TikTok killed the MTV star: The decline of music videos
By Elise Hanna | April 13, 2026Growing up, my family had a near-nightly tradition. After dinner and showers, we would gather around the TV in the family room and watch my mom’s favorite music videos from days past.It was a family-wide event, with my siblings and I taking turns choosing the next mini-movie, analyzing the story it told and copying dance moves we saw onscreen.The general quality of music videos has decreased dramatically in recent years. It went from being an art form where the artist could convey the meaning behind their music, to nothing more than a five-second silent snippet that plays on repeat while you listen to the track on Spotify.
