I know that those channels are there to make money from advertising (or subscriptions like HBO) or have the government give it to them (like PBS). That's the way it has always been, I get that (and wasn't arguing about it).
Was it just a nice bonus that people bought Dire Straits and Peter Gabriel albums in the mid-1980s? My recollection of MTV was that their commercial breaks (at least as far back as the early 1990s) were longer (around 4-5 minutes) than typical (2-3 minutes) but I could be wrong.
Like the issue with the plastic sacks, I think we're in agreement on a lot of things and I certainly don't like over-commercialization as much as anyone. I don't like being the unwitting subject of a focus group and have all of my spending habits tracked and analyzed any more than you do.
The Camel ad was atrocious and appropriately the subject of lawsuits. Rolling Stone should be ashamed of themselves for that move. I'm not even going to try to defend it - and don't believe any defense is appropriate.
Yes, I was a dick to Jon for his post, but all I was trying to say is that I'm in favor of people discovering great new music and there is a lot of it in commercials now. If advertisers are going to make it just a little bit easier for those bands to continue making music and MTV is making it a little bit easier for people to find those bands, then I'm all for it. If it saves me (and Mike) from being asked at parties "what's that song in the ______ commercial" at parties or work all the better.
Reviews
ChrisB said on April 17, 2008:
This will be my final word on the topic.
I know that those channels are there to make money from advertising (or subscriptions like HBO) or have the government give it to them (like PBS). That's the way it has always been, I get that (and wasn't arguing about it).
Was it just a nice bonus that people bought Dire Straits and Peter Gabriel albums in the mid-1980s? My recollection of MTV was that their commercial breaks (at least as far back as the early 1990s) were longer (around 4-5 minutes) than typical (2-3 minutes) but I could be wrong.
Like the issue with the plastic sacks, I think we're in agreement on a lot of things and I certainly don't like over-commercialization as much as anyone. I don't like being the unwitting subject of a focus group and have all of my spending habits tracked and analyzed any more than you do.
The Camel ad was atrocious and appropriately the subject of lawsuits. Rolling Stone should be ashamed of themselves for that move. I'm not even going to try to defend it - and don't believe any defense is appropriate.
Yes, I was a dick to Jon for his post, but all I was trying to say is that I'm in favor of people discovering great new music and there is a lot of it in commercials now. If advertisers are going to make it just a little bit easier for those bands to continue making music and MTV is making it a little bit easier for people to find those bands, then I'm all for it. If it saves me (and Mike) from being asked at parties "what's that song in the ______ commercial" at parties or work all the better.