The music video business arrived with the dawn of MTV and no one knew at the time…its first clip, “Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles, would be a mantra ultimately breaking the back of the concert and touring industry.

It was a hard-scrabble business, that kicked off in August of 1981 as the channel gobbled up the content needed to fill its programming day. Production companies formed, directors became stars and a whole bunch of people worked to keep filling the music video pipeline. It stayed that way for about 20 years, then faded along with vinyl -and later CDs- as the digital revolution and our viewing options online changed the business altogether.

Music videos are still made today of course, but as a business supporting the many people and business owners who dedicated a good chuck of their lives to it in the 80s and 90s including wardrobe stylists, directors, producers, production designers, electricians, grips, editors, cinematographers…people who learned and honed their craft during the period… went on to have careers in commercials, movies and television. If you talk to many of them today…they’ll tell you about the fertile grounds for creativity at the time…are fondly looked back upon. Oh the stories they could tell!

And that’s where The Inside Track Podcast comes in. In the industry’s more productive wake, were some memorable and yes…iconic videos…the ones where if you hear the song today, you’ll probably remember the images or stories depicted in them. Simply put, I sit down with directors and artists of some of those videos, to unearth how they came to be. You’ll find out what part record labels played, why some label execs feared some of the artists they represented, why the concept or idea for a video was greenlit…and when it was…what went in to putting it together. You’ll hear stories about what happened on set…what directors, producers and crews were up against…as well as the yelling, screaming and behind the scenes antics, deadlines and budget pressures working together at times against directors and artists who fought to keep their concept or vision intact. So…welcome to The Inside Track!