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Catch a Music Video
By: Natalie Guevara

         "Video killed the Radio Star…" were famous lyrics sung by British pop band, The Buggles, upon the launching of MTV in early August of 1981. The popular cable network, which once guaranteed 24-hours of music video access, has changed…for the worse. Not even its sister channel, the more adult-oriented VH1, has helped calm the frenzy, save for those precious moments when its weekly "Top 20 Video Countdown" airs. Really, how many times have you tuned in to both these channels in need of a music fix and sighed in disappointment upon finding out that episodes of only Punk'd or I Love The 80s are on yet again?

         Well, rest assured, America: Online music videos have arrived. Actually, they've been around for quite some time, partly due to Yahoo's own LAUNCH.com, a music video-oriented network with over 8.1 million users and 8,000 music videos. Unlike controversial file-swapping companies such as Napster or Kazaa, LAUNCH.com obtains the legal rights to stream the music videos through music publishers and record companies.

         The video library is eclectic, ranging from pop classics like Britney's "…Baby One More Time" to contemporary hard-rock videos like Staind's "So Far Away." The price? Well, there is, of course, a membership fee ranging from $30 to $60. Web surfers looking for the ultimate musical experience should be subscribers to access the 100 premium music stations, the station-creator LaunchCast, music news, exclusive videos and interviews, live performance footage, online fan clubs and message boards, and Artist of the Month packages (recently featured artists include Madonna and Metallica). You can even be among the first to attain concert tickets and more goodies.

         LAUNCH.com's competitor, the more domestically renown AOL Music, offers nearly 1,000 music videos, featuring weekly debuts (i.e. Christina Aguilera and 'Lil Kim's "Can't Hold Us Down"). It excels in providing AOL users with new music and videos, creating a more immediate fan base before the record even has the chance to be picked up by radio stations. Like LAUNCH.com, AOL Music offers interviews, Artist of the Month packages, and 100 pre-programmed radio stations.

         Both services are generally praised by their target audience - teenagers. "It's easier to just subscribe to legal companies and gain access to not only videos, but much more," points out John Arnaez, 17. "I rather do that than suffer through the mindless hour [MTV's] TRL has to offer, which is filled with more celebrity mania than actual music."

         Maria Naranjo, 16, agrees. "It's just safer [streaming videos with legal services] than with Kazaa or Morpheus, especially now that the RIAA is suing file swappers," she said. "Plus, they just have more to offer; you are part of an actual community where anything is at your disposal."

         Although similar, lesser-known services (VirutalVideo.net, Sonicnet.com, Blastro.com) exist, it could take hours of web-surfing to come across networks as efficient and as safe as those offered by Yahoo and AOL. Ultimately, the movement of music videos from television to the net remains a true sign of the times.

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