The History of Music Videos

1930's-1940's

Although the great depression had occurred within the 1930’s not all music was depressing. In fact music was the only thing which brought people “alive” again.

The depression was a time when many people were without jobs. Money and food were scarce, so people looked to music for inspiration. The music of the 1930's wasn’t sad, and depressing, it was jazzy, and happy, so it gave people inspiration, and something to cheer them up. The popular kind of music was jazz. The main instruments were piano, clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet.

In addition to this, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers played a huge role in music in the 1930’s. They had featured within films where they had not only sung and acted, they danced, which had a great influence on the audience. Most of their music were feel good and innocent, ones that would unquestionably attract the elder generation today.

In the 1940’s Soundies were introduced. These were jukeboxes which had the ability to play 3 minute music videos, thus making it the earliest form of music videos. They were situated in nightclubs, bars, restaurants, factory lounges and amusement centres. Soundies covered all genres of music, from classical to big-band swing, and from hillbilly novelties to patriotic songs. This allowed all audiences of different genres to listen and watch to their preferred song genre. However due to the introduction of the Soundies, prevented record sales to decrease, as the population of the Soundies had grew throughout the nation. Furthermore, the introduction of the Soundies was thought necessary as it was used to combat the television.

1950's

This decade entered the Birth of Rock and Roll. At this time the hit “Rock around the clock” especially became popular in 1955, from this, the nation had learned not just a new style of music, but a new style of dance, ‘Swing’. The “Feel’good’ innocence of many 50’s music represent this era respectively, this is due to the post World War 2 in America. The young people of the time, teenagers, had not struggled through the war years. They were looking for something more exciting, something new. They discovered the vitality in Rock and Roll.

Due to the recovery of the war, the rise of teen music had taken over the music industry. This was particularly influenced by Elvis Presley. His main target audience was focused on teenage girls, particularly from his appearance, genre and manner, specifically his signature move, the hip gyration. He had also appeared in Feature films were he performed. Not only did these feature films promote his music, it had promoted his talent in acting and performing.

The 195o's was the entry route of the new social change where the elder generation is replaced with the younger generation.

1960s

The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were the biggest bands in the 60s, often competing with each other. They performed in many countries.

The 60s was the decade where concert films emerged. This included live performances and interviews of the artists and bands. It gave the bands and artists further promotion and showed their audience type/preference.

There was a growth of rock and pop in the 1960s. These films were youth orientated, as there was a rise of the teenager through acts like Elvis. To combat the popularity of The Beatles, The Monkees were created in America. They had their own tv show which acted as promotion for their music. The Beatles starred in A Hard Day's Night which combined acting and sampled music. It also reflected the social issues at that time. A Hard Day's Night was directed by Richard Lester and portrayed their immense popularity.

1970s

In the 1970s, concert films developed which had performance and interviews, examples being the open air rock festivals such as 'Gimme Shelter' in the USA in 1971.
A definitive moment in the 1970s was when Queen released 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in 1975, where they released a video of 6 minutes in length with a combination of performance and the abstract 'trailing heads' scenes, which was very different from the much longer concert films and feature films. Queen were anxious about how critics and fans would take this change, but it was successful as the song remained in the charts at number 1 for nine weeks becoming a huge commercial success and is the 3rd biggest selling single in the UK. This video set the way for other music videos in the future, especially the 1980s.

1980s

The 1980s spawned the rise of MTV, a music channel which allows viewers to watch music videos at any time of the day. The television station was created in 1981 for the USA and was hugely successful, leading to the show being broadcast in MTV Europe four years later. A definitive music video for this era was called 'Money For Nothing' by Dire Straits, and this was heavily promoted towards MTV, with bold references to the show. By 1985, there were approximately 18 million viewers of MTV.

In 1982, Thriller was released, which subverted the typical conventions of a music video. It was directed by John Landis, and the budget was similar to the cost of many feature films in the era. The video is often considered by critics and polls as the greatest music video of all time, and this is because of many reasons. The duration of the video is 14 minutes, making it the longest music video to ever be broadcast on MTV. It is also based around a strong narrative including dialogue from Michael Jackson who plays several roles. The song structure is also unusual, as it is unlike the typical 'verse-chorus-verse-chorus' norm of pop songs. This is in addition to focussed choreography which helps to reinforce the varied talents of Michael. Sound effects are also used, as well as shots which hold on a freeze frame and voiceovers which help to enhance the dark atmosphere.