Overview
In the early 1980s, the massive deregulation of television broadcasting led to an expansion of cable TV services throughout the United States. These cable providers carried a number of specialized channels for their subscribers. On August 1, 1981, Warner Communications and the American Express Company launched MTV, the first 24-hour music video cable channel. By 1983, MTV had expanded from 2.5 million initial subscribers to 17 million, making it the fastest growing cable channel in history. Airing videos on MTV was a way for artists and record companies to promote their music. By 1983, nearly all of the albums on the Billboard albums chart had at least one song in heavy rotation on MTV. MTV became the new way to advertise music to consumers.
Objectives
- Recall the development of MTV during the 1980s
- Examine the significance of the Second British Invasion as it related to MTV
- Examine the role Michael Jackson played in eliminating the color lines on MTV
- Recall how Madonna pushed musical and visual boundaries in her music and videos
The Invention of MTV
In the early 1980s, the massive deregulation of television broadcasting led to an expansion of cable TV services throughout the United States. These cable providers carried a number of specialized channels for their subscribers. All of these channels needed new types of programming.
On August 1, 1981, Warner Communications and the American Express Company launched MTV, the first 24-hour music video cable channel. By 1983, MTV had expanded from 2.5 million initial subscribers to 17 million, making it the fastest growing cable channel in history.
During the first two years of MTV, the channel played a continuous flow of music videos. MTV did not have specific 30- or 60-minute programs but instead ran music videos similarly to how radio stations played music. Video jockeys, or veejaysvideo disc jockeys who provided commentary between videos on MTV, provided chatter between the videos. During this period, MTV played album-oriented rock, focusing almost exclusively on music by white musicians.
Between 1983 and 1985, MTV continued to expand. It became available in the Los Angeles and New York media markets, and it had exclusivity agreements with several major record companies. These agreements usually stated that a music video could only be broadcast on MTV for a month, and these exclusive broadcast rights were often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. MTV continued to focus primarily on rock music (mostly by white artists) during this period, but other music video channels sprang up for the genres that MTV ignored. The Nashville Network (TNN) played eighteen hours of country music videos per day, and Black Entertainment Television (BET) aired videos by African American artists.
After 1985, MTV started VH-1, a second channel for the adult-oriented videos. By moving the videos for the 25-54 year old demographic to VH-1, MTV could focus almost exclusively on the teen market and videos geared toward youth culture. During this period, MTV began airing specific programs such as Headbangers Ball (a show devoted to heavy metal music and news), 120 Minutes (a show devoted to alternative rock and other music in light rotation), and Dial MTV (a daily call-in countdown show). Since the 1980s, MTV has moved increasingly toward discrete programs and away from continuous play of music videos.
Consumers did not purchase the music videos themselves. Instead, music videos became a way for musicians and record labels to promote singles, albums, and artists. By 1983, nearly all of the albums on the Billboard albums chart had at least one song in heavy rotation on MTV. MTV became the new way to advertise music to consumers.
“Michael Jackson was one of popular culture's greatest artists. Nobody danced better. Few sang more compellingly. No one understood more about stage spectacles or music videos. He was an innovator. His reach was global.”
