RockAmerica is a music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 subscription service for professional disc jockey

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

s based in New York City, New York. Founded in 1980 by Ed Steinberg

Ed Steinberg

Ed Steinberg is a New York City-based music video producer/director. Steinberg also founded the RockAmerica video distribution network. Steinberg has a colorful reputation...

, it was the first company to offer music videos on a subscription basis, and provided a vital channel before the establishment of MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 and other television outlets.

Founded on the heels of successful record pools that would distribute disco

Disco

Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

 and new-wave records to DJs, the company applied the same principle to music video but with important differences. The videos, which were obtained from record labels both major and independent

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

, were gathered into compilations. Clubs could subscribe and receive fresh tapes on a monthly basis. However the tapes had to be returned at the end of two months. Further conditions were dictated by copyright concerns. Clubs were not supposed to play the reels continuously but to mix them into other programming. The clubs were also mandated to provide monthly 'response forms' to RockAmerica from which the company produced a video chart, as well as more detailed analysis that could be purchased by marketers. The first program included videos by artists Madness

Madness (band)

In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...

, XTC

XTC

XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...

, David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

, The Flying Lizards

The Flying Lizards

The Flying Lizards were an English experimental rock band, who were formed in 1976 in England. They are best remembered as New wave one-hit wonders, thanks to their deliberately eccentric cover of Barrett Strong's "Money", which became a UK and US chart success in 1979.-Career:Formed by and led by...

, The Ramones and Ian Dury

Ian Dury

Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...

. The company rapidly signed up a number of east coast

East Coast of the United States

The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...

 clubs. The company also produced videos for a number of NYC artists including the Bush Tetras

Bush Tetras

Bush Tetras are an American post-punk band from New York City, popular in the Manhattan club scene in the early 1980s but never achieving much mainstream success. Their music combined funk rhythms and dissonant guitar riffs.-History:...

 and, notably, the video for Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

's debut single Everybody. By the summer of 1983 RockAmerica had 300 subscribers.

In its early days Bob Pittman of MTV based his programming on RockAmerica's chart.

The company remained influential in the 1990s playing a crucial role in breaking the boy band phenomenon.

In 2005 RockAmerica was acquired by the Retail Entertainment Design company. It continues to operate with Steinberg recently having been made a Vice President

Vice president

A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

of the parent company.