![]() ![]() Other than Stewart, The Who represent the first legacy act looking to take advantage of this novel music television concept. What follows is a clunky reiteration of the networks M.O. The live segment returns roughly seven seconds before Mark Goodman gets the go-ahead, creating what would not the first bizarre instance of dead air on launch day. The latter would end up becoming essential to the MTV experience in more ways than one. ![]() That would be, in order, Majestic Portfolio, Superman II, and Dolby Labs. Goodman makes a bold claim before throwing it over to the network’s first commercial break: “Starting right now, you’ll never look at music the same way again,” he comments.Īfter the groundbreaking hoopla of getting the format off the ground, now came the reality of MTV having to shill themselves out to whoever wants to market themselves on this doomed-to-fail network. Goodman gets the proper introduction to MTV’s format: 24 hours, in stereo, “combining the best of TV and the best of radio”. Jackson, Nina Blackwood, and Mark Goodman. Nobody likes coming in second, but Benatar is the first thing on MTV that could ever be called “badass”.Īlan Hunter is the first face and voice we see in an MTV live segment, and in quick succession, we get introduced to the first five VJ’s: Martha Quinn, J.J. But it’s when she kicks into the searing shouts of ‘You Better Run”s chorus where she makes her biggest impression. Just as ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ conceptualised what the network saw as their own modus operandi, ‘You Better Run’ broke ground on what would be the network’s preferred method of implementing their new global takeover: sex appeal.Ĭlad in spandex and surrounded by an industrial backdrop, Pat Benatar burns holes in the camera with her stare alone. Positioning itself as “the latest achievement in home entertainment” with a bit of tongue in cheek flair, the promo also briefly utilises the next piece of MTV history: a short two-second clip of Pat Benatar’s ‘You Better Run’. How appropriate, then, that ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ did just that.Īs if to reintroduce themselves to anyone who might have caught the tail end of ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ through channel flipping, the second piece of content ever aired on MTV was a promotion for MTV. MTV affected all reaches of music, and MTV stars soon became the leading voices of chart-topping pop music.Įmblematic of what would curse many ’70s artists in its wake, ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ was about a wave of nostalgia that wiped everything in the past away with modern technology. A number of ’70s acts, unsure how to adapt to the new landscape, stalled out under the pressure to make successful videos. Occasionally, good videos could propel otherwise bad songs to greater sales. Visuals became just as important as the musicality or catchiness of a song, but for those who did it well, the videos often complimented the songs in tasteful, artistic, and truly exciting ways. However, it was MTV who made music videos a necessary format for bands to embrace if they wanted to compete for success and popularity. Occasionally, promotional films tied into real-life films: Meat Loaf’s ‘Paradise By The Dashboard Light’ was often screened before The Rocky Horror Picture Show during midnight runs, for example. Music videos, or promotional films as they were usually referred to at the time, were not a new concept: The Beatles often filmed elaborate performances and showed them on segments of programs like The Ed Sullivan Show. The BBC would occasionally show clips from Pink Floyd and The Who. With that statement, on August 1, 1981, MTV launched as the world’s first television channel devoted to showing music videos. ![]()
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