MTV launched on August 1, 1981, with The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” as its first music video. This moment changed how music reached fans. MTV transformed music videos from simple promotions into creative mini-movies that shaped television, fashion, and pop culture throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
In late 2025, MTV announced it would shut down all its 24-hour music-only channels worldwide, marking the end of an era. Artists realized that basic lip-sync videos were no longer enough to capture audiences. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” showcased the full evolution of the music video as an art form. Directed by John Landis, this 13-and-a-half-minute horror-themed video cost $500,000 to make, while most videos at the time were around $50,000. Landis noted, “For a while there, you couldn’t turn on the television without seeing ‘Thriller.’”
Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” won nine Video Music Awards and used stop-motion animation. Gabriel spent 16 hours lying under a glass sheet while animators worked frame-by-frame. ZZ Top reinvented themselves for the MTV generation with three connected videos: “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Legs,” featuring a 1933 Ford Coupe called the Eliminator. These clips helped the Eliminator album sell more than all their previous releases combined.
In 1986, Run-DMC and Aerosmith teamed up for “Walk This Way,” breaking down barriers between rock and hip-hop. Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” won a Moonman trophy at the Video Music Awards and featured wrestler “Captain” Lou Albano as her father.
By the 2000s, MTV shifted focus to reality shows like The Osbournes, 16 and Pregnant, and Jersey Shore. The hit drama Miami Vice was even nicknamed “MTV cops” for its quick-cut, glossy style that mirrored music videos from MTV’s peak years.
