In the United States, MTV was launched and music videos began to have a larger effect on the record industry.  Pop artists such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Duran Duran, Prince, Cyndi Lauper and Madonna mastered the format and helped turn this new product into a profitable business.  New wave and synthpop were developed by many British and American artists, and became popular phenomena throughout the decade, especially in the early and mid-1980s’.  The music grew fragmented and combined into subgenres such as house, goth, and rap metal.

The advent of numerous new technologies had a significant impact on 1980’s music and led to a distinct production aesthetic that included synthesizer sounds, drum machines and drum reverb.

Michael Jackson was one of the icons of the 1980’s and his leather jacket, glove, and Moonwalk dance were often imitated.  Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time, with sales estimated by various sources as somewhere between 65 and 110 million copies worldwide.  His 1987 album Bad sold over 45 million copies and became the first album to have five number-one singles chart on the Billboard Hot 100.  Jackson had the most number-one singles throughout the decade and spent the most weeks at number one (27 weeks).  His 1987 Bad World Tour grossed over $125 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing world tour by a solo artist during the decade.  Jackson earned numerous awards and titles during the 1980’s, the most notable of which was a record eight Grammy Awards and eight American Music Awards in 1984, and the honour of Artist of the Decade by U.S. President George H.W. Bush.  Jackson was arguably the biggest star during this time, and would eventually sell more than one billion records around the world.

Prince was a popular star of the 1980’s and the most successful chart act of the decade.  His breakthrough album 1999, released in 1982, produced three top-ten hits and the album itself charted at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.  His sixth studio album Purple Rain was an international success, boosting Prince to superstardom and selling over 25 million copies worldwide.  The album produced the US number-one singles, When Doves Cry and Let’s Go Crazy and sold 13 million copies in the U.S. as of 1996.  Prince released an album every year for the rest of the decade, all charting within the top ten, with the exception of Lovesexy.  In the 1990’s, he infamously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in response to a record dispute with Warner Brothers.  He went on to sell over 120 million records worldwide and win seven Grammy Awards.

Madonna and Whitney Houston were groundbreaking female artists of the decade.  The keyboard synthesizer and drum machine were among the most popular instruments in music during the 1980’s, especially in new wave music.  After the 1980’s, electronic instruments continued to be the main component of mainstream pop.

Hard rock, heavy metal, and glam metal became some of the most dominant music genres of the decade, peaking with the arrival of such bands as Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Poison, Europe, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, and virtuoso guitarists such as Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmsteen.  The scene also helped 1970’s hard rock artists such as AC/DC, Heart, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Blue Öyster Cult, Deep Purple, Queen, Van Halen, KISS, Ronnie James Dio, Rush and Judas Priest reach a new generation of fans.

The 1980’s were also known for song parodies becoming more mainstream, a trend-led by parodic musician Weird Al Yankovic.  He was best known for his Michael Jackson parodies Eat It and Fat as well as other parodies like Another One Rides The Bus (parody of Another One Bites The Dust by Queen).

By 1989, the hip hop scene had evolved, gaining recognition and exhibiting a stronger influence on the music industry.  This time period is also considered part of the golden age of hip hop.  The Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., Grandmaster Flash, the Furious Five, Boogie Down Productions, N.W.A, LL Cool J, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, EPMD, Eric B. & Rakim, Ice-T, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, 2 Live Crew, Tone Lōc, Biz Markie, the Jungle Brothers, The Sugar Hill Gang and others experienced success in this genre.

Country music catapulted into a new realm of popularity with youth appeal and record-breaking marks.  Groundbreaking artists such as Alabama, Hank Williams, Jr., Reba McEntire, George Strait, Ricky Skaggs, Janie Fricke, The Judds, and Randy Travis achieved multiple platinum and award status, foreshadowing the genre’s popularity explosion in the 1990’s.  Country legends from past decades, however; such as George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Conway Twitty, the Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, Don Williams, Crystal Gayle, Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell, and the Statler Brothers; also continued to score hits throughout the decade.

The techno style of electronic dance music emerged in Detroit, Michigan, during the mid-to late 1980’s.  The house music style, another form of electronic dance music, emerged in Chicago, Illinois, in the early 1980’s.  It was initially popularized in the mid-1980’s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino and gay communities, first in Chicago, then in New York City and Detroit.  It eventually reached Europe before becoming infused in mainstream pop and dance music worldwide.

Punk rock continued to make strides in the musical community.  With bands leading the significance of this period such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Suicidal Tendencies, D.O.A., Bad Religion, Minutemen, Social Distortion, and Dead Kennedys, it gave birth to many subgenres like hardcore, which has continued to be moderately successful, giving birth in turn to a few counterculture movements, most notably the Straight Edge movement which began in the early era of this decade.  College rock caught on in the underground scene of the 1980’s in a nationwide movement with a distinct D.I.Y approach.  Bands like the Pixies, R.E.M., The Replacements, Sonic Youth, XTC, The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, Hüsker Dü, The Stone Roses, The Jesus and Mary Chain etc. experienced success in this genre.  The 1980’s also saw the birth of the grunge genre, with the arrival of such bands as Soundgarden, Green River, Melvins, Screaming Trees, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, The U-Men, Blood Circus, Nirvana, Tad, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone and Alice in Chains (who formed in 1987, but did not release their first album until three years later).

Several notable musical artists died of unnatural causes in the 1980’s: Bon Scott, at the time lead singer of rock band AC/DC, died of acute alcohol poisoning on February 19th, 1980; English drummer John Bonham of the rock band Led Zeppelin also died that year in a similar manner; The Beatles member John Lennon was fatally shot outside his home in New York City on the night of December 8th, 1980; Tim Hardin died of a heroin overdose on December 29th, 1980; Reggae musician Bob Marley died from a lentiginous skin melanoma on May 11th, 1981; Harry Chapin died of a car accident on July 16th, 1981; Motown singer Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father at his home in Los Angeles on April 1st, 1984, one day before what would’ve been his 45th birthday; Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist Randy Rhoads died in an airplane crash on March 19, 1982; Karen Carpenter died from heart failure caused by her anorexia condition on February 4th, 1983; Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a bus accident in Sweden on September 27th, 1986; and lastly, Andy Gibb died in 1988 as a result of myocarditis.

In 1984, the British supergroup Band Aid was formed to raise aid and awareness of the economic plight of Ethiopia.  In 1985’s Live Aid concert, featuring many artists, promoted attention and action to send food aid to Ethiopia whose people were suffering from a major famine.