By 1983 the "New Music" of the Eighties -- a blend of rock, soul, disco and reggae wrapped in synth -- had become well-established, and record sales were up after a long slump that had started in the late 1970s. According to TIME Magazine, a "diverse but irresistible mix of sounds has brought the kids back not only to the record racks but to the clubs and concerts as well." A plethora of new acts had injected life into the music industry, with a lot of help from MTV, which by September of this year was reaching over 15 million households. Many of the new acts came from overseas -- in fact, it could be said that a second "British Invasion" occurred in the early Eighties, with groups like The Human League, Soft Cell, Culture Club, Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls and the Thompson Twins setting the electropop parameters. Australian groups like Men at Work and INXS were also beginning to fare quite well in America. On the dance floor, David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" defined the post-disco beat. Last year, rock radio had been playing 75% rock classics; this year they played 75% new music.

MTV's five "vee-jays" -- Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn -- were airing 300 videos a day, none of which MTV paid for. Record companies realized that rock videos were highly effective sales devices. In 1981, only 23 of Billboard's Top 100 singles were supported by videos; in 1983, over 50% of them were -- as were 17 of the Top 20 albums. MTV sold more music in a single year than radio had in the past five. Research by MTV's parent company, Warner/Amex, revealed that MTV viewers bought an average of nine albums a year, well above the national average. And the average MTV viewer was 25 and made over $30,000 a year -- a statistic that did not escape the 125 advertisers who paid $1,500 for 30 seconds of airtime. In 1982 Les Garland, Vice President of Programming for MTV, said, "The record companies were in serious trouble in 1980 and 1981. They didn't know if [MTV] would help. But they're just now starting to . . . have visions of coming back." No band was more effective than Duran Duran in riding the video wave to success; in 1983 MTV was giving plenty of air play to four of their videos -- "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Rio," "Save A Prayer" and "Girls on Film." However, in spite of the second British Invasion, the most requested act on MTV was the duo of Hall & Oates, which had enjoyed a string of big hits in the early Eighties, including "Maneater," "Private Eyes" and "Your Kiss Is On My List."