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In a 1983 interview with VJ Mark Goodman, David Bowie criticised MTV for failing to air music videos by black artists.
The Thin White Duke complimented the network for being a “solid enterprise, with a lot going for it” before bluntly addressing his main issue with the channel. “I’m just floored by the fact that there’s so few black artists featured on it. Why is that?”, the music legend asked.
“I think that we’re trying to move in that direction,” Goodman replied. “We want to play artists that seem to be doing music that fits into what we want to play for MTV. The company is thinking in terms of narrowcasting.”
“That’s evident,” Bowie dryly responded.
Watch the interview below.
The pair continued to debate the need for MTV to find a balance between upholding its reputation and representation of its audience, whilst retaining its business plan.
MTV was launched in August 1981, with its focus being on rock videos. Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ was released in January 1983 and became one of the first videos by a black artist to receive prominent airplay.
David Bowie passed away on 11 January 2016 from liver cancer at the age of 69.
