Alan Hunter was one of the five original VJs that launched MTV into the Moonman orbit 40 years ago, on Aug. 1, 1981, and helped put the video-bingeing network on the music map. However, he had no clue that his first trip to Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1986 to document ‘the chaos that was spring break’ would be the beginning of the end for the M — music — in MTV.
‘I was the VJ that liked being out of the studio the most,’ Hunter, 64, told The Washington Post, ‘so I was the one they sent to spring break to be a part of the hundreds of shouting young kids breaking beers over my head.’
‘And that was just the beginning of the many different types of programs you’d see.’ MTV realized at that point that they couldn’t continue to be a video jukebox indefinitely. MTV began to focus its cameras on the lives of the young people who tuned in.’
Thirty-five years later, there is a generation of young people who have no idea that MTV ever broadcasted music videos. This explains why youthful music singers like Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and Megan Thee Stallion didn’t bother to attend last year’s Video Music Awards.
MTV is no longer the cultural powerhouse it once was, when Madonna humped around in a wedding gown to perform “Like a Virgin” at the 1984 VMAs, Kurt Cobain dismantled Nirvana on “MTV Unplugged” in 1993, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z made their romance public on “Total Request Live” in 2002.
‘The MTV that people remember from the 1980s was a beautiful thing,’ said former MTV producer Michael Alex. But, he continued, nostalgia won’t cover the costs: “There’s the cultural loss versus [the fact that] MTV was an ongoing company trying to stay afloat.” ‘For as long as it could, the station adhered to the tune.’
Alan Hunter was one of the five original VJs that launched MTV into the Moonman orbit 40 years ago, on Aug. 1, 1981, and helped put the video-bingeing network on the music map. However, he had no clue that his first trip to Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1986 to document ‘the chaos that was spring break’ would be the beginning of the end for the M — music — in MTV.
‘I was the VJ that liked being out of the studio the most,’ Hunter, 64, told The Washington Post, ‘so I was the one they sent to spring break to be a part of the hundreds of shouting young kids breaking beers over my head.’
‘And that was just the beginning of the many different types of programs you’d see.’ MTV realized at that point that they couldn’t continue to be a video jukebox indefinitely. MTV began to focus its cameras on the lives of the young people who tuned in.’
Thirty-five years later, there is a generation of young people who have no idea that MTV ever broadcasted music videos. This explains why youthful music singers like Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and Megan Thee Stallion didn’t bother to attend last year’s Video Music Awards.
It is no longer the cultural powerhouse it once was, when Madonna humped around in a wedding gown to perform “Like a Virgin” at the 1984 VMAs, Kurt Cobain dismantled Nirvana on “MTV Unplugged” in 1993, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z made their romance public on “Total Request Live” in 2002.
‘The channel that people remember from the 1980s was a beautiful thing,’ said former MTV producer Michael Alex. But, he continued, nostalgia won’t cover the costs: “There’s the cultural loss versus [the fact that] MTV was an ongoing company trying to stay afloat.” ‘For as long as it could, the station adhered to the tune.’
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