Did MTV Not Play Black Artists in the '80s? It's Complicated
MTV didn't refuse to play Black artists, and Michael Jackson wasn't the first on the network, but Black artists had reasons to be frustrated.
According to legend, before Michael Jackson, MTV didn’t show Black performers. Then, overnight, MTV evolved from a snobbish advert for the Second British Invasion to a true reflection of eclectic American record collections. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" marked the turning point when the channel finally overcame biases. Is this true? Short answer: yes. Long answer: not really. The firestorm stemmed from a 1983 David Bowie MTV News interview with VJ Mark Goodman, where Bowie turned the tables, coercing Goodman to justify MTV's "narrow" rock-only format:
What's Your Reaction?
