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.