History of a music video - Miss Georgiou.

Music videos is a short film associated with a song. They are used to create a greater relationship between the artist and the fan. Music videos are primarily used as a marketing technique to appeal to the audience and promote the sales of the artist through targeting the intended audience and also appealing to other audiences on certain occasions. Music videos are widely accessible to the public now and they are available to view through many different technologies. You can access them through TV programmes such as MTV, YouTube, Facebook and many other technologies. Over time the ways in which target audiences access music videos has changed, and it has become much easier for artists to promote their music videos. I will be discussing the history of music videos and how technology has advanced and helped the progression of music videos.

It was in the 1960s when we first saw music videos being moulded into what they are today. This is when artists such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones began to appear in music videos. This would spark a new era in the music industry where artists would promote their music through videos. In 1964, The Beatles starred in their first feature film A Hard Day's Night, directed by Richard Lester. Shot in black-and-white and presented as a mock documentary, it interspersed comedic and dialogue sequences with musical tones. The musical sequences furnished basic templates on which countless subsequent music videos were modeled. The late 50s saw the popularity of a visual jukebox called the Scopitone increase. Many French artists such as Jacques Brel used the Scopitone to create short films to accompany their music. In 1966, Nancy Sinatra filmed a music video for her song These Boots Are Made for Walkin. In June 1968, Elvis Presley recorded music videos again, in recording studios, in order to promote their new albums, making videos where famous stars If I Can Dream.

The 1970s saw the invention of music television channels. The Australian TV shows Countdown and Sounds, both of which premiered in 1974, were significant in developing and popularizing the music video genre in Australia and other countries. The long-running British TV show Top of the Pops began playing music videos in the late 1970s, although the BBC placed strict limits on the number of 'outsourced' videos TOTP could use. Therefore a good video would increase a song's sales as viewers hoped to see it again the following week. Also in 1975, the band Queen ordered Bruce Gowers to make a promo video for their new single "Bohemian Rhapsody" to show it in Top of the Pops; this is also notable for being entirely shot and edited on videotape. 

It was the 1980 when the music video really began to take shape. The 1980s saw the invention of the most recponisable music channel around the world. MTV was launched August 1, 1981 and its original purpose was to play music videos. MTV was the first music TV  channel, and it launched by airing the music video "Video Killed the Radio Star". The first hour of the show featured artists such as Rod Steward, The Who and Cliff Richard. A year after MTV's launch in 1981, it began to introduce high profile black artists such as Prince and Michael Jackson, this attracted a wider target audience as the channels popularity grew ever strong. The channel was the first 24 hour music channel, meaning that people could tune in and watch music videos all day, increasing their popularity. The channel further widened its audience by introducing new genres such as rock. In 1984 MTV began the Video Music Awards, with a live performance from Madonna. This has been a tradition ever since, and is a large contributor to the success of MTV. MTV has been the main broadcaster of music videos for the last 30 years. In 1983, the most successful, influential and iconic music video of all time was released: the nearly 14-minute-long video for Michael Jackson's song "Thriller", directed by John Landis. The video set new standards for production, having cost $800,000 to film. The video for "Thriller", along with earlier videos by Jackson for his songs "Billie Jean" and "Beat It", were instrumental in getting music videos by African American artists played on MTV.

Two key innovations in the development of the modern music video were the development of relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use video recording and editing equipment, and the development of visual effects created with techniques such as image compositing

In November 1992, MTV began listing directors with the artist and song credits, reflecting the fact that music videos had increasingly become an auteur's medium. Directors such as Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry, and Spike Jonze all got their start around this time; all brought a unique vision and style to the videos they directed. This is when it became vital for big name artists to have a good music video to accompany their songs in order to promote their work.

Youtube is also another use of media that has played a vital role in the history of music videos. The channel was found in 2005 and has been under the ownership of google since 2006. Youtube has allowed the accessibility of music videos much more easy for the general public, making it as simple as one click away. YouTube has also been the platform for many popular artists to start their career such as Justin Bieber who was found through YouTube. The vital role YouTube has played in the history of music videos can be seen in the huge amount of views that Psy's "Gangnam Style" music video recieved. The music video recieved over 2 billion views as of August 2014, contributing to the large popularity of the song, making it a world wide hit. YouTube also allows the public to access a service called "VEVO" which is a service which airs music from Universal records and Sony music entertainment, which are two of the biggest recording labels in the world.