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MTV changes a blow to local music industry

What does Pluto TV programming mean for emerging Australian music acts?

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MTV Australia is no longer programmed locally, as it has been since 1996, which has been described as a blow to Australian music.

In August the long-running music channel exited Foxtel (but retained MTV Hits, MTV Club, MTV 80s and CMT).

MTV is now available as several Pluto TV FAST channels and includes a range of US Reality TV shows such as Jersey Shore, The Hills, Teen Mom. plus MTV Pop, MTV EMA and MTV Love.

Only the country music channel CMT remains locally-programmed.

A Paramount ANZ spokesperson told The Music, “In an Australian-first, MTV music channels are now available for free via Pluto TV on 10 Play.

“These free channels join the MTV line up on Foxtel and SKY. Local programming continues for the popular CMT music channel featuring the best country music from the world with a vast content lineup featuring Australian artists. Our MTV music channels have moved to a global feed that features the best music from around the world.”

But the spokesperson declined to answer whether MTV would be adding more Australian content to their global feed, nor  whether Australian artists or labels would be able to pitch their music.

Local initiatives such as the Upload show. which gave a platform to emerging Australian acts, have also been culled.

Leading radio plugger Frank Varrasso said, “When it comes to emerging artists, international channels prioritise established international artists over emerging Australian talent. This can make it more challenging for new artists to break through on a global scale, which concerns me most. As we all know, the music industry plays a significant role in the Australian economy. Reduced exposure could affect revenue streams, including album sales, merchandise, concert ticket sales, etc.”

Fetch TV also broadcasts MTV 90s and MTV 00s.

11 Responses

  1. It’s not the blow it’s made out to be. No one is discovering new music on MTV anymore. It’s literally white noise for offices and shops who still have a Foxtel connection. New music is discovered on YouTube and TikTok these days, and radio programmers take their lead from iTunes and Spotify.

    1. The radio programmers have also been known to lift songs from YouTube and Spotify, which is against broadcast specifications, the files being in MP3/MP4 format as opposed to .wav

      Stations are not supposed to broadcast music in MP3 format, due to reduced audio quality.

        1. Current standard is .wav recorded at 44.1. The problem is with the sound of the compressed files. Mp3/MP4 files are compressed. Then more compression is added as data is fed to the transmitter. Music files already have an amount of compression added during the production process. I programmed music for two stations, when the standard changed, we had to go through the library, deleting MP3 files and replacing the affected songs in .wav format. It took a few months of work. Fraunhofer, the company that delevoped the MP3 format, no longer supports it either.

    1. Including Taylor Swift wouldn’t help me. I had a look at the chart and I have heard Mr Brightside, and was rather surprised to see it there in 2023 as it was there last time I looked at a music chart, and still owned a transistor radio. Presumably there is some story behind that.

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