banned from airplay, “Girls on Film,” which was
the beginning of a long string of controversy in the
music video industry. Music videos quickly became
hugely popular with the viewing public.
There were two main types of videos: perfor-
mance and concept. The performance video was the
dominant form, with the artist either filmed onstage
or on a set periodically performing in short scenes.
The performance video dominated the market but
was the less artistic of the two forms. The concept
video was based on what a director and artist envi-
sioned for a particular song. It would sometimes fol-
low a plot but many times appeared to have little to
do with the song to which it was attached, instead try-
ing to create a mood or surreal feel. Many videos em-
ulated Hollywood feature films, and certain direc-
tors were sought for their ability to re-create scenes.
Videos commonly included themes such as the Cold
War or AIDS, regardless of their format.
Many musical artists were aware of the power of
their image, and the music video quickly became an-
other way to promote themselves. Artists such as Ma-
donna and Michael Jackson became masters of self-
promotion in the medium. Musicians were propelled
to stardom on the strength of their videos alone, and
the concert tour began to have less import on a musi-
cal career. Fashion fads went from music videos to
the stores in short periods of time, and record sales
soared when associated songs were based on popu-
lar videos.
Initially, the format for televising music videos
was based on radio stations’ formats. Videos were
played in light, medium, and heavy rotation accord-
ing to their popularity, and the veejays (video jock-
eys) grew to be as recognizable and popular as the
musicians they showed. Like many radio stations of
the time, video channels targeted their broadcasts
toward a white audience. It was not until 1983, when
Michael Jackson released a series of videos tied to his
multi-platinum albumThriller, that African Ameri-
cans saw significant amounts of airplay. Although Af-
rican American artists made their mark with popular
music, it was not until 1986, when Aerosmith and
Run-D.M.C. released their crossover video for “Walk
This Way,” that the musical genres of hip-hop and
rap truly made their way into American television
culture.
Critics decried music videos because they often
pushed mediocre songs to the top of the music
charts. Many videos were controversial because of
their violence, blatant sexual overtones, or exploita-
tion of women. Most artists realized, however, that
controversy sold albums, so little was done in the in-
dustry to police itself.The Music Video Matures The mid-1980’s saw the
rise of other channels devoted to the music videos
(namely MTV’s softer sister station, VH-1, created in
1985). Also, music video directing became more spe-
cialized during this time. Each musical genre had
developed a signature style so that viewers knew in-
stantly what they were watching. Jackson’s “Thriller”
video, for example, was directed by John Landis, a
feature film director. This classic music video, the
most expensive at that time, opened the door for
other feature-length directors to work in the field of
music videos and lent some legitimacy to the form.
Some music video directors became well known and
were hired on their ability to create a particular type
of video or atmosphere. Many critics view the team
of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme as the premier direc-
tors of the 1980’s. Music videos became a valid artThe Eighties in America Music videos 687
Timemagazine devotes its December 26, 1983, cover to the coming
of music videos.(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)