On August 1, 1981, MTV hit the air with the words, “Ladies and gentlemen: Rock and roll!” and that lead into the first video ever played on MTV, “Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles. But 43 years later, the radio star and radio as an entertainment medium are still alive and well in American society.
By 1981, music radio programming had lost its unique ability to break new artists. The big companies that owned radio stations had accepted the conventional wisdom of the industry that stations only play the hits. There were exceptions, but the overwhelming trend in radio was to load playlists with either known hits or new hits by known artists, which meant new artists were less likely to have their new music exposed. MTV not only brought extravagant video visuals to the music of a young generation, but it also became fertile ground for exposing new artists - the role previously played by radio.
Of course, there were music videos Prior to MTV. Even in the 60s, scenes from movies like, “A Hard Days Night” and “Help!” by The Beatles provided exciting visuals to songs. But MTV was a true revolution because it turned television into a visual radio station. With VJs - video jocks - MTV was essentially a televised radio station. The original VJs - Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, J.J. Jackson, and Mark Goodman, quickly filled the role that DJs on the radio had played in the lives of a young generation’s insatiable appetite for music.
“Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield was the #1 song in the country in July of 1981 and with a hot-looking young singer, a video was a natural step for conveying the messages and emotion of music. “Jessie’s Girl” became one of the early favorite videos on MTV.
Record labels were suddenly faced with the task of turning songs into videos, and in some cases like “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper, “Love Is A Battlefield” by Pat Benatar, and later, of course, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson - the videos were actually mini movies with a storyline played out to the lyrics of the song.
In 1984, I was a big fan of Duran Duran and was playing their hits on my morning radio show. As much as I liked the music of Duran Duran, what motivated me most to go to their 1st concert in Baton Rouge was my curiosity about how a band essentially born on MTV would satisfy a crowd of mainly young people who were used to seeing close-ups of the band in the music videos.
At that Duran Duran concert in 1984, I witnessed a collection of large video screens over the stage that were used to bring even those fans in higher seats all the close-ups of Simon, John, and Nick they were used to from their music videos. Plus, there was close-up video coverage of the entire band on stage bringing these tiny figures seen on stage to full-size visuals and each time a close-up of any of the band members was shown - girls in the crowd screamed. And the close-ups of Nick Rhodes drew the loudest screams. Twenty years after the Beatles hit America and set off Beatlemania, I felt like I was witnessing a new version of fan hysteria over a band - interestingly nicknamed the Fab Five.
The extravagant production of many of the music videos put pressure on artists to manifest that same image on stage. An artist could look awesome in a music video but appear lackluster in a live concert setting. Music videos presented a challenge for record labels and their artists.
After MTV had established itself as a legitimate new medium for artists, one question I started asking many of the rock artists I interviewed was: “Fans see you first in your music videos with close-ups of the band and each band member - has that put pressure on you to make sure you can bring that to life in a live concert setting?” Every artist I interviewed seemed to enjoy answering a question that reflected new challenges for them. Each artist acknowledged that there was new pressure on artists to satisfy fans who were used to the close-ups they saw in their videos on MTV. MTV had caused a music revolution.
Much to the disappointment of nearly everyone who was there for the early years of MTV - MTV changed. Once the source of non-stop music videos, the network evolved into a network of reality-based TV shows like “The Real World,” which was an obvious reaction to a changing audience. Those who were there in the beginning and the early years of this innovative new music medium were quick to condemn the network for its change in programming - but note that MTV was also the first cable network to make a profit.
“Video Killed The Radio Star” seemed to offer a prophecy about the future of radio. Many believed that adding creative visuals to music would kill radio. But that did not happen.
The invention of television was once predicted to be the beginning of the end for radio. Yet, radio in 2024 remains a viable medium reaching 90% of American society. Radio has the ability to be the only source of vital information during a crisis or disaster, especially when power goes out and radio remains the only vital source of information and entertainment.
MTV is 43 years old now, and someone who was 15 when MTV first hit the air is now the target of the talk radio audience. This further demonstrates that the prime audience for talk radio has strong pop culture reference points that cannot be ignored and the lack of discussion of topics - like MTV’s role in society - mean that talk radio is not always updated to fit a changing audience.
I admit I miss the days of MTV playing music videos, but at this point in my life I have to wonder how much I would be watching MTV. Like so many, much of my TV consumption is watching the cable news channels the way I once watched the cable music channel.
We always lament about that past, but should always realize that we - the audience - have changed and entertainment mediums always reflect changes with the audience. So on this day when MTV went on the air 42 years ago, let us remember our favorite moments of watching the videos and the VJs on a medium that changed the world of music!