The MTV era was such an exciting time for music and probably one of my favorites because I was there for the tail end of it! I remember watching MTV as a kid in the 90’s and recording my favorite music videos onto blank VHS tapes so I could rewatch them later. I’ve always loved the storytelling and visual components of music. Similarly to an artist’s live show, a music video pulls you into the band’s world and takes you on whatever journey they have presented for you.

Music videos contain variety, the spice of life! Exciting scenes, taking place in real locations or on set, beautiful costumes, makeup, props, special effects, and newly discovered editing techniques. Many artists used shots of the band playing alongside a storytelling element with scenes that would cut back and forth between the two. Some featured other artistic elements such as choreographed dances, puppets, illustration, stop motion imagery, special effects, computer animation, and full-on acting segments. Artists pushed the envelope as to how in-depth a music video could be and certainly had fun with it!

The first MTV broadcast started with a rocket ship launching into space and an astronaut planting the “MTV” flag on the moon. A voiceover then announced, “Ladies and Gentleman, Rock & Roll...” and I think that’s an awesome way to present history in the making, their first broadcast. MTV became the world’s first 24-hour stereo video music channel. It featured video DJ’s (VJ’s) that often became just as popular as the artists themselves and pioneered much of the pop culture scene that I grew up on including live concert broadcasts, MTV News, cartoons (Beavis and Butthead anyone?), live audience request shows such as Yo! MTV Raps, TRL, and the concept of “reality T.V.”.

They went on to create the “MTV Video Music Awards (VMA’s)” which quickly became notorious for being wild and unpredictable and “MTV’s Spring Break”, which featured live performances in a beach setting, fun contests, bikini fashion shows, etc. They also broadcasted other youth-targeted events throughout the year including week-long themed music specials such as “All Access Week” which broadcasted summer concerts and festivals and “Spankin’ New Music Week” which premiered all new music videos in the fall.

But music videos weren’t a new concept in the music industry. Short musical song and dance numbers called “Soundies” were popular in the ‘40s. And entire musical films reached popularity in the ‘50s (remember those delightful Elvis appearances?). The concept of the music video evolved as “promotional clips” were used by record labels in the ’60s, including The Moody Blues “Go Now”, and The Beatles, “Help!”. In the late ’70s and early '80s, we saw live music performances begin to cater to wider broadcast audiences and the on-screen visual elements became increasingly more important.

Many U.K New Wave bands understood the concept of visual creativity and performance art and many of them had music videos created already. While American bands focused more on innovating exciting new ways that the live concert can be presented for a visually exciting experience. Both of these aspects were clear in showing a big broadcast company like MTV just how valuable these visually captivating experiences can be. Progressively more record labels began to use music videos in their marketing mix as an additional level of promotion for albums and singles, supplying the demand created by MTV.

Videos would be released before (or simultaneously) going to radio and MTV would play these videos in a rotation just as frequently as a Top 40 radio station. Fans learned about new music this way and there seemed to be something for everyone; whether it was discovering bands like Mötley Crüe, Scorpion, or Def Leppard during MTV’s “Headbanger’s Ball”, belting out the electrifying “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper as a power anthem for the ladies, “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” by Culture Club validating the LGBTQ+ community, or “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson (breaking the “color barrier”) by being one of the first popular black artists to be featured on MTV.

With access to a 24-hour music video supply, fans were exposed to an array of new superstars and quite a few one-hit wonders. Creative, entertaining, artistic, and technologically advanced music videos reigned supreme. A lot of artists got picked up by MTV simply because of their cool or innovative music video, even if the band’s overall star power was low (A-ha’s “Take On Me” is a great example of this). It seemed like every band was creating a music video and wanted a spot on the fast track to fame, but it didn’t last forever. As reality T.V rose in popularity, MTV adjusted their model to accommodate. Luckily, the dot-com boom brought an entirely new way for fans to discover new music. And we are still enjoying the result of that today, utilizing streaming platforms like YouTube!

The ‘80s seemed to be a vibrant, colorful, and artistic time for the art community and musicians. Musicians could work with dancers, costume designers, set designers, video directors, etc. And fans could get to know their favorite bands through their music videos, oftentimes highlighting a musician's personality, showcasing entirely different sides of a band’s personality, or at least by providing a medium to demonstrate deeper concepts within their music.

Music videos have proven to be very harmonious with showcasing the artistic elements of rock music. They might not be as raw and unfiltered as a live performance, (nothing can beat that) but they sure do provide an added creative element to the music itself. To this day, music videos are very important marketing tools for any artist looking to get discovered by new fans or to generate hype from existing fans to boost awareness for upcoming tours, albums, etc.

~ * All the examples * ~

Michael Jackson, “Thriller” - an legendary example of using a variety of interdisciplinary arts in one music video

Lionel Richie, “All Night Long (All Night)” - use of dance choreography, and a set concept similar to an on stage musical

Genesis’ “Land of Confusion” - use of puppets in a music video and really in depth caricatures of popular artists of the time, including the members of Genesis themselves

A-ha, “Take On Me” - the use of creative illustration in a music video, this song got so popular it’s still left a lasting legacy on pop culture long after its premiere

Dire Straits, “Money For Nothing” - the use of computer animation in a music video that was very groundbreaking for the time, it features Sting singing “I Want My MTV” which was their slogan

Madonna, “Material Girl” - a perfect example of harkening back the days of old Hollywood movie musicals. This video closely resembles "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Peter Gabriel, “Big Time” - similar to Sledgehammer, the use of stop motion images are used to create elaborate scenes. Like all of Gabriel’s music videos he really seems to “pull out all the stops” for his projects

My favorite 80s music videos:

The Talking Heads, “Once In A Lifetime” - truly an awesome example of ‘80s music video magic using a bluescreen

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, “You Got Lucky” - aliens AND cowboys?! Amazing! A lot of ‘80s music videos incorporated space themes and thematic elements such as these

Living Colour, “Cult of Personality” - an excellent example of the band playing alongside a storytelling element, in this case historical video archives. It also features some excellent clips from both John F Kennedy’s and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inaugural address speeches.

The Police, “Wrapped Around Your Finger” - an very cool example of the use of slow motion effects and a simplistic, yet dramatic scene to set a unique vibe (one of my favorites!)

Dorothy Dandridge - Zoot Suit - a fun soundie from 1942

"Ladies and Gentleman, Rock & Roll...": The MTV Era