mtv posts

Kanye West apology generator - Time Waster

by Jay Hathaway Sep 17th 2009

To appreciate the Kanye West apology generator, you may need some background: by now you've probably heard about rapper Kanye West's outburst at the Video Music Awards, interrupting teenage country star Taylor Swift as she accepted an award. Even if you don't have a TV, I'll bet you've noticed that "interrupting Kanye" has gone viral, and it's almost unavoidable on the web. While Kanye's stunt is kind of played out as a joke already, his blogged (but quickly deleted) apology to Taylor Swift is a more fertile comedy goldmine.

Kanye's propensity for blogging in all caps is already mildly hilarious, but when you combine that with a heat-of-the-moment defense of his actions -- written and posted while he was still at the awards that night -- you've got something really special. All you need to do is fill in the required fields, Mad Libs style. No description I could write would do justice to Kanye's original post, so I'll just present this apology I generated for some of Download Squad's lead bloggers:

I'M SOOOOO SORRY TO GRANT ROBERTSON AND VICTOR AGREDA, JR. FOR WRITING THE POST. I SPOKE TO VICTOR AGREDA, JR. RIGHT AFTER. GRANT ROBERTSON IS VERY UPSET !!........... I'M IN THE WRONG FOR POSTING AND DELETING!!!!!! I'M SORRY TO MY FANS IF I LET YOU GUYS DOWN!!!!! I'M SORRY TO MY FRIENDS AT DOWNLOAD SQUAD. I WILL APOLOGIZE TO GRANT ROBERTSON 2MRW. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!!!! EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I'M A FAN OF BLOG!!! Y'ALL KNOW!!! BOOOOYAAAWWWWW!!!!!!! AIGHT I GAVE MY APP TO MIKE ARRINGTON WHEN THEY DESERVED IT... THAT'S WHAT IT IS!!!!!!!!!! I'M NOT CRAZY YALL, I'M JUST BEING REAL. SORRY FOR THAT!!!MUCH RESPECT!!!!!

It probably won't be as funny next week, when this whole thing is ancient history, so strike while the iron is hot. Post your own Kanye Apology in the comments.

Tags: apology, generator, kanye west, KanyeWest, MTV, time waster, TimeWaster, VMAS

Filed under: Audio, Internet, Video, Web

MTV Music: Hulu for music videos, or too little too late?

by Brad Linder Oct 27th 2008

MTV launched a new music video hub today at MTVMusic.com. And it looks remarkably like online video site Hulu. Except instead of hosting hundreds of movies and TV shows, the site hosts thousands of music videos.

The site has a nice mix of new and older videos. You can watch videos on the site or embed them on another web page. And you can watch in full screen.

There's also a handy "similar artists" feature that will let you know that if you like Tori Amos you might want to look for videos from Fiona Apple. But the recommendation engine is far from perfect. For example, when you click on the page for Mike Doughty, you'll discover that Jack Johnson is a similar artist, but there's no link to the 5 music videos from Soul Coughing, the band Mike Doughty used to perform with.

The biggest challenge MTV Music faces is the fact that there are dozens, if not hundreds of places to find the exact same content on the internet, and then some. You can find a much wider selection of music videos on YouTube or dozens of other online video sites than you can on MTV Music. It's true that some of those videos may not have been uploaded legally, but they're out there.

So while Hulu is one of the few places you can go for free, legal, and full length TV episodes, MTV Music is jsut the latest music video portal to hit the web. And while the web page is new, it's not like MTV hasn't had hundreds of music videos on its website for years.

[via Silicon Alley Insider]

Tags: mtv, mtv-music, music-videos

Filed under: Audio, Internet

MTV to launch lyrics services

by Brad Linder Oct 29th 2007

Remember when the M in MTV stood for music? Sure, now the TV channel shows more "reality" content than music. But if you wake up early enough in the morning you might still be able to catch a music video or two. And the network's website is chock full of music video goodness. Of course, most kids these days would rather go find videos on YouTube.

So what's a music network to do? How about offering a new multimedia service that helps you answer that age old question: who the heck sings that song stuck in my head? CNET's WebWare reports that MTV is about to roll out new lyrics-based services for TV viewers, website visitors, and cellphone customers.

Leveraging Gracenote technology, MTV will let you type out lyrics on your computer or cellphone and get a bit of information about the artist and song. There'll also be trivia, games, and a link to purchase the song. Odds are MTV will tie the service into its own music store because, you know, they have to make money off of this thing somehow.

Tags: lyrics, mtv, music

Filed under: Business, Internet, Kids, Web services, Social Software, web 2.0

ThinkMTV, a social network that makes a difference

by Chris Gilmer Sep 20th 2007

What better company to get into the social network game than MTV? The Viacom owned property hits the perfect user base for social gatherings and has the backers on hand that can make a difference.

The idea came out of a youth survey in 2006, with the chief aim for the ThinkMTV network being to gather activists together and interact both on and offline. Topics will range from HIV, global epidemics, health and environmental concerns.

As for backing, numerous celebrities have lent their faces including Leo DiCaprio, Bono and John Mayer. With cash flowing in from The Case Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation.

Tags: mtv, social, social-network, thinkmtv, viacom, web

Filed under: Audio, Internet

MTV loses URGE, joins RealNetworks to combat iTunes

by Brad Linder Aug 21st 2007

MTV is expected to announce today that it will partner with RealNetworks, merging the two company's online music services.

This probably means the end of MTV's URGE music site, which probably won't affect much of anyone. As far as we can tell, you could count the number of URGE subscribers on one hand. And you might not need all your fingers.

Anyway, URGE had been a partnership between MTV and Microsoft. But Microsoft has been focusing on its Zune Marketplace since launching its iPod competitor. So it makes sense for MTV to partner up with RealNetworks, the company behind the subscription-based Rhapsody music service.

Whether MTV/Rhapsody will make a dent in Apple's market share remains to be seen. But so far Apple has yet to offer a subscription model for iTunes, so it should be interesting to see if Rhapsody's pay a monthly fee for all the music you want model will gain any traction with MTV's brand name and music library.

Verizon Wireless has also signed on to distribute MTV/RealNetworks content to mobile devices.

Tags: itunes, mtv, music, realnetworks, rhapsody, verizon wireless, VerizonWireless

Filed under: Audio, Web services

Warner to create (semi) comprehensive music video website

by Brad Linder May 31st 2007

Warner Music is working with Premium TV to create an online site featuring the record label's entire music video library. The service will be supported by advertising, and the videos will be available to stream for free. You'll be able to download videos for a fee.

While you can currently access some Warner content from the label's website, the deal would include Warner's entire library, plus previously unseen content.

As CD sales continue to decline and online video continues to grow in popularity, the move seems to make sense. But most music fans don't really associate artists with the labels they're on. In other words, even if Warner posts its complete catalog, there's a good chance you wont' find the artist you're looking for on Warner's site.

It'll be hard to compete with existing sites such as YouTube or MTV's Overdrive that have videos from multiple labels.

[via I4U News]

Tags: mtv, music, music videos, MusicVideos, premium tv, PremiumTv, warner

Filed under: Business, Internet, Video, Web services

What's the meaning behind Joost's IndyCar sponsorship?

by Chris Gilmer May 28th 2007

Joost seems to be at the forefront of an explosion into public realm care of one of the worlds top ad locations, IndyCar. What does this mean? Is Joost really ready to go mainstream? If anything they just stepped up their marketing efforts this past weekend with a 7th place finish.

Joost -- the so-far leading IPtv application -- is getting pretty big in the "tech" world, with thousands of users logging in to check out the services offerings, if not tuning in on a daily basis. Could it be that this Web 2.0 service is ready to launch into the mainstream marketplace where armchair beer drinking sports fans tune in online to catch their favorite shows?

Earlier this month Joost and the IndyCar Series teamed up to broadcast races online, and have seen so much success that they are planning on adding more channels in short order. Joost currently has over 150 free quality channels of programming on its roster including Comedy Central, IndyCar, MTV, Warner Bros, National Geographic, and Reuters.

Tags: application, channel, indycar, joost, jost, mtv, on demand, OnDemand, online, tv, video, web 2.0, web2, Web2.0

Filed under: Business, Internet, Web services, Yahoo!

Yahoo! ad deal with Viacom

by Chris Gilmer Apr 11th 2007

Viacom's strategy of providing an immersive entertainment experience will now be monetized throughout their portfolio of properties with Yahoo's new Panama ad platform.

In this ad deal, Yahoo's newly launched search marketing platform will be the exclusive provider of all contextual and sponsored search ads for a first run of 33 Viacom sites, with the strong potential to expand to another 140 additional Viacom sites under a multi year deal.

The current site roster that will be participating in the partnership includes MTV.com, VH1.com, Nickelodeon.com, comedycentral.com and BET.com. Viacom is the number one online entertainment destination with over 90 million unique viewers in February 2007.

Yahoo's Panama ad platform has only just been released, but its growing strong. Viacom has just jumped on board as a huge partner, who could be the next one to steal valuable space away from Google?

Tags: ad, bet, comedy central, ComedyCentral, marketing, mtv, nickelodeon, panama, search, vh1, viacom, yahoo

Filed under: Fun, Internet

Virtual Pimp my Ride - Todays Time Waster

by Chris Gilmer Apr 5th 2007

Pimp out your ride, without having a knock on the door from X to the Z (Xzibit). If you aren't familiar with MTV's Pimp my Ride series, it features rap superstar Xzibit surprising viewers owning junky cars with a fresh custom ride from customization specialists GAS.

This little flash eCard builder plays off the Pimp my Ride series. Choose your ride, Ol'Skool, Coupe or SUV. Slap on paint, wheels, chrome, parts and finish it off with a unique scene. Save it out and send it to a friend and maybe start a battle of custom work.

UPDATE: MTV has just informed us that a new wilder Virtual Pimp My Ride is launching tonight at 9:30PM ET where you can trick your ride, then race it on the open road or drag strip.

Tags: auto, customization, ecard, flash, mtv, pimp, pimp my ride, PimpMyRide, swf, xzibit

Filed under: Internet, Video, Commercial

BitTorrent in bed with movie, TV companies

by Jordan Running Nov 29th 2006

Torrentfreak is reporting that BitTorrent has struck deals with several entertainment companies including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, G4, Kadokawa Pictures USA, Lionsgate, MTV Networks (Comedy Central, MTV etc.), Palm Pictures and Starz Media, which will make those companies' movies and television shows available in BitTorrent's upcoming download store. Among the properties named are X-Men III, Mission: Impossible III, Prison Break, Laguna Beach, and South Park. These companies join Warner Bros. in partnership with BitTorrent, the launch of whose digital media store has been pushed back to early next year.

Tags: bittorrent, comedy central, ComedyCentral, fox, g4, kadokawa, lionsgate, movies, mtv, palm, paramount, starz, store, tv

Filed under: Video, Web services

New iFilm beta online

by Jordan Running Oct 20th 2006

iFilm, grandfather-in-spirit to the current crop of booming video sites, has quiety launched a totally revamped beta version of the site at beta.ifilm.com. The new site is a breath of fresh air compared to the outdated, cluttered, graphics-heavy site of yore. The navigation is much-improved and all videos now play an embedded Flash player, finally! iFilm was acquired a year ago by MTV Networks and content from MTV, MTV2, and Logo are featured heavily, but not too heavily. Unlike the old iFilm, the beta takes a cue from the new breed of video-sharing sites with a prominently-displayed "Upload a Video" button. I don't know if this new direction for iFilm will be enough to shore up its flagging popularity, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

[Via Waxy.org]

Tags: ifilm, mtv, video, web 2.0, Web2.0, web20

Filed under: Business, Internet, Video, Web services

Universal Music vs. YouTube and MySpace

by Chris Gilmer Sep 14th 2006

Universal Music has accused YouTube and MySpace of infringing on the rights of their artists music videos during an investors conference. Universal's chief executive stated that the two companies owed them tens of millions of dollars in copyright infringement money. Universal is expected to release a statement about how they will deal with the infringers in due time.

YouTube has been known to take down copyright related materials when they have been notified by rights holder. It should be interesting to see how this pans out. The greatness behind sites like YouTube is held in the mass video appeal, from personal videos, to artist music videos. Take the music, and music videos away, and what are we left with? This could cause a little bump. However, what if YouTube and MySpace were to pay per view for each music video played?

In Universals Chief Executives speech to investors, he did state that record companies are keen at avoiding the mistakes that were made when MTV was set up, by letting artist's music to be aired for free, creating a multi-billion dollar company in the process.

Tags: chief executive, ChiefExecutive, copyright, mtv, music, music videos, MusicVideos, myspace, universal, viacom, video, youtube

Filed under: Business, Internet, Video, Google

Google Ad Supported Videos Test

by Chris Gilmer Aug 23rd 2006

Google has started dropping some tests of their streaming video ads and video content from the recent deal with Viacom's MTV Networks.

The deal sees MTV Networks providing content for the ads that will run in place of Google's AdWords on websites. Through the ads, Viacom can showcase clips of such premium programs as SpongeBob SquarePants, Laguna Beach, The Real OC, and the MTV Video Awards.

There were a handful of publishers that were chosen to be included into the beta test of the program, and one of them has provided a link to where their test is occurring. The document that was provided to publishers explained that Google's Streaming Video Content and Ads enable website publishers to display streaming video ads and video content from MTV Networks on their sites. Publishers were instructed that they will get the specific JavaScript that will embed a Flash player into their website. The ad will still be served off of Google's servers and viewers of the ad must have the Macromedia Flash plug-in installed in order to view the streaming content.

Revenue for these ads is generated on a CPM basis depending on the number of views on each ad in the content. So if someone watches the whole video and sees five ads, the publisher will be paid for those five views. If no ad is seen by the user, there will be no payment for the ad. Revenue from the ad will be split between the content provider, Google and the publisher.

[via Google System]

Tags: ad, adwords, flash player, FlashPlayer, google, laguna beach, LagunaBeach, mtv, mtv networks, mtv video awards, MtvNetworks, MtvVideoAwards, publisher, spongebob, streaming video, StreamingVideo, the real oc, TheRealOc, viacom, video, video ad, VideoAd, website

Filed under: Business, Internet, Google

Google MTV video ads

by Chris Gilmer Aug 8th 2006

Google is hitting up Viacom's MTV Networks to try out some video ad testing using the network's content. The deal was sparked due to the recent great demand for online video through broadband connections.

Google will utilize two to four minute clips promoting the shows in their Video AdSense experiment. The mini ads will be clips of SpongeBob, Laguna Beach, The Real OC, and the MTV Video Music Awards.

Revenue generated from the clips will be divided between Google, Viacom, and the website that has chosen to carry the clips. The deal also sees full length episodes of MTV Network shows like South Park and Jackass available for download on Google Video for $1.99 each.

[via Reuters]

Tags: adwords, google, google ads, GoogleAds, jackass, laguna beach, LagunaBeach, mtv, mtv networks, mtv video music awards, MtvNetworks, MtvVideoMusicAwards, south park, SouthPark, spongebob, the real oc, TheRealOc, viacom, video, video ads, VideoAds

More on Microsoft-MTV Urge music store

by Jordan Running Jan 5th 2006

Last night Bill Gates, assisted by Justin Timberlake, used his CES keynote to officially announced Urge, the new music and media store from Microsoft and MTV that we reported on a few weeks ago. The service will have two million songs, more than 100 CD-quality radio stations, and exclusive MTV content. Currently Urge.com is a "coming soon" placeholder, curiously hosted on a Sun server.

Tags: Bill Gates, itunes, Justin Timberlake, microsoft, mtv, music, windows media, wma

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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