on the planet and its very difficult to have a hit record without support from them. But within the context of being a mainstream service i think they try to reach out to other Many of a tvs a most successful programming ideas have come from its own staff of Young employees. Ted Demme the Nephew of filmmaker Jonathan Demme brought the idea of a rap show to mtg in 1988 while he was working As a production assistant there. Demme who is White had become a rap fan growing up with Black friends in a new York neighbourhood. A wrap was pretty underground at the time but i Sis Micheal Abrams Madonna made the mtg camera blink. Kept badgering them about it Quot explained Demme 27. A so they said write up a to mtg raps is now on five Days a week a and its one of the highest rated shows on the network. Although the debate Over the sexual Content of music videos largely has dissipated the image of women in them continues to be a sensitive Issue. Dave Marsh an outspoken Rock critic who criticized mtg for ignoring Tome Black performers in its Early Days praises v it mtg raps for having a More Black voices on he air than any other to but Marsh added a i believe that their programming still reflects a male sup emacs that is uncomfortable to the Contr Wersty was raised anew when a professor at the University of Massachusetts recently put together i. Compilation of music videos that he said denigrated women. A a that a a bum rap a Freston maintained. A a there a no question that chauvinism and sexism has been integral to Rock a no Roll a just listen to the rolling stones and under my thumb. But a lot of the cliches that were born out of the heavy Metal hard Rock genre a the girls in the lingerie walking around on a smoke bomb set a you done to see those on mtg very much mtg executives Point out that Many female artists from Tracy Chapman to Suzanne Vega have gained exposure on the music network. Mtg does have a standards and practices department that reviews music videos and applies what it says broadcast network standards about language violence and nudity. Mtg once rejected a Billy idol video that showed a woman being burned on a Cross and does not sing a a. Tha police when it goes on to mtg raps. The networks most publicized rejection involved Madonna its biggest Star. After mtg rejected justify my love the explicit video Rode Waves of publicity to the top of the charts. A if we had it to do All Over again we might have aired the video in a late night time Slot not in prime time a said Doug Herzog a tvs a programming chief. A Madonna tries to push the envelope every time out. Honestly i think we thought there was another video that shed say a now Guys Here a the real a what will mtg look like in a few years Freston predicts that with audience fragmentation and the utilization of fiber optic technology that will greatly expand the number of channels that a Cable operator can deliver to a customers Home there Are Likely to be three mtg channels programming three categories of 28. 1991 sunday a Page 15
