did video kill the radio star?

[brianmanahan]

i was watching this insightful commentary from 1979 about the effect of television and music videos on radio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwuy4hHO3YQ

and wondered - were the predictions were accurate?

i think that in some ways yes, in other ways no.

one thing that i've noticed is that you have to be much more attractive to make it as a singer these days. even in the 90's in some genres, you could be average looking and still make it as a singer. but now you almost certainly have to be top tier in looks in order to break through as a well-known singer.

but radio still has a very large audience. i think that 35 years ago many people thought that future generations wouldn't listen to music, they would watch it. this has turned out to not be true at all.

so in closing, i believe the original title would have been more accurate had it said

"video killed the (ugly) radio star"

 

[mmntech]

Reality TV killed the video star.

 

[Jeff7]

Kill? Maybe some of them. As with any change to a market, some will adapt, and some will not.
Audio tape: Death of radio? Nope.
VCR: Death of movies? Nope.


Or look at what the Internet has done to the entire retail landscape. In the past, your path to fame was exclusively accomplished through large distributors which had the means and money to get your art in front of as many people as possible.
Now there are quite a few artists who distribute directly to millions of people.

Blockbuster: They would have had to completely transform their business to online distribution. It was like they were in denial about their imminent demise. As soon as Netflix showed up and started gaining steam....I don't know, maybe there weren't enough brown-stained pants at the executive board meetings. Yes, a transformation like that is expensive. But so is Chapter 11.


My employer had historically gotten a lot of sales revenue from the banking industry. 2009 and 2010 were not good years for us. Layoffs, restructuring, more layoffs....bleh. We've since (hopefully) learned the lesson and have made inroads into other markets. While losing one sector still wouldn't be fun, it wouldn't create the same sense of impending doom.

Reality TV killed the video star.

It still is mildly amusing to see "Writer" credits for reality shows.

 

[Iron Woode]

Reality TV killed the video star.

actually, internet killed the video star:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiB0VgOKojg

 

[Naer]

lol

 

[Ruptga]

Pop music has always been about presentation, and always will be. You can make some pretty good money with other types of music and look like whatever you want, more or less.

 

[OverVolt]

Autotune killed the singing star. Now they are entertainers not singers.

 

[biostud]

I often listen to radio, I never see music videos. (Maybe because I listen to death/black metal)

 

[The Boston Dangler]

video killed the musically-talented radio star

 

[angminas]

Proton torpedos killed the Death Star.

 

[brianmanahan]

Or look at what the Internet has done to the entire retail landscape. In the past, your path to fame was exclusively accomplished through large distributors which had the means and money to get your art in front of as many people as possible.
Now there are quite a few artists who distribute directly to millions of people.

this is true - one place i have noticed it especially is youtube. with youtube/adsense as a primary channel and itunes/amazon/spotify as secondary channel, one can make very good money.

not as much as if you are a full-blown star of course, but the barrier to entry on youtube is non-existent, so basically anyone can try to do it as a side job if they want without serious repercussions if they don't become very successful.

 

[feralkid]

Badgers killed the Wildcats.

 

[inachu]

Many are wrong to think the song was about Romeo voids one hit wonder but Romeo voids song came out in 1981 whereas the bugles song was created in 1979.

 

[BUTCH1]

Godawful song not worthy of 8 mil hits. Crappy pop music killed the radio star, video has zero to do with it as a lot of music is listened to while people are working or driving, not sitting in front of a TV.

 

[zinfamous]

I just went on one of those strange youtube journeys, wherein I learned that Susanna Hoffs (of the the Bangles) is still SMOKING hot at ~60 years old or so.

 

[brianmanahan]

I just went on one of those strange youtube journeys, wherein I learned that Susanna Hoffs (of the the Bangles) is still SMOKING hot at ~60 years old or so.

56

but i see what you mean

 

[Freejack2]

Internet also killed the Blockbuster (and most other video rental stores).

 

[mmntech]

Godawful song not worthy of 8 mil hits. Crappy pop music killed the radio star, video has zero to do with it as a lot of music is listened to while people are working or driving, not sitting in front of a TV.

Yeah, it's not a great song. Though it's still a big part of music history, being the first video played on MTV.

While it's a shadow of its former self now, a lot of people forget how hugely influential MTV was during the 80s and 90s. They pretty much defined pop culture for Generation X.

 

[DrPizza]

Pure musical talent has been replaced by autotune and lots of dance choreography. What you hear on the radio is a reflection of what's being pushed by the major players - and much/most of the pop stuff is related to my first sentence.
In other words, Britney Spears, N'Sync, Backstreet Boys - all products that were marketed and unrelated to musical talent.

 

[mmntech]

In other words, Britney Spears, N'Sync, Backstreet Boys - all products that were marketed and unrelated to musical talent.

It's been like that as long as bubble gum pop has existed. Even the Beatles were carefully marketed as a boy band prior to the Abby Road days. Of course they were actually talented.