History of Music Videos

By nathalielouisex

  • Edison invents the gramophone in the USA

    first shift from
    music as a solely live and audiovisual experience to recorded
    audio on various forms of disc
  • Period: to

    Fischinger experiments with sound/vision synchronisation onfilm

  • First sound film, The Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland, USA)

  • Period: to

    Creation of first ‘soundies’

  • Introduction of the Panarom

  • Period: to

    Peak period of MGM Hollywood musical

  • Elvis Presley records That’s All Right (Mama)

  • Scopitone introduced in France

  • UK’s first music TV programme, Ready Steady Go (ITV)

  • Top of the Pops TV programme begins (BBC)

    The Beatles release the film and album, A Hard Day’s Night
    (Richard Lester, UK)

  • The Monkees’ TV show starts on NBC in the USA

  • The Beatles release TV promos for Penny Lane andStrawberry Fields Forever

  • Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody (Bruce Gowers)

  • Saturday Night Fever (John Badham, USA)

  • Buggles: Video Killed the Radio Star (Russell Mulcahy)

  • David Bowie: Ashes to Ashes (David Mallet and David Bowie)

  • Pop Clips on NickelodeonMTV starts

  • Pop Clips on NickelodeonMTV starts

  • ichael Jackson: Thriller (John Landis)Beginning of Country Music Television (CMT)

  • Music Box starts in EuropeMTV Video Music Awards launched

  • VH1 beginsMTV taken over by ViacomLive Aid

  • Dire Straits: Money for Nothing (Steve Barron) is top videoTimeline of music video history

  • MTV-Europe (MTV-E) launched, broadcasting to 1.6m homesPeter Gabriel: Sledgehammer (Stephen Johnson), wins bestdirector award

  • MTV-Europe achieves 3.5m subscribers

  • MTV-Europe reaches 6.7m homesLive broadcast from Moscow Peace FestivalMadonna: Express Yourself (David Fincher ), wins bestdirector award

  • Madonna: Vogue (David Fincher), wins best director awardLaunch of MTV-Unplugged

  • Madonna: Justify My Love (Jean-Baptiste Mondino)

  • MTV launches TV series Beavis and Butthead

  • MTV launches The Real World, a fly-on-the-walldocumentary following the lives of seven people sharing aNew York loft

  • REM: Everybody Hurts (Jake Scott), wins best director awardLaunch of VH1 in UKLaunch of MTV-Europe Music Awards

  • MTV UK and Ireland launches as stand-alone channel via Sky

  • Fatboy Slim: Praise You (Spike Jonze), wins best directoraward; Napster begins.

  • Launch of Jackass

  • Launch of MTV Dance

  • iTunes launches, ipods go on sale.

  • VThe Pirate Bay goes online. iTunes store opens; MySpace enters cyberspace; Last FM begins broadcasting

  • Facebook goes live

  • YouTube starts; The Hype Machine blogs; Guitar Hero slides in

  • Google buys YouTubE

  • iPhone hits the market

  • Amazon sells MP3s; Spotify live

  • Bandcamp gains prominence