August 1, 1981, is the day that MTV: Music Television launched its first video. That historic first music video was the Buggles: “Video Killed The Radio Star”. And an equally if not more important date is March 1, 1982. That’s when the struggling video network launched the ad campaign that saved the day: “I Want My MTV!” The slogan was the genius of legendary Advertising Hall of Famer George Lois. Little did they know the power of that slogan. And the importance of words.
“Want”, is a powerful word. As a verb, its definition is: have a desire to possess or do (something). We all have our wants. MTV wanted more viewership. People of color wanted to see videos featuring artists of color. In an article by Kayla Nichole for TWO BEES TV, “It was difficult for MTV to find African American artists that leaned toward rock at the outset”, said Buzz Brindle, MTV’s former director of programming in 2006. But, as I mentioned, “want” is a powerful word. Therefore, when superstar Michael Jackson wanted his video for “Billie Jean” to be played on MTV, you would think just one phone call, and it would be done. You wouldd be very wrong. It’s been documented that MTV initially refused to air the video for “Billie Jean”, as the network’s executives felt black music did not fit into a “rock”-centered network. Walter Yetnikoff, the president of Jackson’s record company CBS records, was enraged by their refusal to play the video despite Jackson’s success as a musical artist. Supposedly ultimatums were given. On March 10, 1983 “Billie Jean” debuted on MTV. It was the first video by an African American artist to receive heavy rotation on the network. Michael’s videos helped to skyrocket his career and drive increased viewership on MTV. It was a win, win in so many ways.
Michael Jackson is no longer with us physically. So I wanted to honor him for his recent 64th birthday. Happy Birthday, King of Pop! MTV also transitioned. From music videos to reality shows and other formats. However, the MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) have linked MTV and Michael Jackson forever. With the creation of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
This year's VMAs aired on Sunday, August 28th, off into the Metaverse, we went!! Thanks to two rap icons. I watched it, and it was a wild sensory experience. Very well executed. Arthur Parkhouse in his article for HYPEBEAST, Snoop Dogg and Eminem Bring the Metaverse to the VMAs, breaks down the collaboration. Snoop Dogg and Eminem took the VMA stage together for the first time in two decades-bringing with them an Other side metaverse-themed performance. Their live performance is inspired by a recent collaboration between the two artists in which the artists used their Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs to create a music video, album cover, and limited merch.
With an average audience interaction rate of over 38 million people across its platform in 2021, this year’s VMAs and the duo's performance bring a unique opportunity to increase the visibility and adoption of Web3 and NFTs.Both Snoop Dogg and Eminem are big fans and collectors of NFTs, with Snoop seeming to be the more active of the two. The artist is involved in several different projects and collaborations-from the food industry to metaverse collectibles in the Sandbox.
Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Otherside meta all want to bring us into the metaverse. Medallion XLN wants to help you share your gifts and talents while securely monetizing your assets. Medallion XLN is a blockchain-based app marketplace that uses its core smart chain technology to secure intellectual and real property. Our unique approach gives an owner of an asset the option to sell shares in their asset and then gives the shareholder permission to access that asset. Read more in our whitepaper. At our core, we’re a service to make your digital and real life easier. Who doesn’t want that? There’s something really special going on here that you want to be a part of. Grab up some of our NFTs, share our blog with your venture capitalist contacts, and let us know if you’re ready for our ICO launch. Let’s do this!
DALLE-2 Prompt: blonde hair blue eyed cyberpunk girl, wearing white cap with eagle logo, yellow fashion hoodie with black straps, black jeans red highlights, sneakers with red laces, full body, zoomed out, stands beside a flying robot drone equipped with cameras, in a crowd of business people going the opposite direction, gundam anime manga cover
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Is it pronounced EmTiV?
I'm too young to know what MTV is...but it sounds like a great historic artifact. Is there a museum or somewhere that I could go to learn more about M..TV, was it? Do they have a Youtube channel?