Iconic 90s show Beavis and Butt-Head is making a return to our TV screens on MTV, but this time around they’ll be doing things a little bit differently. You see a lot has changed since the show was originally yanked back in 1997. Back then record labels actually made money, Napster wasn’t invented until 1999 and the long and sad downward spiral of record sales had yet to begin.
But now almost 15 years later the entire music landscape has changed and the labels, producers, writers, and artists have been forced to find new revenue streams to make up for their losses. So how does this relate to a cartoon TV show?
Beavis and Butt-Head is probably be remembered as a crude cartoon show where two immature metal heads sat on a couch and critiqued music videos. They’ve done everyone from Metallica, Aerosmith, KISS, Beastie Boys, Snoop Dog, Nirvana, the list goes on. But these days those responsible for the artist, writers, and income streams don’t see a show featuring their video as a good promo opportunity. No, they want to get paid.
Creator Mike Judge explained the situation in an interview recently with Rolling Stone. “It used to be that we could do anything,” Judge says, sighing. “Now we have to clear everything. We were going to do a Kanye West video – he wanted it on, and then somebody who owns, like, six percent of the songwriting said no.”
Judge even had to seek permission from Metallica and AC/DC for Beavis and Butt-Head to continue to wear their trademark shirts, a situation unthinkable back in the 90s. So instead the duo will be mostly critiquing clips from reality TV shows such as Jersey Shore, something probably a bit closer to home these days to their station MTV.
You can check out a promo clip for the new show below. No word yet from MTV Australia on when the show might reach our shores.
