Money for Nothing

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| filename = Dire Straits - Money for Nothing.ogg

| title = Dire Straits – "Money for Nothing"

| description = The song is known for its controversial lyrics (Knopfler clarified the character he plays in the song is an "ignoramus"), ground-breaking music video, and a cameo appearance by Sting singing the song's falsetto introduction and backing chorus, "I want my MTV".

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"Money for Nothing" is a pop rock song.{{cite web|first= James |last= Rose |title= 30 Years Since: Dire Straits' 'Brothers in Arms' Album |website= Daily Review |date= 15 September 2015 |access-date= 28 October 2019 |url= https://dailyreview.com.au/30-years-since-dire-straits-brothers-in-arms-album/ |quote= The opening tracks are pretty conventional pop-rock chart shooters}} Knopfler modeled his guitar sound on ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons' trademark guitar tone, as ZZ Top's music videos were already a staple of early MTV. Gibbons told Timothy White of Musician in late 1985 that Knopfler had solicited Gibbons' help in replicating the tone, adding, "He didn't do a half-bad job, either, considering that I never told him a goddamned thing!"{{cite magazine|first= Timothy |last= White |authorlink= Timothy White (writer) |title= ZZ Top: The Ongoing Legend of Texan Rock's Rough Boys |magazine= Musician |publisher= Amordian Press |date= January 1986 |issue= 87 |page= 65 |quote= 'I gotta hand it to that Mark Knopfler for the "Money For Nothing" number on that last Dire Straits album. That guy must have called me three or four times to find out what I did with my guitar so that he could copy it for that song.' He pushes the brim back on his golf cap and smiles, the flawless pearly whites gleaming. 'He didn't do a half-bad job, either, considering that I never told him a goddamned thing!'}}

Following the initial sessions in Montserrat, at which that particular guitar part was recorded, Neil Dorfsman attempted to recreate the sound during subsequent sessions at the Power Station in New York but was unsuccessful.{{cite magazine|first= Richard |last= Buskin |title= Classic Tracks: Dire Straits 'Money For Nothing' |magazine= Sound on Sound |date= May 2006 |access-date= 23 July 2014 |url= http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may06/articles/classictracks_0506.htm}}

Mark Knopfler described the writing of the song in a 1985 interview with critic Bill Flanagan:

{{quote|The lead character in "Money for Nothing" is a guy who works in the hardware department in a television/{{zwsp}}custom kitchen/{{zwsp}}refrigerator/{{zwsp}}microwave appliance store. He's singing the song. I wrote the song when I was actually in the store. I borrowed a bit of paper and started to write the song down in the store. I wanted to use a lot of the language that the real guy actually used when I heard him, because it was more real....{{cite web|title= Review of the Atlantic Regional Panel decision in CHOZ-FM re the song "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits |publisher= Canadian Broadcast Standards Council |date= 17 May 2011 |url= http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2011/110831.php |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140810054301/http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2011/110831.php |archive-date= 10 August 2014|access-date=10 May 2023}}}}

In 2000, Knopfler appeared on Parkinson on BBC One and explained again where the lyrics originated. According to Knopfler, he was in New York City and had visited an appliance store. At the back of the store was a wall of televisions which were all tuned to MTV. Knopfler said that standing next to him, watching the TVs, there was a male employee, dressed in a baseball cap, work boots, and a checkered shirt, who was delivering boxes. As they were watching MTV, as Knopfler recalled, the man came out with lines such as, "What are those, Hawaiian noises?... That ain't workin'," etc. Knopfler then requested a pen to write some of these lines down, and eventually put them to music.

The first-person narrator in the lyrics describes a musician "banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee" and a woman "stickin' in the camera - Man, we could have some fun". In the second verse, the performer is described as "that little faggot with the earring and the make-up", and the narrator bemoans that these artists get "Money for nothing and chicks for free".{{cite web|first= Matthew |last= Lasar |title= Canada wants unedited "Money for Nothing" back on the radio |website= Ars Technica |date= 24 January 2011 |access-date= 27 November 2012 |url= https://arstechnica.com/business/2011/01/canadas-much-ado-about-money-for-nothing/}}

The songwriting credits are shared between Mark Knopfler and Sting.{{cite web|title= Dire Straits: Money for Nothing |website= AllMusic |url= http://www.allmusic.com/song/money-for-nothing-mt0011279271/lyrics |archive-date= 23 June 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150623063049/http://www.allmusic.com/song/money-for-nothing-mt0011279271/lyrics}} According to Knopfler, he used the network slogan "I want my MTV" after seeing an MTV advertisement featuring The Police and setting it to the tune of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (written by Sting), hence the cowriting credit.[https://ultimateclassicrock.com/mark-knopfler-sting-money-for-nothing/ When Mark Knopfler and Sting Connected for Money for Nothing] (Ultimate Classic Rock website) "Sting used to come to Montserrat to go windsurfing," recalled John Illsley, "and he came up for supper at the studio. We played him 'Money for Nothing' and he turned round and said, 'You've done it this time, you bastards.' Mark said if he thought it was so good, why didn't he go and add something to it. He did his bit there and then."{{cite magazine|first= Paul |last= Rees |title= The sultan of swing |magazine= Classic Rock |issue= 210 |date= June 2015 |page= 124}}

Sting elaborated on his co-writing credit in a 1987 interview:

{{quote|Mark [Knopfler] asked me to go in the studio and sing this line, "I want my MTV." He gave me the melody, and I thought, "Oh, great, 'Don't Stand So Close to Me', that's a nice quote, it's fun." So I did it, and thought nothing of it, until my publishers, Virgin - who I've been at war with for years and who I have no respect for - decided that was a song they owned, 'Don't Stand So Close to Me'. They said that they wanted a percentage of the song, much to my embarrassment. So they took it.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.sting.com/news/title/Interview:%20MUSICIAN%20(1987)|title=Slapping Sting around - Can he handle the tough questions...?|first=Peter|last=Watrous|magazine=Musician|date=December 1987}}}}

However, keyboard player Alan Clark claims the "I want my MTV" intro was his idea and not Knopfler's. According to him, the song originally began with the guitar riff, and then he developed the intro on keyboards and sang "I want my MTV" on top during a break in rehearsals for the album.{{cite web|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/dire-straits-money-for-nothing-alan-clark-mark-knopfler|first=Daniel|last=Griffiths|website=musicradar.com|title=Dire Straits keyboard player Alan Clark: "When Mark Knopfler first played Money For Nothing, there was no 'I Want My MTV'... the idea was mine"|date=10 March 2022|access-date=28 November 2022}}

File:Money for Nothing Music Video.jpg

The music video for the song features early 3D computer animation illustrating the lyrics. The video was one of the first uses of computer-animated human characters and was groundbreaking at the time of its release.{{cite magazine|first= Claire |last= Schaffer |title= How the Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing' Video Helped CGI Go Mainstream |magazine= Garage Magazine |date= 11 March 2019 |access-date= 21 March 2020 |url= https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/9kpmzp/dire-straits-money-for-nothing-video |archive-date= 4 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190404220734/https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/9kpmzp/dire-straits-money-for-nothing-video |url-status= dead}}

Two other music videos are also featured within "Money for Nothing". The Hungarian pop band Első Emelet{{cite web |title= Biográfia |website= Elsoemelet.hu |access-date= 14 April 2016 |url= http://www.elsoemelet.hu/biografia.htm |language= hu |archive-date= 1 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160401043934/http://elsoemelet.hu/biografia.htm |url-status= dead }} and their video "Állj, Vagy Lövök!" ("Stop or I'll Shoot!") appears as "Baby, Baby" by "First Floor" during the second verse (The name "első emelet" translates to "first floor", and the song is credited as being on "Magyar Records": "Magyar" means "Hungarian" in the Hungarian language.){{cite web|first= Sándor |last= Klára |title= Magánnyomozások |work= Galamus |date= 18 February 2011 |access-date= 14 April 2016 |url= http://www.galamus.hu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53949:magannyomozasok&catid=68:cssandorklara&Itemid=105 |language= hu}} The other one is fictional, "Sally" by the "Ian Pearson Band". The fictional album for the first video was listed as "Turn Left" and the second was "Hot Dogs". For the second video, the record company appears as "Rush Records", and it was filmed on Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest, Hungary.{{cite web|title= The Voluptuous Horror of Első Emelet |work= WFMU's Beware of the Blog |date= 29 March 2008 |access-date= 14 April 2016 |url= http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/03/the-voluptuous.html}}

Originally, Mark Knopfler was not at all enthusiastic about the concept of the music video. MTV, however, was insistent on it. Director Steve Barron, of Rushes Postproduction in London, was contacted by Warner Bros. to persuade Knopfler to relent. Describing the contrasting attitudes of Knopfler and MTV, he said:

{{quote|The problem was that Mark Knopfler was very anti-videos. All he wanted to do was perform, and he thought that videos would destroy the purity of songwriters and performers. They said, "Can you convince him that this is the right thing to do, because we've played this song to MTV and they think it's fantastic but they won't play it if it's him standing there playing guitar. They need a concept."{{cite magazine|first= D. |last= Knight |title= Money For Nothing: The Beginnings of CGI |magazine= Promo Magazine |date= September 2006 |url= http://www.rushes.co.uk/googlef91418d7fca59928.html}}{{dead link|date=September 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}}}

Barron then flew to Budapest to convince Knopfler of their concept. Meeting together after a gig, Knopfler was still unimpressed, but this time his girlfriend was present and took a hand. According to Barron:

{{quote|Luckily, his girlfriend said, "He's absolutely right. There aren't enough interesting videos on MTV, and that sounds like a brilliant idea." Mark didn't say anything but he didn't make the call to get me out of Budapest. We just went ahead and did it.}}

Ian Pearson and Gavin Blair created the animation, using a Bosch FGS-4000 CGI system{{cite web |title= Dire Straits – Money for nothing [version 2] |website= Mvdbase |access-date= 23 July 2014 |url= http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=8683%20mvdbase.com |archive-date= 27 July 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140727012250/http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=8683%20mvdbase.com |url-status= dead }} and a Quantel Paintbox system.{{cite news|first= Liam |last= Allen |title= Adam Ant to Michael Jackson: Shaping the MTV landscape |work= BBC News Online |date= 29 November 2010 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11499628}} The animators went on to found computer animation studio Mainframe Entertainment (today Mainframe Studios), and referenced the "Money for Nothing" video in an episode of their ReBoot series. The video also includes stage footage of Dire Straits performing, with partially rotoscoped animation in bright neon colours, as seen on the cover of the compilation album of the same name.

When Dire Straits performed "Money for Nothing" at the 1985 Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium, the performance featured a guest appearance by Sting. Knopfler performed "Money for Nothing" during the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute and the Prince's Trust concerts in 1986 with Sting,{{cite news|first= John J. |last= O'Connor |author-link= John J. O'Connor (journalist) |title= 'All-Star Rock Concert,' on HBO, from London |newspaper= The New York Times |date= 26 October 1986 |access-date= 15 May 2017 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/22/arts/all-star-rock-concert-on-hbo-from-london.html}} as well as the Nordoff-Robbins charity show at Knebworth in 1990. These versions featured extended guitar solos by Knopfler, backed by Eric Clapton (as guest) and Phil Palmer.

Cash Box said that it's "a simply rocking cut taking a look at jobs and videos performed by rock stars."{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1985/CB-1985-07-06.pdf|date=6 July 1985|accessdate=3 August 2022|page=9}} Billboard called it a "bluesy poke at [Dire Straits' and Sting's] own kind; intentions ambiguous."{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|date=6 July 1985|accessdate=3 August 2022|page=77|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RCQEAAAAMBAJ|title=Reviews}}

Rolling Stone listed the song as the 94th greatest guitar song of all time, noting how Mark Knopfler "traded his pristine, rootsy tone for a dry, over-processed sound achieved by running a Les Paul through a wah-wah pedal on a track that became one of the [MTV] network's earliest hits."{{cite magazine|title= The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time |magazine= Rolling Stone |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/38 |archive-date= 30 May 2008 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080530224823/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/38}} The video was awarded "Video of the Year" (among many other nominations) at the third annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1986.{{cite web|title= 1986 Video Music Awards |publisher= MTV |access-date= 2 December 2020 |url= http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1986/ |archive-date= 7 September 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080907215802/http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/1986/}}

Some lyrics of the song have been criticised as being homophobic.{{cite magazine|first= Clark |last= Collis |title= Is Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing' homophobic? |magazine= Entertainment Weekly |date= 17 January 2011 |access-date= 3 February 2016 |url= http://www.ew.com/article/2011/01/17/dire-straits-money-for-nothin}} In a late 1985 interview in Rolling Stone magazine, Knopfler expressed mixed feelings on the controversy:

{{quote|I got an objection from the editor of a gay newspaper in London – he actually said it was below the belt. Apart from the fact that there are stupid gay people as well as stupid other people, it suggests that maybe you can't let it have so many meanings – you have to be direct. In fact, I'm still in two minds as to whether it's a good idea to write songs that aren't in the first person, to take on other characters. The singer in "Money for Nothing" is a real ignoramus, hard hat mentality – somebody who sees everything in financial terms. I mean, this guy has a grudging respect for rock stars. He sees it in terms of, well, that's not working and yet the guy's rich: that's a good scam. He isn't sneering.{{cite web|first1= Ken |last1= Tucker |author-link1= Ken Tucker |first2= David |last2= Fricke |author-link2= David Fricke |title= Fearless Leader |date= 21 November 1985 |magazine= Rolling Stone |url= http://www.btinternet.com/~john_bennett/memorabilia.htm |url-status= dead |archive-date= 10 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121010134909/http://www.btinternet.com/~john_bennett/memorabilia.htm}}}}

When examined in context, Knopfler is mocking the jealous and homophobic nature of the antagonist in the song by adopting a third-person point of view to show the irony, bigotry, and ignorance of the character.{{Cite web |date=2011-01-14 |title=Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing' is not homophobic {{!}} Xtra Magazine |url=https://xtramagazine.com/power/dire-straits-money-for-nothing-is-not-homophobic-29970 |access-date=2024-03-13 |language=en-CA}}{{Cite news |last=Scocca |first=Tom |date=2011-01-14 |title="Money for Nothing" Is Not Really Insulting to Homosexuals, Unless They Are Unlucky Enough to Be Working-Class Homosexuals |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2011/01/money-for-nothing-is-not-really-insulting-to-homosexuals-unless-they-are-unlucky-enough-to-be-working-class-homosexuals.html |access-date=2024-03-13 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}

For the band's 10 July 1985 concert (televised in the United Kingdom on The Tube on Channel 4 in January 1986{{cite web |title=Dire Straits Live in '85 at Wembley Arena (1986) |publisher= British Film Institute |year=1986 |access-date= 23 July 2014 |url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b70c3c419 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808041253/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b70c3c419 |archive-date= 8 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}), Knopfler replaced the word faggot with queenie:{{Original research?|date=October 2021}}{{cn|date=March 2025}}

{{quote|"See the little queenie got the earring and the make-up" and "That little queenie got his own jet airplane, he's got a helicopter, he's a millionaire."}}

When the song was included in the 1998 compilation Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, a censored version was used, which completely omitted the second verse. In January 2011, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) ruled that the unedited version of the song was unacceptable for airplay on private Canadian radio stations, as it breached the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' code of ethics and their equitable portrayal code.{{cite web|title= CHOZ-FM re the song 'Money for Nothing' by Dire Straits |date= 14 October 2010 |work=CBSC Decision 09/10-0818 |publisher=Canadian Broadcast Standards Council |url= http://www.cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2011/110112.php |url-status=dead |access-date= 13 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115075821/http://cbsc.ca/english/decisions/2011/110112.php |archive-date=15 January 2011}}{{cite news |last=Roth |first=Pamela |title=Edmonton radio fights Dire Straits ban |newspaper=Toronto Sun |date=13 January 2011 |access-date=23 July 2014 |url=http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/music/2011/01/13/16881901.html |archive-date= 26 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726153634/http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/music/2011/01/13/16881901.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|first=Sean |last=Michaels |title=Dire Straits' Money for Nothing Banned on Canadian Radio |newspaper=The Guardian |date= 17 January 2011 |access-date= 19 June 2017 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jan/17/dire-straits-money-nothing-banned}} The CBSC concluded that "like other racially driven words in the English language, 'faggot' is one that, even if entirely or marginally acceptable in earlier days, is no longer so." The CBSC's proceedings came in response to a radio listener's Ruling Request stemming from a playing of the song by CHOZ-FM in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which in turn followed the radio listener's dissatisfaction with the radio station's reply to their complaint about the word 'faggot' in the lyrics.{{cite news |title=Gay slur in lyrics disqualifies Dire Straits hit from Canadian radio play |date=12 January 2011 |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |location=Toronto |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/faggot-lyric-disqualifies-dire-straits-hit-from-canadian-radio-play/article1868052/ |url-status=dead |archive-date= 16 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116192702/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/faggot-lyric-disqualifies-dire-straits-hit-from-canadian-radio-play/article1868052/}}

Not all stations followed this ruling; at least two—CIRK-FM in Edmonton, Alberta,{{cite news|first= Jo |last= Piazza |title=No Way, Eh! Canadian Station Defies 'Money for Nothing' Ban |date=14 January 2011 |access-date=15 January 2011 |publisher=Fox News Channel |url= https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/no-way-eh-canadian-station-defies-money-for-nothing-ban/}} and CFRQ-FM in Halifax, Nova Scotia{{cite web |title=What you can and can't say on the radio |publisher=CKWX |date=14 January 2011 |access-date=23 July 2014 |url=http://www.news1130.com/2011/01/14/what-you-can-and-cant-say-on-the-radio/}}—played the unedited version of "Money for Nothing" repeatedly for one hour out of protest. Galaxie, which was owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (the CBC) at the time of the controversy, also continued to play the song.{{cite web |title=Money for Nothing |website=Galaxie.ca |date=22 February 2011 |url-status=dead |url=http://www.galaxie.ca/en_CA/song/Money+For+Nothing/0010481 |archive-date= 9 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120309223936/http://www.galaxie.ca/en_CA/song/Money+For+Nothing/0010481}}{{cite web|title= Dire Straits keyboardist calls song ruling 'unbelievable' | date=14 January 2011 |publisher=CTV News Wikipedia:Avoid weasel wordsdate= 14 January 2011 |access-date= 23 July 2014 |url= http://www.ctvnews.ca/dire-straits-keyboardist-calls-song-ruling-unbelievable-1.596057}} On 21 January 2011, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission asked the CBSC for a review on the ban, in response to the public outcry against the CBSC's actions; the commission reportedly received over 250 complaints erroneously sent to them, instead of the CBSC. The regulator requested the CBSC to appoint a nationwide panel to review the case, as the decision on the ban was reviewed by a regional panel for the Maritimes and Newfoundland.{{cite web|title= CRTC seeks review of 'Money for Nothing' ban |publisher= CTV News |date= 21 January 2011 |access-date= 23 July 2014 |url= http://www.ctvnews.ca/crtc-seeks-review-of-money-for-nothing-ban-1.598499}}

On 31 August 2011, the CBSC reiterated that it found the use of 'faggot' to be inappropriate; however, because of considerations in regard to its use in context, the CBSC has left it up to the stations to decide whether to play the original or edited versions of the song. Most of the CBSC panelists thought it was inappropriate, but it was used only in a satirical, non-hateful manner.{{cite web|title= 'Money for Nothing' slur inappropriate, council says |publisher= CTV News |date= 31 August 2011 |access-date= 23 July 2014 |url= http://www.ctvnews.ca/money-for-nothing-slur-inappropriate-council-says-1.690514}}[https://www.cbsc.ca/decisionsarchive/20-0910/20-0910-0818-Review_PD_E.pdf CBSC review] 31 May 2011

Credits sourced from Sound On Sound{{cite magazine |last=Buskin |first=Richard |title=Classic Tracks: Dire Straits 'Money For Nothing' |magazine=Sound On Sound |date=May 2006 |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-dire-straits-money-nothing}}

Dire Straits

• Mark Knopfler – lead vocals, electric guitar
• Guy Fletcher – Yamaha DX1 synthesizer, Synclavier, Roland keyboards
• Alan Clark – Hammond organ
• John Illsley – bass
• Terry Williams – drum intro

Additional musicians

• Sting – intro vocals, harmonies and backing vocals
• Omar Hakim – drums

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Canada|artist=Dire Straits|title=Money For Nothing|award=Gold|certyear=1985}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Denmark|artist=Dire Straits|title=Money For Nothing|award=Platinum|relyear=1985|certyear=2021|access-date=25 February 2021|id=10013}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Germany|artist=Dire Straits|title=Money For Nothing|award=Gold|relyear=1985|certyear=2023|accessdate=31 March 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Italy|artist=Dire Straits|title=Money For Nothing|award=Platinum|relyear=1985|certyear=2021|accessdate=25 October 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|title=Money for Nothing|artist=Dire Straits|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=1985|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=20 April 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=Spain|type=single|award=Platinum|certyear=2024|artist=Dire Straits|title=Money For Nothing|accessdate=7 February 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Dire Straits|title=Money For Nothing|award=Platinum|relyear=2004|certyear=2021|id=4336-641-1|access-date=11 June 2021|refname="UKCert"}}

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The 1983 Gibson Les Paul Standard reissue guitar Knopfler played on the song sold for £592,200 in a Christie's auction in London that included a total of 122 lots.{{cite news|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/mark-knopfler-guitar-auction-raises-11-million-dollars|title='Staggering': Mark Knopfler's Guitar Collection has sold at auction for over $11 million – with a record-breaking '59 Burst sale and 28 guitars fetching over $100K|last=Parker|first=Matt|work=Guitar World|date=1 February 2024|access-date=1 February 2024}}

• "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*"
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1985
• List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1980s
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1985
• List of number-one singles of 1985 (Canada)

{{Reflist}}

• {{discogs master|type=single|23822}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060830020733/http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_classic_tracks_dire/index.html Mix Online Classic Tracks: Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing"]
• {{YouTube|JcqhvPNiJzo|"Dire Straits / Sting - Money For Nothing (Live Aid 1985)"}}

{{Dire Straits}}

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{{Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal}}

{{MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video}}

{{MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year}}

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Money for Nothing

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