from MTV: one world, one image, one channel

The dam broke with Michael Jackson in 1983. Jackson was a major pop superstar by this point and had just released the album Thriller featuring the song “Billie Jean.” Jackson was a CBS recording artist and CBS executives wanted the video on MTV in order to promote the album. It is rumored that when MTV refused to air the video(claiming that it did not fit their rock format), CBS threatened to pull all of their other artists’ videos off of MTV’s rotation (Kaplan 74). CBS recording artists composed approximately 25% of the videos shown on the network including Pink Floyd and Journey. The tiny network had no option but to air the video, which turned out to be one of the greatest things that ever happened for MTV. This forced breakdown of MTV’s initial narrow structure resulted in the explosion of MTV and Michael Jackson’s solo career. The video propelled Jackson into the homes of millions of Americans and his resulting popularity solidified MTV as a musical force. Since then, MTV has embraced artists of all colors and genres.