‘Moonwalker’ Gives Music-Video Market Another Liftoff

Is there really a music-video boom in the home-video market?

Yes, but it’s rather limited.

With all the hype, you would think long-form music videos (those featuring concert footage or compilations of MTV-style clips) were suddenly on a par with hit movies--the home video industry’s main commodity. That’s absurd, of course.

Most of the recent attention has centered on Michael Jackson. CBS Music Video Enterprises shipped 300,000 of his “Moonwalker” ($24.98) cassettes in early January. That wasn’t nearly enough, which the media have duly noted.

More than 600,000 copies of the tape, which knocked “E.T.” out of the No. 1 position on the Billboard magazine pop chart, have been shipped. It’s now the all-time best-selling music video.

“Retailers totally underestimated the strength of Michael Jackson,” said Debbie Newman, vice president at CBS Music Video Enterprises. “Now it’s the biggest-selling music video ever.”

It’s a case of Jackson topping himself. The previous music-video champion was Vestron’s “The Making of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller,’ ” which has sold 550,000 units since early 1984.

As well as “Moonwalker” has done, one tape doesn’t constitute a boom. But two others are expected to do big business--CMV’s “Bruce Springsteen Anthology/1978-88” ($24.95), released a few weeks ago, and U2’s concert film, “Rattle and Hum” (Paramount, $24.95)--just out this week.

Will the enthusiasm for these videos spill over and boost business in the whole music-video genre--which is still just a tiny part of the home-video industry?

Yes, said Suzie Peterson, a vice president at MCA, a music-video pioneer that has 30 titles on the market. “People who come to buy these new hit videos will become aware of other music videos. It’s like the effect of a big hit movie, which boosts movie business in general.”

But Peter Balner, president of Palmer Video, a 160-store chain in the East, said, “We’ll do decent business with ‘Moonwalker’ and Springsteen, but music video is still not important to video retailers. Aside from a few blockbuster titles, music videos can’t compete with movies.”

The last time a music-video boom was predicted, it was also triggered by a Jackson video, “The Making of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller.’ ” But music video never took off as expected.

There were several problems that, for the most part, still are undermining the current boom. First of all, most homes don’t have stereo VCRs.

“The videos are in stereo and they sound better on stereo VCRs,” said MCA’s Peterson. “If there were more stereo VCRs out there, it would help the music-video business.”

Another drawback is that video specialty stores, with a few exceptions, don’t heavily stock music videos. “They don’t want to take risks,” said Peterson. “They want to keep the shelf space for the sure thing: hit movies.”

Peterson also said that video retailers know much more about movies than pop music: “Most of them are not going to order Metallica or Bon Jovi tapes because they don’t know much about these groups. They’ll order Michael Jackson and Springsteen, but that’s just a small part of the market. If the music-video business is to grow, these retailers will have to become educated in music.”

Finally, there’s an age factor operating against a music-video boom. “Home video is still basically an adult phenomenon,” Peterson said. “But it’s the teens who’re most interested in music videos. They’re getting more into video, obviously, but not fast enough. They have stereos in their rooms, but not enough of them have stereo VCRs.”

The mini boom in music videos, which mostly sell for $20 or less, is largely due to the efforts of audio-video chains such as Tower, Wherehouse and Music Plus--stores that sell both records and videos.

“We know how to merchandise records,” said Music Plus executive Mitch Perliss. “That’s how you have to market music videos--like records and tapes. The kids who come to stores like ours are the music-video audience. We put the music videos in the audio section--not the video section. We cater to the kids. Video retailers don’t do that. They’re busy renting movies.”

An important aspect of marketing music videos is timing the release of the video so that it’s available while the artist’s album is still selling.

“The videos used to come out long after the album was dead,” said Peterson. “But by timing video releases more sensibly, you take advantage of interest in the album and the artist. That helps sell videos. That’s happening more and more now. It’s a factor in this little music-video boom we’re having.”