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Although now more of an entertainment channel than a music channel; in the early '80s MTV had a massive impact on the music industry. Music videos were not freely shown on most channels as they are now, and it was a big occasion to see the latest video of a new track. New music videos were a big event, and although now merely a glossy visual vehicle for a track, back in 1981 when the channel first came about music videos were a big business.

The first track played on MTV was fittingly The Buggles 'Video Killed The Radio Star', a track that half a million viewers tuned in to watch. During the early stages of the channel; the screen would sporadically go to black when a new video tape was being inserted into the VCR. It was not the massive budget channel it is now however it was new, innovative, and allowed for the masses to keep up with the latest fashions of all their favourite bands.

Whilst pretty much every band going now has a music video on TV in some form or another; in the early '80s this was not the case. Music videos were a great promotional tool, and therefore a good music video could often be the key to a tracks success or in fact the reason behind its failure. Music videos were a good way of showing what you were all about as a band, and it was a great way of broadening exposure and increasing potential fan base. With such a mass of viewers tuning in to MTV, a band could easily use the channel to their advantage and in some instances even become an overnight success all down to a well produced music video being aired on the channel.

In the early '80s one thing that made the channel such a success was their broadcasting of live concerts. Never before had people been able to view events as they happened unless they were actually at the event itself; however MTV made a great change to this most notably when they broadcast 'Live Aid' in 1985. This was a great innovation to do something of this sort and this was the most ambitious satellite TV venture that had ever been attempted at this time. Being able to view live events as they happened was greatly revolutionary and can definitely be viewed upon as one way in which MTV effected music in the early '80s.

MTV rarely plays music videos any more; its original schedule has been replaced with a mass of reality TV, however there is no denying the effect the channel had on music when it originally came about in August 1981. The masses finally had access to the latest looks of all the major popstars, and their musical experience was no longer merely aural, but also visual and therefore the experience was greatly heightened by the implementation of MTV. The channel was a great success when it first came about and as such over the years various other channels have been launched by the MTV brand such as MTV2 which pushes alternative rock and hip-hop music, and VH1 which focuses primarily on the lighter, softer side of popular music. MTV had an extremely strong effect on music in the early '80s and as such this has allowed for the network to progress and expand to the multi-channel global success it is today.

Learn more about this author, Richard Leigh.
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