That first broadcast day of MTV
 

Everyone knows that 'Video Killed The Radio Star' was the first video played, but what were, say, the next 10 that day? Or, the whole day, for that matter? Anyone ever find a list that lists these all out? I think Stevie and Tom were in the first 10 though, for sure with SDMHA.

Why did MTV stop playing music and now focuses on reality programming? And why did MTV2 do the same? MTV2 was supposed to show videos that MTV no longer was showing, and now it's the same stuff. I miss the years when I was a teenager and you could tune in and watch videos, or watch 'Club MTV' and see the dancers and the performers. :(

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_m...s_aired_on_MTV

Not a single black artist/group on that list... Michael Jackson did a lot to change that not too long after.

They rebroadcast the first day not too long ago. I had it on my DVR until I had to switch the box out.

Surely is because of money and sponsors. I guess music videos are not so watched as in the past. I have no idea why, but I guess that's the reason because if videos made money, they would play them again for sure! Money is the reason for almost everything in media.

Watching the videos list from that first day, I would say my favorites were:

"Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles
"Sailing" by Rod Stewart
"In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins
"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty
"The Best of Times" by Styx
"Passion" by Rod Stewart
"Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac
"Rapture" by Blondie

They played more than 1 song from Styx, Rod Stewart, etc.. but there were far more better videos (pre-mtv) from Queen, Yes, Abba, Stones, etc.. that they could have included

The Chairman of the Board eventually got pissed and went directly to the MTV Studios and told the Programming Director that it was GOING to change. It was THAT obvious, and yeah, it really did piss him off and they caught hell for it. (I saw this on a program about the history of MTV, a while back.)

I feel pretty sure that this is a result of what some people are calling "the corporatization of America." The record companies are all owned by megacorporations these days and it seems to me that they've become MUCH less willing to invest money in promotion - most definitely including videos. I'm not sure how all that works - some people have posted sometimes that the artists often have to put up the money themselves. I dunno - but at any rate I feel pretty certain that it's connected to all of that - the record companies seem to feel, "why invest a million dollars promoting this talented, unknown guitarist and his talented, unknown singer girlfriend when we can pour that million into arranging more tour dates for Britney Spears?" (who like it or not, is a Guaranteed Seller.) And so the talented guitarist and the "chick singer" end up getting dropped.

Hell, Even VH1 Classic has started to slip and show real-i-garbage and 'countdown' shows, turning more into another version of the Viacom EMPTY-VEE family of networks...I hope it soon wont be like similar to another Viacom channel CMT (Country MUSICLESS Television) but knowing how the powers at be run the world I am sure it will!

This is too bad, really. I don't watch TV, but if there was an old-time MTV type station playing music videos I'd tune in (for background noise). TV itself seems to be nothing but a vast wasteland of corporatization anyway. I don't want to be manipulated into what to buy. Bad enough the subways and buses are decked out in adverts, and even in taxi cabs too. I guess I'm just nostalgic for those old days, when the music really mattered and MTV was doing something SO different that made alot of people happy.

No black artists, but hey they had a Juice Newton track in rotation! Hawt!

wasn't the "one night w/ f mac" contest mtv's 1st also?~ i have a button from then & i remember sending in like a thousand postcards trying to win~

I was too little to enter that - a mere 12. but i wanted too so bad. i don't think it was the first contest. i believe they had one with journey previously. or was that after?

VH1 Classic aired the first 24hours of MTV a while back. I sat down and watched it! I really wish they would bring back the good MTV and just play older videos. VH1 Classic is starting to suck big time! They are playing all that reality crap too! I wish they would bring back the All Request Hour. It was fun tuning into that show to see if they picked your video you wanted to have played. But oh well.

I love that Rapture video :thumbsup:

And somehow their marketing people have numbers that prove that reality (to me, scripted reality) programming draws in the biggest viewers. It just boggles the mind that these phony shows are the hallmark feature now on 'music television'. :mad:

Oh yess me too! Debbie Harry is so friggin' hot! She just oozes sex!