Behind the music of MTV (NY Post)

As business how-to books go, there are few as entertaining as Bill Roedy‘s “What Makes Business Rock.”

Roedy exited Viacom’s MTV Networks International, where he was president, late last year but still catches himself saying “we,” as he talks about his role planting the MTV flag in almost 200 countries during a nearly 30-year career.

While former colleague Judy McGrath, who recently stepped down as CEO of MTV Networks, is taking some time to contemplate the future, Roedy can’t stand still, working on his book, with more are in the works, and donating time to AIDS charities.

Roedy, who spent 11 years in the US military serving in the Vietnam War and several years at NATO nuclear missile bases in Italy, drew on those experiences to roll out MTV internationally.

The book is also full of celebrity gossip, and we loved the delightfully juicy pages about the hatred Christina Aguilera and Kelly Osbourne once shared for each other at a music awards event.

Roedy diffused a situation, which involved Kelly sobbing her heart out, by apologizing to her profusely even though he had no idea what was wrong.

Then to mom, Sharon. He was taken aback when Mrs. Ozzie Osbourne got on the phone and snarled she didn’t care who he was, but she was going to eat his b–s for upsetting her daughter.

When asked about his thoughts on the largely music-free MTV of today, he says Viacom changed its strategy as a business necessity to keep audiences around.