What happened to MTV music videos?

MTV did not make music videos disappear; it mostly stopped making them the center of the main channel.

MTV launched in 1981 as a 24-hour music video network, but over time it shifted toward reality shows, original series, and other non-music programming because those formats tended to draw steadier audiences and more ad revenue. Meanwhile, music videos moved online: viewers could watch them on demand through YouTube, Vevo, and artists’ official channels instead of waiting for a TV schedule.

That said, MTV’s music-video legacy did not vanish entirely. The main MTV channel now rarely revolves around videos, but MTV and its sister channels have continued to carry music-focused programming in various forms, including channels such as MTV Classic, MTV Live, and MTV2 in some packages or regions. So the short answer is: music videos became much less central on MTV’s flagship channel, but they still exist across MTV-branded and online platforms.