📺 I Want My MTV: 44 Years Later, Where Did the Music Go?

WATCH THE FIRST 2 HOURS OF MTV

Today marks 44 years since the very first broadcast of MTV hit the airwaves — August 1, 1981. It was a bold, wild, culture-defining moment that changed music, media, and style forever.

And just a few short months later… I was born into that era.

I grew up with MTV.
I didn’t just watch it — I studied it.
The way the artists dressed. The way the videos were shot. The way the world moved when the right song met the right look at the right moment.

🎶 The Birth of Music Television

Back then, MTV meant music first.
We waited for world premieres.
We memorized choreography.
We counted down our favorite videos and debated which artist deserved Video of the Year.

From Janet to Missy to Aaliyah to TLC… these weren’t just artists — they were the blueprint. And MTV gave us front-row seats to the evolution of music and image.

It was raw, revolutionary, and at times… chaotic in the best way.

😔 The Shift from Music to "Reality"

Over time, though, the "M" in MTV started to fade.

What once stood for music quietly shifted into reality.

Music videos gave way to made-for-TV drama.
VJs were replaced by influencers.
Award shows became less about artistry and more about shock value.

Now when you tune in, you’re more likely to find a dating show than a debut single.

And listen… I get it. Times change. Platforms evolve.
But part of me still misses the electricity of that old-school MTV energy. That sense that you were witnessing something new. Something bold. Something undeniably now.

📢 A Call for Revival

In the middle of this big nostalgia movement — with old shows being rebooted and retro trends making a comeback — what if MTV did the same?

What if — even for just one throwback week — they went back to their roots?

📺 All-day music videos.
🎤 Exclusive artist spotlights.
🎵 Cross-genre love — from hip hop to indie to gospel to Latin pop.
💄Fashion, beauty, and creativity as part of the music moment again.

Because music never stopped mattering.
We just stopped seeing it celebrated the way it deserves.

💋 Why This Matters to Me

As a beauty educator, creative, and proud 80s baby, I owe so much of my artistic lens to what MTV gave us in the 90s and early 2000s.

It didn’t just shape my taste.
It shaped my standard.

And today — whether I’m helping someone build a beauty business, teaching salon pros how to book clients, or creating visual content — I carry that MTV magic with me.

That mix of edge and elegance.
That ability to stop the scroll with a single image.
That show up like a video vixen but work like a CEO kind of energy.

🗯️ Final Word from Becky D.

It’s astonishing that MTV is still here — and heartbreaking that its soul isn’t.

But maybe, just maybe… we can bring some of that back.
Not just with networks. But with how we show up.

With visuals. With stories. With art that makes people feel something again.

So to MTV I say:
Don’t forget the “M.”
Because music made you.
And music still matters, and I still want my MTV.

— Becky D. Beauty

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