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From: as@brunix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.tv,net.music
Subject: Re: Video Awards and Thriller
Message-ID: <8250@brunix.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 31-May-84 14:14:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: brunix.8250
Posted: Thu May 31 14:14:19 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 5-Jun-84 19:42:26 EDT
References: sdccs7.1234, <473@ihlts.UUCP>, <1660@dartvax.UUCP>
Lines: 21

>Thriller wasn't shown for the same reason it wasn't shown in its
>entirety on any "free" TV station.  Because of the high cost of the production,
>the record company (RCA?) tried to recoup the cost by selling Thriller to MTV
>and releasing a Thriller video tape.
>
>Paul "I still haven't seen Thriller yet!" van de Graaf     @ U. C. San Diego

Wrong.
"Thriller" was shown on "Friday Night Videos" right before Christmas, about a
week after its world premiere on MTV.
Although "Thriller" was the first video that wasn't provided free to video
shows, the record company did not make the decision to charge for it.  In
fact, the record company had no say in the matter at all; unlike most other
"artists," Jackson has financed his own videos, rather than
allowing the record companies to pay for them.	As a result, he has rather
shrewdly retained the rights to those videos (and can do things like release
them on videotape and make lots of money).

Alex Stein
Brown University
...brunix!as