# MTV chicken and egg question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-chicken-and-egg-question/668095>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 5, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-chicken-and-egg-question/668095 "2013-09-05T17:38:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-chicken-and-egg-question/668095/41 "2013-09-12T02:58:45Z")

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> [@kaylasdad99](#):
>
> Why, I wonder. aren’t they offering the videos for sale now, when every household has a DVD player?

> [@Telemark](#):
>
> [www.youtube.com](http://www.youtube.com)

You know, at first I thought you were directing me to a commercial that made my question meaningless by establishing that some companies DO offer music video compilations. Then the penny dropped and I realized that you were trying to actually imply an answer to my question (i.e., _the existence of youtube makes such compilations unnecessary and unlikely to turn a profit_).

Fair enough again. But it does raise the question: _With the audio tracks already being on youtube as well, why does the existence of youtube not render the CD compilations unnecessary and unlikely to turn a profit?_ **Those** TV offers haven’t gone away.

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**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-chicken-and-egg-question/668095/42 "2013-09-12T03:43:33Z")

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> [@kaylasdad99](#):
>
> Fair enough again. But it does raise the question: _With the audio tracks already being on youtube as well, why does the existence of youtube not render the CD compilations unnecessary and unlikely to turn a profit?_ **Those** TV offers haven’t gone away.

My guess is that most of the music which Time/Life and the ilk offer in those compilations is stuff which appeals to Baby Boomers…which means that (a) it’s old enough (1950s through early-to-mid 1970s) that a lot of the songs don’t have anything like a music video, and (b) the buyers are relatively unlikely to be buying music as digital downloads, which I suspect correlates strongly with not using YouTube. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\
**Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-chicken-and-egg-question/668095/43 "2013-09-12T03:46:12Z")

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One of the first major “pop promos” was Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” I’m sure its success was a big factor in the creation of MTV.

> **[Bohemian Rhapsody | Promotional video](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Rhapsody#Promotional_video)**
>
> Though some artists had made video clips to accompany songs (including Queen themselves; for example, their earlier singles "Keep Yourself Alive", "Liar", "Seven Seas of Rhye" and "Killer Queen" already had "pop promos", as they were known at the time), it was only after the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" that it became a regular practice for record companies to produce promotional videos for artists' single releases. The Guardian stated it "ensured videos would henceforth be a mandatory tool The...

[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-ARuoSFflc)

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