Back in 1981, this new TV channel called MTV started up. It was a big deal because it played music videos all day long. The first video they showed was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, which is kinda funny when you think about it.
Before MTV, music videos weren't that big a deal. They were just ads for songs, really. But MTV made them into this whole new thing. Suddenly, big stars like Michael Jackson and Madonna were making these huge, movie-like videos for their songs.
It was a game-changer. Videos like "Thriller" and "Like a Virgin" became these huge events. People would talk about every little thing in them. It was wild - you could actually see the music now, not just hear it.
But MTV didn't just change music. It changed a lot of other stuff too. Kids started copying the clothes and dance moves they saw in videos. New slang from videos started showing up in how people talked.
MTV also helped make different kinds of people more visible on TV. You had more black artists, more women, more LGBTQ+ folks getting air time. That was pretty important.
In the '90s, MTV started making its own shows. "The Real World" was this big hit that basically invented reality TV. They also had cartoons like "Beavis and Butt-Head" that were pretty out there for the time.
MTV even got into politics, trying to get young people to vote with stuff like "Rock the Vote."
Of course, not everyone loved MTV. Some people said it made women look bad, or that it made kids care too much about money and stuff. There were also fights about what kind of music they played.
But love it or hate it, MTV changed a lot of things. It made music more than just something you listen to - it made it something you watch and experience. It changed how artists connect with fans and how we think about music.
MTV's still around today, but it's pretty different now. Still, the impact it had back then is still a big deal. It really shook things up in music and pop culture.
