ABSTRACT

MTV, the United States’ first round-the-clock television service devoted to popular

music, went on the air in 1981. The first video broadcast featured a song by the

forgettable British band the Buggles, titled “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Recalling the

Hollywood myth about stars of the silent period who because of their voices could not

survive the transition to sound cinema, the title seemed to predict that television would

supplant radio as the more important medium to the pop music industry. It suggested that

video and the exposure of television might destroy some musical careers.