History of Music Videos

Above you can see a timeline sowing the advancement in music videos from the early 1900's to 2010. 

Music Videos have seen significant change over the years, with the breakthrough, firstly of film and then color playing huge roles and then more recently the accessibility of music channels and the Internet with programs such as YouTube being available as rocketed the profitability of Videos sky high. However in my opinion the most influential aspects to the rise in music videos from the 50s are the artists who have revolutionized them, with people such as 'Elvis', 'Michael Jackson' and 'Madonna' all playing huge roles.


Elvis Presley

Elvis 'The King of Rock' along with the Beatles revolutionized music and he was the first to start using videos in order to sell his music. To the right you can see the video for the song 'Jailhouse Rock', one of his famous tracks. You can see that it is very energetic and that there is a lot of dancing involved. this was completely new at this time as before there had only been people like Dean Martin and Bing Crosby who would stand and sing. and looking on from this period almost all videos have been influenced by this breakthrough by Elvis.



The Beatles

Like I said the Beatles were one of the main artists behind the music we hear today, (popular music or pop). They produced hit after hit with songs such as 'Hey Jude', 'Let it be' and 'Yesterday', with hey Jude being played at the recent London Olympics opening ceremony a full 44 years after it was released. Along with Elvis they were the first to add humor to there lyrics and videos with 'Yellow submarine' being a good example of this.

Television

The TV played a huge part in promoting music videos with the early programs such as top of the pops being some of the most popular programmes on television. Now there are a wide variety of music channels playing songs by different artists and genres. which allows the viewer/customer to have a wide range to choose from therefor being able to watch the videos they want.


Michael Jackson
  
Jackson is one of the most iconic artist of all time compared to people such as 'Elvis' and 'The Beatles' and probably has made the greatest collection of music videos of all time. Some of these iconic music videos are, 'Bad', 'Thriller', 'Beat it', 'Earth song' and many more. He always uses his great talent at dancing in his videos. He has created some of the most famous dance moves including 'the moonwalk' and 'the anti-gravity lean'

"Smooth Criminal" is the seventh single from Jackson's 1987 Bad album. The song contains a fast-paced beat intertwined with Jackson's lyrics about a woman named Annie, who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth" assailant.

The Album 'Bad is the only album ever to have had 12 singles released. Jackson made videos for all of these and many are still watched today.

'Thriller' Jackson's master piece and considered by many the greatest music video of all time has had 119,776,275 views on you tube. and considering that it was made in 1983 is remarkable as many of his fans would not be regular users of you tube.

Jackson's video for scream which cost $7 million to produce is the most expensive music video of all time.

Madonna 

Madonna often referred to as 'The Queen of Pop' had her hay day in the late 80s and 90s however she is still producing songs now which are extremely popular with her huge fan base. She was one of the first artists to use sex appeal in order to promote herself. And although often controversial the videos she creates are the main way she portrays this. To the left you can see the video for her song 'Sorry'. there are clear sexual innuendos in this and this style has influenced almost all artists since with them either presenting themselves in this way or surrounding themselves with good looking people. Artists such as 'Cherly Cole' and 'Kylie Minogue' showing these influences in there music videos.


You Tube

In recent years YouTube has probably been the most significant advancement in music videos as it has made them so much more accessible for people to see that there views has risen significantly. Its power over the music industry has become so great now with most videos popularity being judged not on the amount sold but instead by how many views they have. It has also become a platform to launch new stars, for example the now megastar, Justin Bieber being found on YouTube and his new single 'Boyfriend' receiving 160,516,186 views on you tube. Other artists who have used YouTube as a promotional toll are Leona Lewis and Beyonce who's song 'Single Ladies' received 314 million views. Another Internet sensation brought about by YouTube was the Britain's Got Talent success of Susan Boyle who's audition received 286 million views.