MTVNews.com's sudden closure leaves music fans devastated - after decades' worth of articles vanish overnight

Music fans and journalists have expressed their shock - and fury - after more than 20 years of articles have apparently been lost with the shock closure of MTVNews.com. 

Founded in 1996 as an offshoot of the 80s MTV programme of the same name, the website covered major stories in music, film and politics, and had continued after the closure last year of the brand's YouTube channel.

With no official announcement, fans logging onto the site were simply re-directed to the main MTV website on Monday, sparking anger amongst many on social media at the lack of an official announcement - and the 'wipe-out' of an extensive archive. 

Patrick Hosken, former music editor for MTV News, said the closure was 'infuriating', saying 'eight years of my life are gone without a trace'. 

Pop culture fans were left shocked on Monday after MTVNews.com suddenly closed its website, taking every article written since it began in 1996 with it

Rolling Stone senior writer Brian Hiattsite raged: 'Decades of pop culture history research material gone', saying the sudden removal of the archive was 'really despicable'.

The site was particularly known for its in-depth coverage of diverse genres from rock to hip-hop, and its weekly column Mixtape Monday was hugely popular with fans, thanks to its coverage of new artists and insightful interviews. 

The YouTube division of the site closed last year but the website had survived until now (Pictured: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie discussing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on MTV News)

The site covered seminal events in global news alongside music and film content, including Barack Obama's historic speech in the run-up to his win in the 2008 election

The site also wasn't afraid to cover political issues, with one fan writing: 'During its heyday, MTV News would be covering Kendrick vs. Drake, Israel/Palestine and the election The kids don’t realize how important it was.'

In May last year, the brand's owners, Paramount Global, closed MTV News' broadcast division, but the website appeared to have survived the cull which had seen a 25 per cent cut in staff numbers. 

The show first aired in the late 80s, with the brand's first MTV News correspondent Kurt Loder at the helm.

A sister site focusing on Country Music, CMT.com, also owned by Paramount Global suffered a similar fate last week, with its archive of writing on the genre lost in the ether.