Tag Archives: rom radio to TikTok: it’s evolution

The Dominoes of Media: What “Killed” What (1900s → 2025)

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Every new medium was accused of “killing” the one before it. In reality, new tech mostly reshapes the old: radio pivoted to talk & commuting; TV pivoted to live sports/reality; records became streams. Here’s the real timeline.

Timeline (with receipts)

  • 1920s–40s: Radio = first electronic mass medium. It dominates culture until TV arrives, then shifts to news, music, and talk. Encyclopedia Britannica+1
  • Late 1940s–50s: Television booms. Many radio shows (Dragnet, Gunsmoke, Burns & Allen) jump to TV. Did TV “kill” radio? Not quite—radio reinvented itself. Encyclopedia Britannica
  • Aug 1, 1981: MTV launches; first video is “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Iconic symbolism, but radio lives on. Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2
  • 1999–2001: Napster upends music distribution. Lawsuits end the original service, but file-sharing changes listener expectations forever. Encyclopedia Britannica+2Wikipedia+2
  • 2005–06: YouTube launches; Google buys it. Online video becomes mainstream. Encyclopedia Britannica+1
  • 2007: Netflix adds streaming (“Watch Now”). Appointment TV meets on-demand culture. Encyclopedia Britannica
  • 2007: iPhone unveiled. Media moves into our pockets; mobile becomes the default screen. Apple+1
  • 2004–05 → 2010s: Podcasts go from hobby to industry. Term popularized in 2004; Apple adds support in 2005; the medium explodes. Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2
  • 2008: Spotify launches (streaming on demand). The album → playlist shift resets how music is monetized and discovered. Spotify+1
  • 2016–18: TikTok (Douyin) + Musical.ly merger → global short-video boom. Attention fragments into vertical, algorithmic clips. Encyclopedia Britannica+2Encyclopedia Britannica+2
  • 2020s–2025: Live + on-demand everywhere. Livestreaming, Twitch, and short-form video coexist with podcasts & music streaming. Old media adapts rather than dies. Encyclopedia Britannica+1

So… what “killed” what?

  • Video didn’t kill radio. TV and then MTV forced radio to specialize (music rotations, drive-time talk, sports). Encyclopedia Britannica
  • Streaming didn’t kill TV. It killed scheduling. TV leans into sports, live events, franchises; everything else time-shifts. Encyclopedia Britannica
  • TikTok didn’t kill YouTube. It carved out ultra-short discovery; YouTube holds long-form + search. Encyclopedia Britannica+1
  • Podcasts didn’t kill radio. They made radio portable & on-demand. Many shows now live in both places. Wikipedia

Why the song still matters

When MTV opened with “Video Killed the Radio Star,” it declared a new era where image + sound would drive music success. The lyric was a provocation; the business reality was coexistence and adaptation. WIRED+1

Resources & further reading

Disclaimer

This post blends historical reporting with media analysis. Links above point to primary or reputable secondary sources. Platform user counts, features, and policies evolve—verify current numbers before republishing.

About the Author

Audrey Childers writes fast, funny, and deeply researched pieces on culture, tech, and the “hidden wiring” of media. She also creates witchy cookbooks and seasonal magic guides that make everyday life feel a little more enchanted.