MTV/ video killed the radio star...reality TV killed MTV

MTV began broadcasting in America on August 1st, 1981, thus marking the start of the music video’s reign over the music industry. Ironically, the first music video ever played on MTV (aired at exactly 12:01 am August 1, 1981) was the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star”:

MTV broadcast 24 hours a day, therefore the need for material to fill these time slots increased and the number music videos in production skyrocketed. The original goal of MTV was to achieve with music what ESPN had done with sports.

However, “Video Killed the Radio Star” was not the first music video to be on television. Videos and short films set to music have existed as a form of marketing for musicians since the inception of sound in film. The Beatles’ third feature film, “Magical Mystery Tour” (1967) was broadcast on the BBC in 1967. The Beatles’ three feature films (“A Hard Day’s Night”, “Help” and “Magical Mystery Tour”) were among the first of their kind, paving the way for musicians to communicate their creative vision utilizing both musical and visual means through film.

The most successful and influential music video of all time was released on MTV in 1983. Michael Jackson’s 14-minute long video for “Thriller”, at $500,000 production cost, set lofty standards for future musicians and music video directors. Madonna and Michael Jackson have the most expensive music videos of all time.

Jackson’s “Scream” (1995) video ranking number one at $7 million, and Madonna in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places with videos “Die Another Day” ($6 million, 2002), “Express Yourself” ($5 million, 1989), and “Bedtime Story” (5 million, 1995).

MTV created multiple sister stations (including VH1, etc.) which were each unique and true to its original goal of having music featured 24/7 on television.  However in 1992 MTV premiered the reality show “The Real World”, and by the mid-2000s MTV (and its many sister channels) had largely abandoned broadcasting music videos in favor of reality television shows and killing billions of brain cells across the world with this inane choice of programming.

Luckily, 2005 brought the release of the website YouTube, and in 2007 MySpace’s video functionality launched. These sites had a profound effect on the viewing of music videos, and thankfully many artists’ music videos have begun to see success again through these online venues.