As we all know, MTV is unrecognisable today compared to how it was when it launched on 1 August 1981 (exactly 13 years before I was born). The network has slowly gone from being music video central to trash TV central, with a token music video awards show to remind you why it’s called MTV in the first place. But MTV weren’t just a TV network, they had a website too and that was crucial in the early days of the internet.
If you’ve been using the internet for 20 or more years, you are aware of how much things have changed in such a short period of time: website design, the death of Flash, discussions moving from BBS forums to social media, and the rise and fall of different social media platforms and websites. This last point is what I want to focus on in this blog post.
I remember when people used to say “the internet is forever” or “the internet never forgets”, when really it’s not the case. There’s an entire subreddit called r/lostmedia. In this day and age of streaming and networks pulling programmes from streaming on a whim, it’s more important to archive and get physical copies now than ever before.
I remember when Geocities shut down in 2009. Three years ago, Yahoo! Answers closed its doors for good. I’m guessing it’s because of the rise of Quora. So much information lost forever in these cases. Not to be melodramatic, but it almost feels like the burning of the Library of Alexandria. Learn from history! News websites like Vice have gone bankrupt and I wouldn’t be surprised if the website disappears too. Recently in the news it was announced that MTV have nuked their MTV News website with over 20 years worth of content on there. Content doesn’t do it justice. To really talk about the gravity of the situation, the content in question was entertainment news reporting and interviews with various musicians. Really important stuff for pop culture researchers and scholars.
Sure, because it’s a major website much of the articles will probably be on the Wayback Machine, a favourite website of us researchers, but it sure as hell won’t be easily accessible or easy to navigate. It’s also important to note that websites can be taken down from the Wayback Machine upon request if you write them an email so it’s not bulletproof or foolproof.
There’s also been a whole copyright battle between book publishers and Internet Archive. After a court ruling, 500,000 books have been pulled from Internet Archive because of greedy book publishers and copyright and this has been catastrophic news for researchers because there are so many out of print books on Internet Archive and for many independent researchers not affiliated with a university, this was their staple and the way that they could afford to read so many books and not go broke. Here’s my personal story: without Internet Archive, my book Crime of the Century could not have been written. I utilised both the Wayback Machine and the book borrowing sides of the website to do research for it. I was living below the poverty line and chronically ill and didn’t have the resources to build my own personal library collection. In short, libraries are important and valuable and save our libraries, both brick and mortar and online! Sign up for a library card at your local library and use their services. If you do that, it shows that people are using the library and that means the librarians can tell the city council that people are using the library and that means they can get more funding.
Why is the shutting down of websites so important?
You might be wondering why this is an important issue and I’ll give you a few reasons that you should care.
First, this is because of capitalism and money. If you ever ask yourself why a company does this or that, the answer is money and their bottom line. It costs a lot of money to host content on a website and if it’s not accessed enough or it’s not seen as a priority, then that will get the chop. The MTV News website wasn’t a top priority or a moneymaker even though some people found value in the articles on the website.
Second, this hurts journalists and writers who have worked hard to write articles and hone their interviewing and reporting skills. On a CV you list your work experience and you talk about what you’ve done at work. When it’s print or physical media like books, newspapers, or magazines, it’s fairly easy to hang onto those clippings for your portfolio. Physical media is there, you own it and unless it’s set on fire or destroyed in a flood, you’ve got it! But if it’s online and the website you’ve been writing for goes bye bye, then how do you prove that you actually did write those articles and did the work you did? How can someone see the quality of your work? MTV have hurt those hardworking journalists by taking down their news site. That’s just one of many problems in journalism. Here’s your reminder that if you’re a journalist or a freelance writer, archive all of your articles in a PDF or screenshots.
Third, this hurts researchers because valuable cultural and historic information is lost. Some information is exclusive to certain websites and when that website is gone, so is all of the information on it. No doubt did MTV News get some exclusives, and now they’re all gone. Not everything is on Wikipedia and Wikipedia will often cite websites that are no longer around as sources and people may want to verify the claims they see on Wikipedia. A lot of facts about classic rock bands are in print magazines from 40-70 years ago and it’s important to archive that information too so that way those who couldn’t get copies of the physical magazine can still get the same great information. Archive issues of magazines can get really expensive, especially if they’re really old issues.
What can be done? Well, some people have asked why don’t the Library of Congress archive websites like they archive books and movies, and your wish has been granted!
Why The Diversity of Classic Rock is here to stay:
One of the best pieces of advice my dad gave me growing up is control what you can control. I can’t control other websites, but I can control my own website and I want to keep it up for posterity even if I stop writing. Obviously life isn’t forever and there will come a day that I will stop writing, either by death or because life happens. I may not want to write about classic rock for the rest of my life. I may move onto a new adventure. I may get a full time job and will no longer have time to keep up this blog. Life is ever changing and uncertain and who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, a month from now, a year, a few years, a decade, you get the point.
Let me get vulnerable and real for a second. There are some days where I feel like I am worthless, I have never done anything of worth, and I’m an awful writer. There have been times where I wanted to get rid of everything and delete this website. I’m not the prettiest vintage dressing woman. No one ever yaaas queen’s me. I don’t know what it’s like to be someone’s favourite. I infodump too much about classic rock. You want to know what stopped me from doing that? Your kind words and your support. I’ve had many amazing readers of the blog say nice things about my work: how comprehensive it is, how they’ve learnt something new from my work, how I’ve introduced them to a new band to listen to, musicians are happy with my blog covering and being a platform to showcase their work, and I remember one girl who has a radio show who said that my blog has been a source of inspiration for her. I remember one musician friend telling me that the interview he did for my blog is the one he’s most proud of. Another musician I know and have met before told me that he’s so grateful to see a website that champions smaller bands and introduces them to a new audience. I’ve had a few authors that I’ve reviewed books for thank me for reviewing their books. Of course, I also have to thank each and every person who has bought a copy of my book. There are many books about classic rock and true crime out there and I am honoured that you’ve picked Crime of the Century to read and display on your bookshelf. I hope you’re enjoying or have enjoyed the book. Recounting all of these wholesome, uplifting comments is revitalising and I needed this moment of reflection. Where else are you going to find unique perspectives on classic rock: looking at it through a queer lens, a socialist lens, a multiracial lens? I’m proud to be that blog and my aim is really to be the classic rock equivalent of a gamer who works hard to 100% a video game. I don’t know if it’s possible to 100% classic rock, but I want to be the one who comes closest to that!
Don’t underestimate the impact of your word, especially when you use it to be kind and uplift people. We don’t think much of compliments and praise because it only takes a moment to do it and you’re not in the other person’s head. Sure, a compliment isn’t a magic wand that gets rid of low self esteem and doubt, but it’s nice and helpful to hear that you’re making a positive impact somehow in this world, even if it’s a small one. Take a couple minutes out of your day and compliment creatives you like, whether they’re a writer, artist, musician, photographer, fashion designer, etc. Share their work, leave a nice review if you’ve bought something or used their services. Heck, shout out small businesses you like: restaurants, cafes, record stores, vintage shops, Etsy sellers. Life is short, so show appreciation for people while they’re around to hear it.
That’s enough of my soapbox! Stay tuned for more blog posts and reviews.
Until next time!
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