MTV enters its 40s

[TMC]

https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...reo-speedwagon

The groundbreaking Music Television cable network launched on Aug. 1, 1981 with 250 music videos. "The good news," says the Los Angeles Times' Craig Marks, "was that the record companies had a few boxes full of these short clips just sitting around and would give them to this startup channel for free; the bad news was that a few boxes of clips could barely fill a 24-7 channel and most of the footage was either dull, incompetent, profoundly silly or even potentially career-threatening for homelier artists who’d managed to hide in the shadows until then." He adds: "The first weeks and months, which were not carried in either New York or Los Angeles, were filled mostly with dreary videos from has-beens, nobodies or earnest American rock bros like Journey who felt about dressing up and lip-syncing the way Allen Iverson felt about basketball practice. It wasn’t until MTV played more cinematic videos from fabulous-looking British exhibitionists like Duran Duran, Culture Club and A Flock of Seagulls that the network landed on its visual and musical identity: tuneful outrageousness with a narcissistic love for the camera. About a year later, still struggling for ad dollars and household penetration, MTV execs, trained in the segregationist playlists of rock radio, bowed to record-label pressure and aired the new 'Billie Jean' video by Black pop star Michael Jackson. Months later, with ratings ticking upward, they’d screen Jackson’s transformational 'Thriller' video every hour on the hour, and Michael and Madonna would become the network’s prom king and queen. Squadrons of hair-metal pretties followed the new-wave glamourpusses, and even paragon-of-rock-virtue Bruce Springsteen had to wiggle his bum for pop culture’s new star-making machine." To mark MTV's 40th anniversary, the Times' gathered four of the biggest music video stars of the early 1980s: REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin, Billy Idol, Huey Lewis and the Go-Go’s Kathy Valentine. “The market is so fragmented today,” says Lewis. “You can’t have a hit now like we used to. Because then, everyone was focused on one thing at the same time. Everyone was watching MTV.” As Idol notes, British musicians were making music long before Americans: "The Beatles did loads of them." Idol adds: "I think we just took it more seriously. If you came out of punk, you were invested in creating your own image. I wanted my image to be as edgy as it could be while still getting on TV. For my videos I borrowed a lot from old silent horror movies, like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. There were a couple of black-and-white Boris Karloff images I took from a horror book I had. There was one where he’s on an altar with tons of crosses around him, and I just ran with it for 'White Wedding.' I thought, let’s do that but in color." Valentine says the Go-Go’s hated filming their first music video, “Our Lips Are Sealed." "It was half-baked and low budget, and I remember thinking, why are we aimlessly driving around in this cool car, doing nothing? There was no plan," she says. "It was my idea to jump in the fountain in Beverly Hills because I thought maybe we’d spontaneously get in trouble on camera. But nothing happened at all. I hated it until we got to the scene where we were playing live at the Viper Room, because it was really important that people saw us with instruments. That was the only part that made sense to me. Now, when the video got played on MTV, then I got it. That’s how a lot of young people found out about us. Relentless touring and being dumped into people’s living rooms on MTV. I remember being embarrassed about the video at the time, like why can’t we have something cool and slick and professional looking? But in a way it presented us like we were. No matter how hard we tried, nothing ever looked slick. It kind of worked in our favor."

ALSO:

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• Eight times MTV's influence was seen at awards shows in the 1980s
• MTV vets Kurt Loder and SuChin Pak look back at the impact of the network

[Dude111]

Very sad....... MTV died when they were only 10

[ABlairican Pie]

Taking Headbanger's Ball off in 1993 is what killed it!! Bring back the Ball!!!

[Marshall]

A couple of years ago, I wrote a web article on the first 25 videos played on MTV's debut. I mention trivia about the artists, songs, videos, etc. The link is below. So, there's info on videos by The Buggles, Pat Benatar, The Who, Steve Nicks and Tom Petty, and more.

https://spinditty.com/industry/List-...-played-on-MTV

[TMC]

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[Marshall]

Thanks for all the links, TMC.

[TMC]

MTV should be given back to Generation X after celebrating its 40th birthday with Ridiculousness

On the 40th anniversary of its launch Sunday, MTV showed wall to wall Ridiculousness. The groundbreaking Music Television cable network has become a zombie channel, "and for those of us still rooting for the brand, it’s a sad sight to see," says Michael Schneider. He adds: "As the major conglomerates shift their attention to their streaming services, the legacy basic cable networks have become secondary priorities. In many cases, they now serve more as incubators for programming that will eventually find a broader audience on a streamer. But because MTV meant so much to so many of us growing up, especially those of us in our 40s, the de-evolution of the channel stings extra hard. As recently as 10 years ago, MTV still felt like it had the pulse on pop culture, and that was long after it had moved on to embraced a younger millennial audience, leaving us Gen X-ers in the dust. (No hard feelings, MTV, we get it.) Interestingly, MTV is a brand that ViacomCBS continues to embrace, even recently renaming its portfolio of cable brands — MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Pop TV, CMT, VH1, TV Land and Logo — to MTV Entertainment Group. But again, it’s now less about those channels, and more about what MTV Entertainment Studios is producing as a whole, and especially for Paramount Plus." As Schneider notes MTV's recent The Real World Homecoming: New York was shown on Paramount+. Which begs the question: "What to do with a legacy linear brand on autopilot? or its 40th anniversary, I say: Give MTV back to the 40-year-olds," says Schneider. "MTV is a brand that has always adapted to the times. And even now, that means a new MTV for the streaming generation. That’s fine. But young viewers don’t watch linear TV anymore. Hence the decision to program mostly Ridiculousness repeats on the channel as a bit of a nightlight. But are we really going to let MTV as a channel fade away, with a whimper like that?...That’s why I’d say, ViacomCBS would have nothing to lose at this point in making MTV back into a lifestyle channel for the original MTV Generation. A generation that, yes, still subscribes to cable."

ALSO:

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• From Michael Jackson to Janet Jackson: Here are the top Black artists of the MTV era
• Ranking the 100 greatest music videos of all time: Rolling Stone ranks The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," which launched MTV, as No. 100
• Is Pat Benatar’s “You Better Run" actually the very first music video that MTV played?

[1960'sTVfan]

I used to have a mega crush on Martha Quinn who was one of the original VJ's at MTV. The best years for MTV were from 1981 to 1986. If I remember correctly, starting in 1987 is when MTV began making format/programming changes and some of the original VJ's left the channel. Martha Quinn stuck around for awhile and hosted a show called Prime with Martha Quinn, but she would eventually leave also.

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

I used to have a mega crush on Martha Quinn who was one of the original VJ's at MTV. The best years for MTV were from 1981 to 1986. If I remember correctly, starting in 1987 is when MTV began making format/programming changes and some of the original VJ's left the channel. Martha Quinn stuck around for awhile and hosted a show called Prime with Martha Quinn, but she would eventually leave also.

Martha Quinn is currently hosting a Monday through Friday radio show on KOSF San Francisco. The format is 80's+. She works on the show from a studio in her L.A. area home. She previously had an 80's show on Sirius/XM radio.
Marshall

Article on first 25 videos played on MTV:
https://spinditty.com/industry/List-...-played-on-MTV

[TMC]

Opinion | MTV just turned 40. It once rocked, but now it's hit rock bottom.

Paramount+ begins streaming MTV shows as the network turns 40. It's too old for its own content.

It's sad but no surprise that a streaming outfit is the one to revive MTV and VH1 hit shows like 'Behind the Music,' 'Unplugged' and 'Yo! MTV Raps.'

Aug. 1, 2021, 3:36 AM PDT / Updated Aug. 2, 2021, 1:26 AM PDT

By Bryan Reesman, journalist and cultural critic

VH1's groundbreaking series "Behind the Music," which explored the real-life grit beneath the glamorous veneer of rock and pop, returned to Paramount+ on Thursday. MTV's pioneering series "Unplugged" and "Yo! MTV Raps" will also soon be resurrected for the Viacom-owned streaming service. That these shows are being offered via a streaming platform rather than on either network is the ultimate measure of how far the once-trailblazing music video channels have fallen, especially the one that started it all.

When it emerged on Aug. 1 40 years ago, MTV quickly evolved from a scrappy new kind of cable channel into a force to be reckoned with. Within its first five years, it had gone from an eclectic station that broadcast videos and concerts from artists small and large to an essential home for music superstars plugging their newest albums. VH1 kicked off in 1985 as the softer alternative for older listeners, but by the mid-'90s it catered more to the original MTV rock audience who had aged into that demographic.

At the outset, MTV helped push the "Second British Invasion" of new wave and synth pop and the heavy metal ascendency, in particular, because it played artists who weren't garnering much American radio play. After all, before MTV, there weren't many ways to become a hit performer without a big push from FM radio.

But it turned out big stars were helped just as much as emerging talent. Careers of visually oriented artists such as Madonna, Duran Duran and Michael Jackson were greatly boosted by the music video explosion. Their fashion and image choices influenced the teen masses while young audiences discovered an exciting new world of music.

Marquee shows and talent also redefined how music could be consumed, celebrated and understood. The Video Music Awards became a staple celebrity event, and the "Unplugged" series reminded the next generation that old-fashioned strumming was worth a listen. Many of MTV's young anchors (dubbed VJs) were clearly music aficionados and veterans who brought expertise to entertainment reporting, notably the late famed radio DJ J.J. Jackson in the '80s and Kurt Loder and Serena Altschul with their smart news reporting throughout the '90s.

VH1's groundbreaking series "Behind the Music," which explored the real-life grit beneath the glamorous veneer of rock and pop, returned to Paramount+ on Thursday. MTV's pioneering series "Unplugged" and "Yo! MTV Raps" will also soon be resurrected for the Viacom-owned streaming service. That these shows are being offered via a streaming platform rather than on either network is the ultimate measure of how far the once-trailblazing music video channels have fallen, especially the one that started it all.

Ironically, it's the trendy reality and competition shows that MTV gradually integrated into its lineup starting in the '90s that ultimately led it into music oblivion in the 2000s.

When it emerged on Aug. 1 40 years ago, MTV quickly evolved from a scrappy new kind of cable channel into a force to be reckoned with. Within its first five years, it had gone from an eclectic station that broadcast videos and concerts from artists small and large to an essential home for music superstars plugging their newest albums. VH1 kicked off in 1985 as the softer alternative for older listeners, but by the mid-'90s it catered more to the original MTV rock audience who had aged into that demographic.

At the outset, MTV helped push the "Second British Invasion" of new wave and synth pop and the heavy metal ascendency, in particular, because it played artists who weren't garnering much American radio play. After all, before MTV, there weren't many ways to become a hit performer without a big push from FM radio.

We were supposed to be over the 1980s by now. Why we're still not.
But it turned out big stars were helped just as much as emerging talent. Careers of visually oriented artists such as Madonna, Duran Duran and Michael Jackson were greatly boosted by the music video explosion. Their fashion and image choices influenced the teen masses while young audiences discovered an exciting new world of music.

Marquee shows and talent also redefined how music could be consumed, celebrated and understood. The Video Music Awards became a staple celebrity event, and the "Unplugged" series reminded the next generation that old-fashioned strumming was worth a listen. Many of MTV's young anchors (dubbed VJs) were clearly music aficionados and veterans who brought expertise to entertainment reporting, notably the late famed radio DJ J.J. Jackson in the '80s and Kurt Loder and Serena Altschul with their smart news reporting throughout the '90s.

MTV's influence also expanded to mark many TV shows, like "Miami Vice," with its fashion choices and pop music soundtrack, as well as many movies. When "Yo! MTV Raps" debuted in Europe in 1987 and a year later in America, it helped build legendary rap and hip-hop figures in the U.S. and expose the genre to a global audience through the network's international outlets.

Not that MTV didn't have its faults. It barely played Black artists at first, focusing on North American and British pop and rock that were dominated by white musicians. David Bowie and Rick James called them out, and once Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album and video became a phenomenon in 1983, boosting the network's fortunes in the process, MTV started to play him and other African American artists regularly.

They also shoved heavy metal into a corner, giving the genre a Saturday night-only slot in the later '80s because of attacks on the controversial genre by some media outlets and parent activist groups. By that time, smaller artists of any style had far less of a shot of getting on the channel, needing to rely on regional video shows, instead.

The MTV paradigm also dictated that a striking image and slick videos were as integral as great tunes, so artists had to worry as much about selling their looks as crafting memorable music. By the late '80s, style over substance became a growing problem, and in the '90s, a majority of the most expensive videos ever made emerged. They were fun to watch, but they epitomized the excess that damaged the music industry and encouraged illegal music downloading.

Ironically, it's the trendy reality and competition shows that MTV gradually integrated into its lineup starting in the '90s that ultimately led it into music oblivion in the 2000s. From "The Real World" to "Jackass" to "Jersey Shore," the network delivered an increasingly dumbed-down version of youth culture in which music was an incidental ingredient.

Today, MTV and VH1 reside in a morass of reality television banality sprinkled with occasional movie and TV reruns that bears no resemblance to their glorious former selves. Last year, the VMAs drew 6.4 million viewers. Ten years ago, they pulled in 12.4 million.

To its credit, in recent years, MTV has tried to bring the music back with the offshoot channels MTV Classic and Live. But it's had little success. Instead, MTV and VH1 survive with non-music content and reality shows like "Teen Mom 2," "Ridiculousness" and "Cartel Crew." That has made them musically irrelevant, as YouTube has become the new MTV. Almost any music video you want to see is on it, while Bandcamp, Tidal and Spotify have given fans greater power to discover new and classic music, whether it's curated through algorithms or their own curiosity.

It's sad but no surprise that a visual streaming outlet is the one to revive MTV and VH1 hit shows after those networks veered far off the rails by, ironically, chasing the youth culture that originally devoured their video programming and made it must-see TV for those coming of age. That's the cost of becoming a slave to the trends rather than setting them. But for a time, it was glorious.

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[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by Marshall

Thanks for all the links, TMC.

A few good ones, but I thought most were completely unnecessary. If I had a valid reason I would delete them, but unfortunately I don't. Since MTV stopped focusing on music years ago I'm tempted to move this to all other TV shows, but I'll leave it where it is.

[Zoneboy]

I didn't have cable or satellite back then so I missed the debut of MTV and Video Killed the Radio Star. It was in 1982 when I first got to see it at a friend's house. This was the first music video I saw on MTV.



This was the first music video I ever saw from The Midnight Special in 1977.



This is one of my all-time favorite videos which MTV never aired. All I can say is thank God for Canada's Much Music because that's where I first saw it.

[TMC]

MTV's first two hours reveals a cable network devoted to white artists

In celebration of MTV's 40th anniversary, a video showing the first two hours of MTV that was posted to YouTube last year has making the rounds. "What does that video tell us about the music industry at the dawn of the MTV era? A whole lot," says Eric Diaz. "In those two hours, we see zero black artists, or any POC musicians really. It is a steady stream of white rockers. And we see dozens of male artists, and maybe five women. There’s Pat Benatar, Stevie Nicks, Juice Newton, the Pretenders, and maybe one more. And again, all white ladies. MTV big wigs used the anti-disco backlash of just two years prior as justification for not playing diverse artists, and catering only to white (racist) audiences."