← MVG Library

Money for Nothing

Dire Straits

Director
Steve Barron
Release date
1985
Category
Music Video
Genre
Rock, Pop
Country
United Kingdom

Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" is a famous piece of reluctant innovation. Frontman Mark Knopfler famously resisted making videos, so director Steve Barron built the concept around the song's narrative: two working-class movers, animated in then-pioneering CGI, complaining about the rotoscoped band they see on their TVs. The ultimate irony is that a song cynical about the music video industry became one of the most awarded videos in MTV history, thanks entirely to the medium its creator wanted to avoid. It’s a perfect example of a great concept overcoming an artist’s initial resistance.