Sir Elton John thinks the "MTV generation" was responsible for artistry disappearing from the music industry.
The 70-year-old star has admitted to being relieved at having arrived on the music scene before the 1980s and 1990s, when musicians became increasingly influenced by the TV channel.
Sir Elton said: "We were before the MTV generation and I’m glad we were because we were real artists.
"The MTV generation brought along a lot of people who were great but a lot of people who just made videos. So a lot of the artistry went out of the music."
Despite his assessment, Elton admitted he is generally a fan of music videos as a medium to convey music.
Attending the world premiere of ‘The Cut’ – which re-imagines Elton’s classic tracks ‘Rocket Man’, ‘Tiny Dancer’ and ‘Bennie and the Jets’ in video – which was held at the Cinema Olympia at the Cannes Film Festival in France on Monday (22.05.17), he reflected: "Visuals – whether it is a painting, a drawing, a piece of film, a video – enhance music. You get to use your imagination; you get into it."
Elton also revealed himself to be a fan of the vibrancy and excitement of youth culture and is always determined to seek out new artists and fresh music which appeals to the younger generation.
The pop legend – who buys hundreds of new albums every year, and is a regular at record stores – said: "We need the next generation to be good because the world is s**t at the moment. I just love the energy and the adrenaline of the new kids. That’s the adrenaline we had when we were younger. You can’t buy it. You can’t bottle it. These people have it."
Sir Elton John proud to have come before the MTV generation
