Watching VH1 used to be synonymous with being uncool. VH1 represented all that was Adult Contemporary and on the verge of Easy Listening, home to artists like Seal, Hootie and the Blowfish and and Lyle Lovett.
Now VH1 plays videos by Kid Rock and Tupac and devotes whole specials to the ‘Fabulous Life of P. Diddy.’
This is not the TV station of artists with grey hair anymore, this is the channel of viewers in their late 20’s and early 30’s.
Chief Executive of VH1 John Skyes said, “If you are 30 years old, you were 20 when you first heard Nirvana. You were 15 when you first heard Run DMC. It’s only logical that we will adopt those viewers to our format. The culture at MTV Networks is about staying true to your demographic and letting the audience move through.”
VH1 is owned by the same company that owns MTV, Viacom. In recent years, MTV’s image moved to embody all that was the teen pop phenomenon. Artists on MTV from Lil Bow Wow to Lizzie McGuire are getting younger and younger. So a domino effect begins, and coincidentally VH1’s target demographic is getting younger as well.
With this approach VH1 moves its nostalgic eye from the past that has little ties to the late teens/early 20’s generation, to a time when those viewers were just beginning to have a knowledge of music at all.
Nirvana debuted when 20 year- olds were 10. That seems young. However, the band was still around by the time that 10 year old hit middle school, and reached out to music to salvage him from the brink of adolescence.
This same viewer gets shafted by MTV who is playing videos for their little brothers and sisters, and their gaze wanders over to the other major music viewing option, VH1.
Shows like “I love the 80s” hold relevance to college-age viewers who vaguely remember the decade of their birth and early childhood. The show evokes the memories viewers can conjure up and fills in the gaps for those who cannot.
“Behind the Music,” “The Fabulous Life of … ,” and “Driven” continue to reel in the new demographic with barely nostalgic artists. Jewel and the Red Hot Chili Peppers aren’t quite classic rock fodder yet. But there is enough dust on viewers’ copies of “Pieces of You” to draw them in for a special calling Jewel vintage.
VH1 makes it cool to like artists and trends that used to be cool five years ago all over again, straddling the lines of nostalgic and new.
But VH1 keeps itself fresh with new artists as well. When the channel is not running specialty programming, it is playing videos by breaking artists. VH1 now caters to the first generation to grow up with rap and grunge, so newer variations on the forms do not frighten away viewers, and it is safe to play almost anything.
And there is room for everyone, from MC Hammer to 50 Cent, on the new barely vintage and young people – friendly VH1.