The Impact of MTV on the Music Industry

          On August 1, 1981, MTV aired its first music video for the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. Since then, the channel quickly developed into a major platform for music videos and made these an important aspect of overall pop culture. Although the basic concept of the television station was attempted previously, no program achieved success like MTV.
         In its initial stages, music video production was rather low-budget and simplistic, especially compared to the productions that constitute today's music videos. These music videos, such as the one produced for the Buggles, were created by VJ's, or Video Jockeys, for free by record companies. Regardless of these rather humble beginnings, MTV eventually reached its status as a pillar of American pop culture, even in the face of major obstacles. After almost collapsing due to of record companies' initial hesitation to actually fun music videos, the program was saved through a 1982 advertising campaign whose slogan was "I Want My MTV" and was endorsed by many celebrities including the Rolling Stones. This slogan, told by idolized celebrities in commercials, captured the attention of Americans and convinced record companies that the airing of their clients' music videos could mean great success.
       MTV had a pivotal role in giving rise to stars like Madonna and bands like Guns 'n Roses and Duran Duran. Duran Duran, among other European music groups, especially used the new visual element of music to attract attention and gain popularity through the sexually suggestive and unconventional content of the music video for "Girls on Film".  Bold music videos like these emphasized the newfound role of presence, personality, and performance in artists' success. Music videos also influenced fashion trends created by stars like Madonna, who many teenagers, MTV's target audience, felt as though they could identify with. Teenagers were eager to keep up with the styles of their favorite MTV celebrities, showing even more how visuals transformed not only music but the means by which pop culture and trends would be spread.
      However, the program did not fall short of issues and controversy associated with race. Few black artists were featured on MTV until 1983 when the music video for "Thriller" by Michael Jackson aired and paved the way for other black artists to be featured, especially Prince. Both of these artists sold millions of copies of their albums after they were featured and reached such high success that they began competing against each other by trying to one-up each others' music videos. One of the most definitive moments for African Americans was the release of "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, which not only saved MTV from complete failure caused by a struggle to gain substantial profits but destroyed the 99% white, strictly "rock n' roll" format that existed on the program before.
       Despite the success achieved at its onset, MTV's immense impact on pop culture is not seen today, as the program struggled post-2000 because young individuals started watching music videos on digital devices. By 2016, the channel stopped regularly airing music videos altogether. Moreover, the program is now largely known for its award show, the MTV Video Music Awards, but still struggles to create the buzz throughout American pop culture that it once did.


Sources:
https://www.everything80spodcast.com/the-history-of-mtv/
https://www.npr.org/2011/11/06/141991877/the-golden-age-of-mtv-and-yes-there-was-one
https://www.tidbitsofexperience.com/mtv-changed-the-world-in-the-80s-but-what-are-some-of-the-effects-it-has-on-the-music-industry/