all music . It was just what MTV considered rock music . By the late 1970s , radio formats had essentially resegregated the music world . When MTV launched in 1981 , it modeled its playlist on the popular album-oriented rock radio format of the day , which meant that music by black artists was effectively excluded from the network . You might see the occasional Jimi Hendrix clip , but there was no room for funk , disco , R&B or that new emerging form -- rap . It was n't long before the public took note of the glaring absence of African-American artists . MTV was called to task on the air in 1983 for its lack of black artists by none other than David Bowie . At about the same time , MTV famously refused to air Rick James ' `` Superfreak '' video . It defended itself by claiming it was n't a rock song . Michael Jackson changed all that . Jackson opened the door with the video for `` Billie Jean , '' which was simply too good for its time to be overlooked . He blew that door wide open with `` Beat
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- I was a high school student in 1983 , when the video for `` Thriller '' was released , getting plenty of air time on MTV . By then , the network 's `` M '' could just as easily have stood for Michael . It was an event . At a time when MTV was criticizing for not featuring black artists , Michael Jackson 's success changed all that . I can remember getting together with a group of friends to watch the premiere like it was a new movie release . The video did not disappoint . Once again Michael disregarded all conventions of the genre and not just redefined , but completely re-imagined , what a music video could be . But most people do n't know that the album broke new ground in a non-musical way , too . Viewers today of MTV , with its steady stream of reality shows like `` Real World 22 - Cancun '' and `` 16 and Pregnant , '' might forget that , when it started nearly three decades ago , MTV was all music , all day . Actually , it was n't really