You hit the nail right on the head, right track. I had the exact same thought. I know we're viewed as dinosaurs, and rightly so, considering the demographic here. But 'back then', music was held in a lot higher value, since it was harder to come by.
You hear that one new song for a month on the radio, and counted the days until the album was released. I'm sure it's that way now, as well, except, when the album is released now, a few clicks of a button, and you have it.
Having to save your allowance, or grass cutting money, and riding your bike to the record store, and seeing all those brand new recorRAB. That was something special.
The internet, as well as MTV, have made music so accessible, the thrill of anticipation is virtually gone. It's hard for someone like me to say that music has gotten worse, simply because, by the time I hit my mid 20's or so, my musical tastes were changing, and music was evolving in a different direction from the one I was headed.
Do I think it's gotten worse? Yes. But that is only my opinion. I have no hard evidence, only my ear. I will give you folks this to ponder: What banRAB out there would never have made it without MTV? There are, I'm sure, literally hundreRAB, who, without the sense of sight, would have never made it to the radio.
As far as the history of MTV, I was around, in my musical prime, when it started. It begain with no commercials at all, just videos, back to back to back. Then, they started playing commercials, only there was no sound during them.
Then, they added Vee-jays. Martha Quinn, J.J. Jackson, Alan Hunter, Mark-somebody, and that ditzy blonde. It evolved, and grew, and artists started showing up on the network as it gained in popularity. It was another medium to promote themselves, and they used it. A prime example of this is Madonna. She is the MTV queen. Would she have remained so popular without MTV? She was a chameleon, changing her look, and that is what kept people interested for so long, because her music didn't change much at all.
I think the first game show on MTV was 'Remote Control', a pop-culture quiz show. Then the specialized, late night programming started. Sunday nights had '120 Minutes', two hours of new wave, progressive type stuff. My oasis, though, was Saturday nights, (or was it Fridays?) The Headbangers Ball. Awesome!!!
The, the day Yo! MTV Raps came on, I turned off MTV and never went back. Seriously.