Music videos originated as promotional devices for music recordings in the 1970s. The UK show "Top of the Pops" helped promote singles and increased competition between artists. In 1981, MTV launched in the US playing music videos 24/7, making the music video a central part of music marketing. With the rise of YouTube in 2005, some artists found success through videos viewed online, and platforms like MTV, iTunes, and Vevo now provide online streaming and downloads of music videos.

1. History of music videos

2. Music Videos are a form of advertisement…
• Modern music videos were originally made and used as a
marketing device in order to promote the sale of music
recordings. Music videos are sometimes called promotion
videos because of the fact that they are promotional devices.

3. Music television.
• In the 1970’s a UK show called ‘Top of the Pops’ had a high
importance when it came to promoting a single, the show created
competition amongst bands/artists and record labels as the shows
producers placed strict limits on the number of videos it would use –
therefore a good video would increase a song’s sales as viewers
hoped to see the video again the following week.
• In 1981, the U.S video channel ‘MTV’ launched, airing “Video Killed
the Radio Star” and beginning an era of 24 hours a day music on
television. With a new outlet for material by the mid-1980s the music
video grew to play a central role in popular music marketing.

4. Music Videos online.
• In 2005 ‘YouTube’ was launched, which made viewing a video online much
faster and easier. Some artists began to see success as a result of videos
seen mostly or entirely online. Thirty Seconds to Mars' music video "Kings
and Queens" was uploaded to YouTube and on the same day of its release,
where it has gained over one hundred million views.
• MTV now provides streams of artists’ music videos. At its launch Apple’s
iTune Store provided a section of free music videos in high quality
compression to be watched via the iTunes application. Music videos are
also sold on iTunes to watch on apple ipods etc.
• Vevo is a music video website launched by several major music publishers
in December 2009. The videos on VEVO are syndicated to YouTube, with
Google and VEVO sharing the advertising revenue

5. History of the Indie Pop music genre.
• Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the Unite Kingdom in the mid-
1980s, with its roots in Scottish post-punk band on the postcard records label in the early
1980s and the dominant UK independent band ‘The Smiths’ of the mid 1980s.
• Indie pop was inspired by punk's DIY ethic and related ideologies, and it created a
thriving fanzine, label and club and gig circuit.
• However indie pop differs from indie rock as it’s more melodic, less abrasive and
relatively angst free.
• The term "indie" had been used for some time to describe artists on independent labels
(and the labels themselves), but the key moment in the naming of "indie pop" as a genre
was the release of NME'​s C86 tape in 1986.The compilation featured, among other
artists, Primal Scream the Pastels, and the Wedding Present, and "indie" quickly became
shorthand for a genre whose defining conventions were identified as jangling guitars, a
love of'60s pop, and melodic pop song structures (the genre was initially dubbed "C86"
after the tape itself)

6. 1926
the arrival of
"talkies"
many musical
short
films were
produced.
Early 1930s
cartoons
featured
popular
musicians
performing
their hit songs
1940 – 1947
Soundies were
produced and
released, they
were musical
films that often
included short
dance
sequences
1950s
Early music clips: Tony
Bennett claims to have
created "...the first music
video" when he was filmed
walking along the
Serpentine in Hyde Park,
London in 1956, with the
resulting clip being set to
his recording of the song
"Stranger in Paradise".
1960 – 1973
Promotional clips and
others: In 1965, the Beatles
began making promotional
clips for distribution and
broadcast in other
countries—primarily the
USA—so they could
promote their record
releases without having to
make in-person
appearances.
Concert films were being
released in the mid-1960s,
1974 – 1980
Beginnings of music television:
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, and in establishing the
importance of music video clips
as a means of promoting both
emerging acts and new releases
by established acts.
1981 – 1991
Music videos go mainstream: In 1981,
the U.S. video channel MTV launched,
airing "Video Killed the Radio Star"
and beginning an era of 24-hour-a-
day music on television. 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 US$800,000 to film.
1992 – 2004
Rise of directors: 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.
2005 – present
The internet becomes
video friendly: 2005
YouTube was launched
making it easier to watch
videos online, sites like
vevo have also been
launched. Music videos
available to download
through iTunes
Timeline of Music Video History