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1894 Sheet Music
Publishers Joe Stern and Edward B. Marks employed an electrician called George Thomas and other performers to promote their song "The Little Lost Child". To promote this song they used a lantern to project still images simultaneously to live performances. This type of entertainment was very popular and was the 'first steps' to the beginning of music videos. -
1926-1959: Talkies, Soundies, and Shorts
In 1926 the arrival of "Talkies" allowed the start of many musical shorts films were produced. Animation Artist Max Fleischer started to create series of sing-along short cartoons called Screen songs.
Early 1930's cartoons featured popular musicians performing their hit songs on camera in live action. The early animated films by Walt Disney, such as the silly symphonies shorts and especially Fantasia featured several classic pieces which were built around music. -
1926-1959: Talkies, Soundies, and Shorts
Soundies were produced and released from 1940-1947 which were musical films that often included short dance sequences, which is similar to later music videos.
Early music clips were introduced in 1950, with Tony Bennett claiming to have created 'the first music video' where he was filmed in serpentine, Hyde park, London in 1956 with the clip being used for his song "Stranger in Paradise"
The oldest example of promotional video with similarities is "Dame si do bytu" (lets get to the apartment) -
1960-1973: Promotional Clips and Others
In 1964 the Moody Blues producer Alex Murray wanted to promote "Go Now" by using short film clips (shorts). The short film clip had a striking visual style that predates Queen's similar 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by a whole decade. -
1960-1973: Promotional Clips and Others
In 1965, one of the most famous groups The Beatles began to make promotional clips so they could promote their record releases without making in-person appearances. The first promo recorded in late 1965 (including "Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out") -
1974-1980: Beginning of Music Television
Australian TV shows 'Countdown' and 'Sound' which premiered in 1974, were major developments in the popularisation of music videos.
1975 saw one of the most famous bands in the world, Queen employed Bruce Gowers to make a promotional video for their then new single 'Bohemian Rhapsody' for Top of the Pops. The song is credited as the first global hit single which accompanied a video was crucial for their marketing strategy. -
1981-1991: Music Videos Go Mainstream
In 1991, MTV launched a 24 hour-a-day music on television called 'Video Killed the Radio Star'. This was a major advancement in music videos. Many acts like Madonna, Duran Duran and Adam and the Ants had great success due to the construction and appeal of their music videos.
With the development of music videos the availability of inexpensive and easy-to-use recording equipment and the development of visual effects has allowed many pop acts to produce promotional videos quickly and cheaply. -
1992-2004:Rise of the Directors
In 1992, directors were being introduced to help with promotional music videos for pop stars at the time. Madonna's "Bedtime Story" was reported to have cost $5 million. -
2005-Present: The Internet becomes Video-Friendly
In 2005 the video website 'Youtube' was created, which is a brilliant platform for music videos to develop with hundreds of millions of views. The most viewed music video on Youtube is 'Gangnam Style' with 2.6billion views worldwide.