It started beyond stratospheric. In August 1981, Neil Armstrong planted a flag on the moon. Sort of. At its launch, MTV superimposed its now-famous logo over the historic lunar-landing footage, with a voiceover declaring, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll”. The ident then faded into the first song: “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles, and MTV, the channel that was to change music and television, was born.

MTV Europe followed suit in 1987, with Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” and its backing chorus of “I want my MTV”. And want it we did. Its influence bled into every corner of popular culture – from TV shows via movies and right up to how the evening news was packaged – and would launch the presenting careers of Alexa Chung, Jenny McCarthy, Laura Whitmore and Russell Brand.

By the mid 80s, the music video – pioneered by the likes of The Beatles and Queen – had become an integral part of any song campaign. Now here was a dedicated platform for Kate Bush prancing about all sprite-like to the video of “Wuthering Heights”, Debbie Harry and her lip-gloss-sheened pout down the camera with “Heart of Glass”, Michael Jackson in a sequined suit strutting to “Rock with You”. Mainstream music shows such as Top of the Pops in the UK and Video Concert Hall in the US could no longer offer enough space for the proliferation of what was becoming an art form – and cable TV real estate was there for the taking.

Once MTV blew up and sparked the imagination of a generation, spin-offs and copycats were not too far behind, not only with the likes of VH1 and MTV2 launching as part of the MTV family, but rivals such as The Box, Scuzz, Q, Smash Hits, Flaunt, The Amp, NME TV, UK Play and The Vault wanting in on the action too. By the first decade of the 21st century, there were nearly 40 rolling music video channels available in the UK.

But 2024 is a far cry from that heady landscape, and at the end of the month, Channel 4 will ring the death knell for its five music channels, including The Box, Kerrang, and Magic, stating that “our strategy reflects the generational shift in TV viewing”. So what happened? Was it reality TV, streaming, YouTube, or something else that killed the video star… or are reports of their death greatly exaggerated?

Steve Schnur, now the president of EA Music, was there at the beginning. He was part of the launch team for the original MTV, planting that flag on the moon. “We were young, crazy about music, and creating something that had never existed before,” he tells me. “We knew that it had the potential to change the way the world sees and hears new music. But none of us realised how music television would change the world itself. I’ve always said from day one, I want parents to yell up to their kid’s bedroom: ‘Turn that music down!’”

Does he have a favourite memory from the early days? “In 1984, the MTV playlist was primarily New Wave and synth-pop. I loved Motley Crüe, and the second I saw the ‘Looks That Kill’ video, I knew that it belonged on the network. I wouldn’t take no for an answer, and hounded [MTV co-founder/programming director] Les Garland several times a day to add this unapologetically raunchy and dangerous hard rock video into rotation. He got it. It instantly changed our playlist, redefined the network, and made the Crüe into superstars.” By the beginning of the 90s, music channels had become the place where rock gods were forged.

I grew up a long train ride from the bright lights of London, in the middle of the rather stagnant Sussex countryside. Like many people it was in the higher-reaches of the digital listings where I pored over the likes of The Hits, VIVA and TMF – the latter an early 00s amalgam of all the MTV channels mashed together in a largely unsatisfying free-to-air way. And yet, I watched, because it was on. We all did.

Among the ad breaks offering Crazy Frog ringtones and making double sure I hadn’t had an accident in the workplace that wasn’t my fault, I managed to endure repeated viewings of the Black Eyed Peas’ West Side Story pastiche “Don’t Phunk with My Heart”, give my full concentration to Britney’s “Toxic” video – her looks ranging from sadistic air hostess to a glitter-festooned body stocking – and then revel in true delight when something that lit up my ears finally arrived: the Dada-esque video for Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out”; Eminem dressed in snug tights as Robin to Dre’s Batman for “Without Me”; Beyoncé writhing around in denim hot pants to “Crazy in Love”; a grumpy Alex Turner telling us “don’t believe the hype” as Arctic Monkeys launched into “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”.

The beauty of music channels was that you didn’t even have to actively watch them. This was a shared culture that bled into our impressionable brains in the background when we had friends over, when we were supposed to be doing our homework, or later on when we’d just got back from the pub. It was somehow always there – a subconsciously shared experience, an easy channel selection, the only access to these mini movies where our idols exploded from our CRT widescreens with no notice.

But at the same time, reality was starting to bite, and music became less important to MTV. It started in early 90s with The Real World – a show credited/blamed for launching the modern reality genre – but was soaring by 2002 with The Osbournes, and reached cultural saturation with the likes of Jersey Shore and The Hills after that. Suddenly, music videos were a respite from reality shows, filling in the gaps between Ozzy Osbourne picking up a dog turd and another fight between Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. Reality TV had taken over from the premiere of “Justify My Love” or “Black or White” videos as the youth’s topic of conversation. Gen X was growing up and wanted to turn that damn music down so they could hear their programme.

Then there was the rise of YouTube. In 2005, two years after “Crazy in Love” was released, a clunky video website launched at the same time as home broadband started to spread. Another two years later, in darkest Manchester, a friend came to my flat to get ready for a night out. Instead of putting the telly on, he headed over to my laptop to cue up some songs on YouTube, now owned by the mighty Google… the means of delivery had changed.

“MTV made a business decision to pivot to original programming and IP [intellectual property] revenue, but music videos on YouTube still garner billions of eyes every day,” says Schnur. MTV sensed the way the wind was blowing – they were no longer the gatekeepers and curators of playlists.

And then there was the rise of streaming, which meant people no longer bought albums and left all but the very biggest artists short-changed. The cost of music videos – especially for mid-tier artists without the deep pockets of Adele or Harry Styles – could no longer be justified as part of a campaign, with their call times, crews, choreographers, SFX and post-production. These are no longer an extension of the artist, but shop windows, and a lyric video on Vimeo or a self-filmed TikTok or Instagram clip would reach the same audience for a tiny fraction of the price. MTV quietly dropped the words “Music Television” from underneath its logo in 2021.

Is Channel 4 closing its music channels the final nail in the coffin for this once revered art form, then? “Aren’t broadcast and cable television themselves in terminal decline?”, answers Schnur, reassuringly. “[But] every so often, there’s a new music video that gives me that same sense of excitement I felt at MTV programming meetings back in the 80s. Case in point…”

Here, he shares a link with me to Eminem’s new video for “Houdini” – its cartoonish, Joel Schmacher-era Batman colour palette, celebrity cosplay and high production values are a reference-rich hark back to 2002’s “Without Me” and are clearly intended for a generation who remember the days of the statement blockbuster video, which stirred up controversy, gave birth to many a parody, and had everyone talking in the playground at morning break.

It is not intended for Gen Z, however, and will go over most of their heads – as will the closure of any music channel. Why wait half an hour hoping Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” will come on when you can just watch it on your phone any time you like?

But in losing that, we lose the passive luxury of boredom – having to sit through songs you’ve never heard of – or even don’t like – getting used to them or falling love with them, watching and waiting for your new favourite to come on… The jaunty milk carton in Blur’s “Coffee + TV”; the paving slabs lighting up in “Billie Jean”; the single tear running down Sinead O’ Connor’s face in “Nothing Compares 2 U”; Steven Tyler calling out Run DMC in “Walk This Way”, or Christopher Waken bouncing off the walls in “Weapon of Choice”… These iconic moments are seared into the brains of those of a certain age. The videos still play in our heads as the songs stream from our phones.

Now? Now there are the influencers, with their money for nothing, their clicks for fees. That “Houdini” video has 72,929,469 views on YouTube, however… never write off an artform that once shot for the moon.