For a lucky few, a composition on an enduring, popular show can rake in millions of dollars and be, as one songwriter puts it ...

In America, however, things were about to change with the launch of MTV (Music Television) in August 1981. 40 years on, we take a look at how TV gave us the constant access to pop that we know today.

a cable network literally called "Music Television," stop playing music? When MTV premiered in 1981, music videos were a novelty; a network that played them 24/7 appealed even to cynical Gen Xers.

Stacker rounds up some of the most iconic music videos from your high school days. From Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" to ...