history of music videos for media studies

1. History of Music Videos

2. There are many arguments and uncertainty about who created the first ever music video. A
majority of people claim The Buggle's 'Video Killed the Radio Star' was the first music video
because it was the first one ever shown on MTV in 1981. Others claim that The Beatle's 'A Hard
Day's Night' started the idea because they performed their music as part of a narrative to promote
their film 'A Hard Day's Night' in 1964. However, Bessie Smith's 'St Louis Blues' was the first
original music video. She performed her song in a film production in 1929 but was not released to
the public until 1958.
The use of a recorder performance was the most common form of music videos until the 1960's
when they started producing promotional clips such as Bob Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick
Blues'. The first TV show that consisted primarily of music videos started in Australia in 1974 and
New Zealand in 1976 mainly because these countries were too far away for musicians to travel for
live performances.
In my opinion, I believe that Bob Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' was the first ever music
video. This is because this was the first video that was overlaid with music over the visuals,
unlike Bessie Smiths 'St Louis Blues' which only featured her raw singing voice with no beat
behind it. However, it can be argued that The Buggle's 'Video Killed the Radio Star' was the first
music video because of how developed it was due to its complex editing at the time.

3. Bessie Smith – ‘St. Louis Blues’ [1929]
To many people, this is one of the
earliest example of a music video. It
was shown In theatres in 1932 due to
not being able to use a TV or another
form of technological screen to access
it.
Tony Bennett – ‘Stranger in Paradise’ [1956]
Popular American singer of both pop and jazz, Tony
Bennett, claims he is the created the first music
video with his song ‘Stranger in Paradise’. It was
shown in London’s Hyde Park and over UK and US
Television stations. Although some disagree that his
music video was the first ever one, it was in fact, the
first example of a music video being shown on TV.
This ultimately led to the creation of MTV and Top of
the Pops.
The Beatles – ‘A Hard Days Night’ [1964]
Arguably the most crucial moment in
the development of music videos was
the Beatles ‘A Hard Days Night’ because
it influenced the filming of music videos
that almost every contemporary artist
uses today.
The Beatles – ‘Penny Lane’ [1967]
The Beatles developed the production and concept
of music videos to the next level by using codes and
conventions that modern post-production teams use
today. These consist of dramatic lighting, wide range
of camera compositions and rhythmic editing.

4. The Jackson Five – ‘I Want You Back’ [1970]
During the 1970’s, music videos changed by putting more of an
emphasis on just the artist singing. This new style created ‘cross-
cutting’ in which the song would portray a story that linked to the
lyrics, then cross-cut to the artist singing (mix between narrative
and performative genres). This also developed the editing
techniques used when making a music video and dealt with editing
skills such as ‘Chroma-Key’ (blocking out colours, replacing
colours, manipulating images/footage etc.
Devo – ‘The Truth About De-Evolution [1972]
This was a very early example of a self-made music
video which started the development of the music
video genre “Experimental”. Although many agree it
is not the start of this development, it is in fact the
first music video for ‘Long form video production’.
Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ [1980]
This song in particular started a whole
new era for music videos. It also
introduced ‘Top of the pops’ which
would promote music and created a
competition for artists to go against
each other for the first time.
The Buggles – ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ [1981]
MTV was introduced in 1981 and the first ever video
aired was the Buggles ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’.
It was/is considered a real break-through in the
development and evolution of music videos. The
video itself consisted of complex editing (at that
time) such as overlaying and really stood out to their
audience. MTV helped music videos by effectively
promoting them, playing a central role in marketing
and was responsible for the success of many artists
such as Madonna.

5. Michael Jackson – ‘Thriller’ [1982]
‘Thriller’ was the “pioneer” for narrative
videos. It included “sophisticated”
visuals and developed the music video
industry to another level. This helped to
promote music videos and make them
be made into high-budget productions.
AHA – ‘TAKE ON ME’ [1985]
AHA’s ‘Take on me’ music video took 16 weeks to
complete and contained footage/shots of live action
and “animation” (rotoscoping). This implies how bad
the song relied on this type of promotion (through a
music video) because it was the only form of
marketing for a song and in order for it to be
successfully marketed, it had to be interesting and
complex – something the audience wouldn’t forget!
Emeli Sande – ‘Next to me’ [2013]
Many music video “enthusiasts” like the
aesthetic appeal of them. With Emeli
Sande’s ‘Next to me’ music video, the
visuals reflected the genre and music
which has helped develop the music
video industry by making them more of
an “experience” when watching them.
Iggy Azalea – ‘Work’ [2013]
In the most recent and current music video era of
modern society, a majority of music videos adopt the
“sex appeal” aesthetic from the female artists or/and
female visuals which has dominated the music video
industry. This is because using traditional
appeals/concepts are less profitable – highlighting
the popular motto of “sex sells”.