Thriller (Michael Jackson album) video that would appeal to the mass market ended up influencing the way that professionals now market and release their songs. John Landis' production of a mini-movie, rather than the usual short music video, would raise the bar for other directors and producers. Before the success of "Thriller", many felt Jackson had struggled to get MTV airing because he was black. In an effort to attain air time for Jackson, CBS Records President Walter Yetnikoff pressured MTV and declared, "I'm not going to give you any more videos and I'm going to go public and fucking tell them about the
Michael Jackson's Thriller (music video) Landis, "The earth-shattering success of "Michael Jackson’s Thriller" was a surprise to everyone but Michael." The success transformed Jackson into a global phenomenon, a dominating force in pop culture, and cemented Jackson's status as the "king of pop". At the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, "Thriller" won the awards for Viewers Choice, Best Overall Performance and Best Choreography, and was nominated for Best Concept Video, Best Male Video and Video of the Year. In 1982, the National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV) classified more than half of 200 MTV music videos surveyed as "too violent", including "Thriller" Jackson's duet with