The ’80s and ’90s were the golden age of the music video. MTV was a powerful musical, cultural, and even political force that extended beyond the United States. MuchMusic had the Canadian market all to itself and was minting new domestic stars by the dozen every single year. The same thing happened with video channels in the U.K., France, Germany, and Australia.
If you wanted to be a star, you had to have a video to go with every single you released. And because everyone was making videos, competition for attention was fierce.
Budgets got bigger as production values increased, with artsy themes, special effects, expensive sets, new video technology, and on-location shoots. Big-name directors were brought in. Some video directors were so good that they were able to make the jump to TV and movies. They became stars themselves: David Fincher, Spike Jonze, and Mark Romanek.
Releases of videos by big stars were cultural events and sometimes talked about more than the song itself. And that’s because videos were supposed to say something. A basic performance clip just didn’t cut it anymore.
Artists looking at their royalty statements got a shock. After being convinced to make a video for a million dollars—something that happened even with mid-level bands—they found that money being clawed back from their earnings. A video was promotion, and all promotion was a recoupable expense.
But that could be okay if the video helped the song and the album catch fire. If it resulted in more radio play and more CDs sold, then the cost was worth it.
There was some pushback from artists, but they were largely drowned out by the music video–making machine. There was just so much money at stake.
The music video had grown into a global industry. And then technology intervened, and the whole system seemed destined for extinction.
This is part two of the rise, fall, and future of the music video.
Songs heard on this show:
- Beastie Boys, Sabotage
- REM, Everybody Hurts
- Pearl Jam, Jeremy
- Smashing Pumpkins, Tonight Tonight
- Queens of the Stone Age, No One Knows
- Weezer, Pork and Beans
- OK Go, Here It Goes Again
- Linkin Park, In the End
Eric Wilhite has a playlist.
The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on these stations.
- 102.1 The Edge/Toronto – Sunday night at 7pm
- Q107/Toronto – Sunday night at 9pm
- Live 88-5/Ottawa – Saturdays at 9am and Sundays at 6pm.
- 107.5 Dave-FM/Kitchener – Sunday nights at 11pm
- FM96/London – Sunday nights at 8pm
- Power 97/Winnipeg – Sunday nights at 10am and 10pm
- 107-3 The Edge/Calgary – Sundays at 10am and 10pm
- Sonic 102.9/Edmonton – Sunday at 8am and 8pm
- The Zone/Victoria – Sunday at 9am and 9pm
- The Fox/Vancouver – Sundays at 10anm and 10pm
- The Goat Network/Interior BC
- Surge 105/Halifax – Sunday at 7pm
- WAPS/WKTL The Summit/Arkon, Canton, Cleveland, Youngstown – Mon-Fri at 9pm
Don’t forget there’s a podcast version (along with hundreds of others) available, in case you miss an episode. Get them for free wherever you get your podcasts.
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