Posted on 07/12/2014 1:16:15 PM PDT by Squawk 8888
As a MuchMusic VJ in the channel’s 1980s heyday, Terry David Mulligan remembers sneaking a film crew into the very temple of the American music industry — the Grammy Awards.
His boldness paid off with a shot of a moment that went down in music history — Metallica storming out in a hail of curses after losing to Jethro Tull for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. And Mr. Mulligan did it with what could charitably be called a small fib: telling the security guard he was part of the film crew there to accompany Olivia Newton John.
“He said, ‘That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,’” Mr. Mulligan recalls. “And we went in. And we did 55 interviews that day.”
That was the sort of gonzo-video style that put MuchMusic on the bleeding edge of hip in the early years after its 1984 debut, making it the kind of cultural leader and tastemaker that new media groups like VICE and Gawker, occupy today. Top musicians and their fans made pilgrimages to Much’s downtown Toronto studio space, designed to be a gathering spot, as well as a broadcasting centre.
That time has all but come to an end. This past Wednesday at 10 a.m., Catherine MacLeod, senior vice president for specialty channels for Much’s owner Bell Media, called a meeting with production teams from Much, MTV Canada, M3 (formerly known as MuchMoreMusic) and the entertainment channel E!, and broke some stunning news, according to a source familiar with the matter.
(Excerpt) Read more at business.financialpost.com ...
Maybe we can reform Buggles and record a song called “The Real World killed the video star.”
Canada Ping!
In its heyday, Much was a fantastic source for those who like to discover new music and new artists. I think what happened is that people tired of the “video flow” format of MTV & Much, leaving both scrambling to fill airtime. With Much the problem was compounded by the regulators ordering them to continue broadcasting content that nobody wanted to watch.
Please add me.
Welcome aboard! This list is brand spankin’ new. I’ll start an intro thread as soon as I have some time.
Are you referring to the infamous Canadian content laws? The same ones that gave us Bob and Doug McKenzie?
CC
So often, government regulation accomplishes the opposite of what it was intended to do.
Much, and various other cable channels enjoyed having government keep competition away — until they experienced the dark side of government “protection”.
This is sad news. I very “much” remember watching this channel with my daughter in the 90s.
Canada really does great TV. SCTV is one of the greatest TV shows of all time, pure snarky brilliance that you would never find on US TV. The only US show that comes close is Carol Burnett with her soap opera and movie parodies.
They were subject to CanCon but that was not the issue here because (1) Canadian tastes are different from those of Americans, (2) there was a *lot* of excellent Canadian music being released, and (3) they needed to differentiate themselves from MTV that was available via satellite.
The real problem was that the CRTC, Canada’s broadcast regulator, is in the habit of micromanaging format and content. The biggest headache for all specialty TV channels is the capricious manner in which they regulate competition; a good example of this was their decision that three TV stations in Toronto was too much for Bell to control but it was OK for Bell to sell one of them to Rogers, which already owned two TV stations, three radio stations and the cable company here.
My favourite Canadian show was Forever Knight from the early 1990s. It was about an 800 year old vampire trying to redeem himself while working as a homicide cop in Toronto.
Favorite Canadian music video: “The Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats.
That was awesome. My sister briefly dated Ivan Doroschuk just before she left Canada permanently.
Thanks for inspiring a link to add to the list: http://www.menwithouthats.com/
That sounds good. Hubby really likes, oh what’s it called? “Flashpoint”? About the sort of SWAT/Hostage Rescue team?
It’s got a bunch of good actors in it, including the gal most beloved by my daughter for being one of the original Power Rangers.
It’s a wee bit “kumbaya” for me, but it is a good show and very well acted.
She had some tough competition. That blond girl in the "Safety Dance" video was the most beautiful girl in 1980s' music video.
She was finally ID'ed as Louise Court, who went on to become an editor for Cosmopolitan in England.
“Let’s revitalize programming!”
“Let’s diversify the workforce!”
“Let’s cut costs!”
“Let’s trim salaries!”
“Let’s do another audit!”
Nobody at Bell Media ever thinks:
Let’s SELL SOME TIME!
Hold a million dollars in ad sales in front of their faces and they say:
“How interesting. That stuff looks like money. Oh well. Let’s examine our programming phenomenology vis a vis transcultural phenomena. And by the way why did Bob get fired?”
If only Mtv could die a quick death too
I remember Forever Knight
Some of the worst TV in the Anglo-sphere comes because of content laws and government funds. :p
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