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to 1959: Talkies, soundies, and shorts
In 1926, many musical short films were produced due to the arrival of 'talkies'. Warner Bros made Vitaphone shorts, which featured bands, vocalists and dancers. Max Fleischer, an animation artist, introduced sing-along short animations called Screen Songs, where audiences sang along to well known songs by "following the bouncing ball" which is now similar to Kareoke. -
to 1973: Music videos used for promotion
The Scopitone was created in France, a visual jukebox. Many french artists started producing short films. This then spread to other countires where similar machines, eg the Cinebox, were used to do the same thing. -
to 1980 – Music on television
Top of the Pops began playing music videos in the late 1970s -
Music videos
Music videos became significant in the 1980s. They were described by multiple terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert" and "promotional (promo) film". -
to 1991: Music videos going mainstream
Video channel MTV aired "Video Killed the Radio Star" and began an era of 24-hour-a-day music on tv. by the 1980s, music videos played a prominent role in marketing. -
Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern
Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern projected a series of still images on a screen, using a lantern, simultaneous to live performances. Became known as an 'illustrated song'. To do this they hired electrician George Thomas and various performers to promote sales of their song "The Little Lost Child". The first step towars the music video. -
to 2004: Directors credit
MTV began listing directors with the artist and song credits - showing that the director has creatice control. -
to now, Music videos and the internet
In 1997, a website called IFilm was launched which showed videos, including music videos. In 2005 YouTube was launched, where users could upload their own videos and watch each others. It also made viewing videos quicker and easier.