Before Spotify: How MTV Changed Music Forever in the 80s
The Day the Universe Shifted
Before playlists, before streaming, before you could carry every song ever recorded in your pocket, the world of music discovery was a much smaller place. It was the radio, the record store, and word of mouth. And then, on August 1, 1981, the universe shifted. I remember it vividly. A single cable channel launched with a grainy video of a space shuttle, and suddenly, music wasn't just something you heard—it was something you saw.
As an artist who was actively performing and recording at the time, you could feel the ground moving beneath your feet. MTV wasn't just a TV channel; it was a cultural revolution, and it changed the music industry forever.
Music You Could See: The Birth of the Video Star
Before MTV, a great song was enough. After MTV, you needed a great video. The platform turned musicians into visual storytellers. Suddenly, the song wasn't just the audio; it was Michael Jackson's "Thriller" mini-movie, Duran Duran's exotic adventures, or A-ha's groundbreaking "Take On Me" animation.
This created a new kind of stardom. An artist's image, their style, and their ability to create a compelling three-minute film became just as important as the music itself. For better or worse, the music video became the ultimate promotional tool, capable of turning a great song into a global phenomenon overnight.
The Pressure to Be Seen
As a performing artist in that era, you felt that shift. The pressure wasn't just to sound good on the record; it was to have a "look," a visual brand that could stand out. It added a whole new dimension to the craft of being a musician.
That visual connection between an artist and their audience has never gone away; it has simply evolved. Today, an album cover can tell a story just as powerfully as a video. For my new EP, My Continuum, the cover art is a key part of the narrative. The "half-face" design is a symbol of my journey—one half representing the artist the world remembers, and the unseen half representing the years of growth and reflection that brought me back to music.
It's a visual story that we explored in detail in my recent blog post, "One Half-Face at a Time."
The Lasting Echo
The world of MTV in the 80s—with a handful of VJs introducing a limited rotation of videos to a captive audience—feels like a lifetime ago. Today, the world is endless choice. But the revolution MTV started is still with us. It taught us that music is more than just a sound; it's a feeling, an image, and a story. And that is a lesson that will never change.
For more stories from my time in the 80s music scene, you can explore my other posts on the Blog.
What was the first music video that you remember being completely blown away by? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
