ABSTRACT
In 1984, the closest the nation had come to Big Brother was the re-election of the "Great Communicator," Ronald Reagan. In the music business, "Turntables spun, gold chains jingled, cash registers beeped," summarized Jon Pareles, who could have added the industry's "Disco Disaster" was over. Ten movie soundtracks sold over a million copies each. Orwell had dreaded the year; industry moguls welcomed it. The music television channel made money for the first time. The all-important Footloose video appeared on Music Television as the Loggins single surfaced in record stores and on radio playlists. Synergizing a campaign was no simple feat. A major difficulty at film and record companies was coordinating internal divisions, much less working with an external entity. After several meetings with the rock artist, Blinn began to write Dreams. Following in the footsteps of Making Michael Jackson's Thriller, Purple Rain furthered the synergism between film and music.
