The so-called music channel left music behind as a sole platform some time ago, instead relying on reality and lifestyle shows to draw in young audiences. But it nonetheless remains in the business of zeitgeist.

In a sense, the change in the musical ecosystem reflects broader challenges. Not that long ago, a band fought its way to a major label contract, benefited from commercial radio play and then, finally, a video on MTV. But this system has been disrupted by entertainment’s new iterations, and now most bands no longer ride a vertical axis to the top. There are various workarounds to the popular music monolith — online file-sharing, viral marketing, niche sites and social networks help bands market their music from one person to another.

It is all well and good that OK Go, the band-as-music-video-sensation, chose to premiere its video “Do What You Want” on “Total Request Live,” MTV’s once-dominant afternoon show, but it is worth remembering that OK Go emerged to begin with from YouTube, where its goofy treadmill video became a cult classic.

In a sense, MTV, which once decided what was worthy, is responding to a more powerful consumer algorithm. (Ms. Norman points out that OK Go did not start selling a significant amount of music until the band began appearing on MTV.)

The disintegration of mass has made for difficult times at MTV Networks, although there are bright spots. VH1 continues to hum with a heady mix of “celeb reality” like “Flavor of Love” and shows like “Best Week Ever” that annotate the present with the ease of a well-written blog. VH1 does not bear MTV’s burden of serving as a generational touchstone, so it can program whatever happens to be working.

The organizational changes at the network signal that even MTV can learn some best practices from other members of the corporate family. Marketers I spoke to said that it was the once-dowdy VH1 that seemed to have the fresher ideas. And Comedy Central, which lacks both the legacy and the baggage that MTV carries, is very much of the moment, lead by a skeptic-in-chief, Jon Stewart.

“MTV has come in and out of vogue, like most cutting-edge brands,” said Tim Spengler, chief activation officer of Initiative, a media buying firm. “But they have done a great job of being in vogue more often than not. The changes that they announced seem a lot more like the redeploying of assets to digital platforms that are growing faster.”