Video jockey

Video Jockey or VJ is a term coined in the early 1980s to describe the fresh faced youth who introduced the music videos on MTV. The word VJ is also used to represent video performance artists who create live visuals on all kind of music.

Table of contents

1 MTV-type VJs
2 Live visual artists

2.1 VJs
2.2 VJ software

3 External links

MTV-type VJs

Originally hired to represent a wide array of musical tastes and personal ethnicities, eventually became famous in their own right. Essentially they were nothing more than on-air personalities, but as the popularity of MTV grew, they began to branch out past just introducing music clips. Soon they were considered by many to be full fledged music journalists, interviewing major music celebrities and hosting their own television shows on the network.

The five original VJs were J. J. Jackson, Alan Hunter, Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, and Martha Quinn.

As time progressed and MTV's format changed, VJs began to host game shows, talent contests and the like. Soon they were given their own shows based on the type of genre that their "demographic" was interested in.

Some of the individuals who have been VJs (and their consequent gigs) are:

Martha Quinn (Noxema commercials)

"Downtown" Julie Brown (DJ, actress)—not to be confused with Julie Brown

Kurt Loder (news journalist)

Simon Rex (actor, appeared in gay-themed pornography)

Adam Curry (Internet entrepreneur)

Kennedy (journalist, political satirist)

Carson Daly (host of "Carson Daly Show")

Ananda Lewis (hostess of "Ananda")

Jon Norris (journalist)

Live visual artists

Although less known by mainstream folks, the word VJ is also used to represent video performance artists who create live visuals on all kind of music. It originates from a parallel with DJs, although most VJs nowadays have more to do with musicians than with DJs.