N'SYNC ON B.E.T.

[MeezDiscreet]

i don't know how many of you all have collegeclub accounts, but if you do, you may have noticed the debate in some of the clubs about b.e.t. airing n'sync videos because they are white.

my question: how do you feel about b.e.t. "selling out" because they are showing this video.

i, personally, don't care for the simple fact that that 4 minute video has more entertainment value than a whole hour of cita's world!!

[Nubian]

Cita...Now theres something that SHOULDN'T be airing on BET!

[Alias_01]

I dont mind white artists on BET but N'Sync is not the style of music, that I feel should represent BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION. Actually its a smart business move to expand the audience. But ultimately you see how Bob Johnson has no creative control he's just a figure head to apease us "Negroes". Its viacom's money and they want to continue to make more....like all things its a business. IMO, BET has sold its to the Devil of entertainment and theres no turning back now.

[12dn94dst]

Who says that having NSYNC on BET is necessarily "expanding" the audience? I know of SEVERAL African Americans, myself included, who LIKE NSYNC. Are we "sell outs" too? Black ENTERTAINMENT Television should be just that, ENTERTAINMENT for Black folks. Having NSYNC on 106 & Park is a step in the right direction. Not every Black person enjoys listening to rap/hip-hop or seeing rap/hip-hop videos whenever BET actually decides to show videos. I like a variety of music (Limp Bizkit, Moby, Jagged Edge, NSYNC, Ludacris) & I'm sure other Black folks do to. Now if BET dropped showing Black atrists to a level comprable to that of MTV, that's another story but I don't see that happening. We as a people would not & should not let that happen. Maybe it will actually turn out good that Viacom bought BET so long as we make sure our comments & concerns are heard by the proper ears.

[This message has been edited by 12dn94dst (edited June 28, 2001).]

[Little32]

How come I have never seen a Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray, Dionne Farris, etc..., etc... video on B.E.T. These are Black (as I am sure you all know) entertainers who don't do your typical rap or r&b. Black people, like myself, enjoy alternative and rock music as well. If they are going to branch out into other arenas, how about they show black artists doing something else besides what has become "expected".

[This message has been edited by Little32 (edited June 28, 2001).]

Little,

Actually, BET airs a variety of artists including Macy Gray and Lenny Cravitz. Unfortunately, certain artists are only aired during certain times of the day (usually during the early part of the day). I discovered that one day I was off work and was watching videos. I saw artists and heard songs that I never knew existed.

[Little32]

Well there you have it. I learn something new every day. I watch my fair share of BET, but I have never ever seen any of the artists that I mentioned. I have, however, seen Eminem and now N'Sync.

[shannieglass]

I just couldnt ignore this post..

Well, first off I am one of those individuals that like pop, country and alternative music. I adore N'Sync (I have their cd's). However, it does not make me pleased to see them on BET..I have really given up on BET since the Viacom thing though..having artists like N'Sync is far from a widening and diversifying of the station..BET's main goal from foundation til the sell out was to showcase BLACK/AFRICAN-AMERICAN/NEGRO/COLORED-whatever we call it- talent because it has always been neglected. It gives black performers in all genres an arena to broadcast their talents without limiting them to the white rules..seeing N'Sync on BET just lets me and many others see the direction viacom will eventually be taking the station....look out..the it might be MTV 3 after a while..
toodles!!

[DELTAQTE]

NSYNC and Eminem have something the other white artists don't have. Respect from the black audience. Oh yeah they have some haters out there. But there are VERY few white artist that we accept with our sound. I mean come on now, if eminem can dominate the rap world, then I see no problem with nsync.

NSYNC has an article in VIBE mag, I learned a lot about them(Chris has a black stepfather, how they were raised on black music and don't just fake the funk) And there are a lot of black artists in the article who are giving them props, why can't we ?

QTE

[Babiegyrl]

Why does it have to be selling out to air other artists that are not of African American persuasion. Why can't it just be broading the audiences variety. I watch MTV also, so there's no problem with seeing them on BET. Mariah, I've seen other non-black artists on BET, for instance Lisa Stansfield. And that was some years ago. Why does it have to be selling out because the air the video a couple of times. I haven't even seen it since they were on 106 and Park so to me it's not that big of a deal

[DirectorDST99]

I don't think BET has sold out because VIACOM OWNS BET.... so what do you expect????

[Alias_01]

Faking the funk or not....N'SYNC IS NOT SOUL MUSIC...they dont have the same appeal or sound as Macy Gray or Lenny Kravitz.....as artists I have no problem with any of these people but yall already got MTV, MTV2, VH1...can please have our own. Pretty soon they will want to dominate the country music video station.

Peace and Love

[BrandNubian]

Originally posted by Alias_01:
Faking the funk or not....N'SYNC IS NOT SOUL MUSIC...they dont have the same appeal or sound as Macy Gray or Lenny Kravitz.....as artists I have no problem with any of these people but yall already got MTV, MTV2, VH1...can please have our own. Pretty soon they will want to dominate the country music video station.

Peace and Love

Well I think it's arguable that N'Sync is not soul. I mean, maybe not soul the way Marvin Gaye was soul. But you have white artists like The Doobie Brothers, and they were soul. And white artists now like Jon B are soul, too. As far as Macy Gray, I personally don't consider her to be soul (but I might be biased, because I don't really like her anyway) . And Lenny Kravitz, whom I love, is not soul, either. He's rock and roll.

And someone was saying that they only play Lenny Kravitz, Macy Gray and Dionne Farris (who, when she was out, I never saw on BET) during the early morning hours. That's the problem!! I am more upset about the lack of diversity of "Black music" on BET than I am about them airing N'Sync or Eminem. I mean, who wants to see rumpshaking videos 24 hours a day? N'Sync is a pop/R&B group that I like, and I know a lot of other black people who like them too. And Eminem is hip-hop, plain and simple, and one of the better lyricists out there (sometimes his content is questionable, but that's another story ).

DirectorDST99 said it: Viacom bought out BET, so why are we surprised to see changes coming? I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few years, Black Entertainment Television, is phased out into something similar to an ethnic version of MTV. They'll call it "Urban Soul" or something so that it can appeal to black folks and other people of color all at the same time.

Just my .25 cents.

[DELTAQTE]

Since I am in the entertainment business, I think I can answer this one:

The reason why most T.V. stations/radio stations seem to play the same song OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER again is because they go off of the audience at that time. It's a fact that most listeners/watchers only watch/listen to the radio for an average of 15 minutes, then switch it off and do something else. So even though person A heard the song at 10:00, person B is just switching on the radio at 10:15. So if you are listening to the radio during a 3 hour car ride, you just might go bananas! lol! So if the main audience is tuning in during the "rump shaker" videos, then that is what they will play, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

I agree with you, I listen to all types of music and I wish they would play it more during prime time hours, but that is not the audience at the time.

NSYNC isn't soul music, but they aren't New Kids on the Block either. Just watch one video and you can see these young men have african-american influences. I remember back in the 50's when our people would cut a song and then have a white artist cut the same song and get more money and give no props to the black artist. Nowadays, white artists(NSYNC included) are the FIRST to give black artists the respect they deserve. Times have changed!


QTE

[Alias_01]

DableST_1 I agree with you WGCI is horrible when it comes to varieties of music..and I too listen to B96...but you must also realize that are several dozen radio stations in Chicago and each one caters to a different sound of music. With rock n roll stations there are stations for classic rock, heavy metal, alternative..these are all forms of rock n roll just different styles. NSync has their place in the music industry but when you try to crossover you are not always welcomed with open arms.

p.s. DELTAOTE does your station b95 have any relation to Chicago's b96?

[This message has been edited by Alias_01 (edited June 29, 2001).]