DBWI: MTV succeeds and lasts to the present day?

On August 1, 1981, MTV (Music Television) made its debut as the first 24 hour music video channel.

On June 30, 1982, MTV declared bankruptcy and ceased operations.

How could MTV have avoided bankruptcy and would it be ASB for it to still be around and celebrate its 30th anniversary? Note: Music video channels currently enjoy success in Europe and Japan.

If MTV was still around, how would popular music be affected? Would jazz oriented pop and foreign (mostly UK) musical acts still dominate the US charts if MTV was still in existence?
 
Near ASB, why watch performances when you can hear it on the radio? When people watch TV they want some sort of plot. What kind of plot do you have with music? The only two things I can think of that has music and a plot are ballet and opera and I don't think they will make a comeback.
 
Well, one of the things that killed MTV in my opinion was a lack of diversity. Many artists such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Billy Ocean openly complained that the network featured almost no musical acts of people of color. As a result, many people of color simply boycotted the station...

In the meantime, it would have surely meant that Ryan Seacrest wouldn't be the host of American Bandstand (ABC-TV) or that Wayne Brady wouldn't be the host of Soul Train (Syndicated)...
 
On August 1, 1981, MTV (Music Television) made its debut as the first 24 hour music video channel.

On June 30, 1982, MTV declared bankruptcy and ceased operations.

How could MTV have avoided bankruptcy and would it be ASB for it to still be around and celebrate its 30th anniversary? Note: Music video channels currently enjoy success in Europe and Japan.

If MTV was still around, how would popular music be affected? Would jazz oriented pop and foreign (mostly UK) musical acts still dominate the US charts if MTV was still in existence?

The lack of diversity was a big thing. It basically kept newer black music from becoming truly hip and mainstream among all demographics, and that eventually made it seem old, because all you had was the Supremes and such.

If you had people like Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder on, you could have created a bigger audience for Rhythm and Blues in general. Hell, maybe Hip-Hop (at least the less violent stuff) might be mainstream!
 
if MTV had gotten the message and gotten diverse, then BET --the thinking viewer's more-diverse MTV meets PBS, one could say-- wouldn't be the smash success it is today.
 
I don't think diversity would help much. It is only music, it doesn't take your whole attention. Why not listen to the radio and do something else at the same time? That is what most people do. Listen to it while driving in the car or working on their car or cleaning the house or something. There are niches of course but an entire day of Soul Train or American Bandstand? It isn't going to happen.
 
I think if MTV moved away from solely music videos, it might stay afloat longer. In the long run though, it'd probably kill the channel though, as it would be in the fields of channels like BET or UPN. UPN in particular would spell disaster against an outdated MTV with their stunningly consistent drama show series's.
 
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