History of the Music Video Explore the historical context of the music video

c1900 Edison invents the gramophone in the USA: first shift from music as a solely live and audiovisual experience to recorded audio on various forms of disc.

1920s: abstract art Fischinger experiments with sound/vision synchronisation on film. Fantasia Early Abstractions Oskar Fischinger was compared to Surrealist artists such as Salvadore Dali

Inspired by Fischinger Royksopp Forever Len Lye Some magic mushrooms

Musical Feature Films Another antecedent of the music video was the musical feature film itself 1927: First sound film, The Jazz Singer 1940s: Peak period of MGM Hollywood musical period. 1957: Jailhouse Rock 1962: Summer Holiday (British imitation of Elvis film) 1964: A Hard Day's Night (mock documentary to accompany album of same name) A Hard Day's Night 1967: Subterranean Homesick Blues Subterranean Homesick Blues

1930s-50s: Soundies 1930s: Creation of first 'soundies' – short films made to showcase artists like Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, etc. 'soundies' 1939: Introduction of the Panoram Panoram

Television: 1950s-70s 1950s: American Bandstand 1960s: Top of the Pops 1964: Animals: House of the Rising Sun (studio set, lipsynching)House of the Rising Sun 1966: The monkees' TV show starts on NBC in the USA (jump cuts, wacky comedy, action) 1975: Queen: Bohemian RhapsodyBohemian Rhapsody 1979: Buggles: Video Killed the Radio StarVideo Killed the Radio Star 1980: Bowie Ashes to AshesAshes to Ashes 1982: Pink Floyd The WallThe Wall

The Birth of MTV AOR was dominating radio in USA, making it harder for pop singles to break through. Cable TV was growing rapidly but had not yet generated enough income to pay for its own programming. Mike Nesmith pitched Pop Clips to Warner Brothers. British pop acts helped fill the schedule of the first TV channel. Notable successes were Duran Duran and EurythmicsDuran Eurythmics

1980s: Diversification In the early years, assumptions about the demographics of the audience led to dominance by white acts and a preponderance of male rock 1986: Breakthrough for rap with Run DMC and Aerosmith's Walk This WayWalk This Way Along with the humour in the work of MC Hammer and Coolio, by the end of the decade, rap became more acceptable and eligible for bigger budget videos.

: The Rise of MTV By the mid-1980s the form was being used by all genres of music, including 'serious' rock acts like Bruce Springsteen. The form had also started to propel some acts to mega-stardom. This was exemplified by Madonna, whose videos have always been high profile and innovative. She led a host of female artists whose rise to prominence had undoubtedly been precipitated by the use of music video to showcase their talents. The emphasis on image, performance, choreography and the use of the close-up ('beauty shot') have arguably been especially helpful to the success of female acts.

MTV Awards By 1984, MTV was established as central to the music business and instituted its own version of the Oscars, the Video Music Awards. Some directors moved from music video to feature films, using video almost as a training ground for Hollywood or independent production.

Lifestyle Oriented Programming 1992: MTV launches The Real World, a fly-on- the-wall documentary following the loves of seven people sharing a New York loft. 1993: Beavis and Butthead 2000: Jackass

Competition! 2000: EMAP (East Midlands and Allied Press) launched Kiss, Q, Kerrang! and Smash Hits to complement The Box 2003: BskyB launches Scuzz, The Amp and Flaunt MTV responds by adding MTV2, MTV Base, MTV Hits, MTV Dance, etc.

Musicals 1940s: Peak Period of MGM Hollywood musical 1985: Material Girl (based on 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' from Gentlemen prefer blondes). Representation of women?Material GirlDiamonds are a girl's best friend

Race: compare and contrast 1988 / 2006: NWA Express Yourself (Freedom Version)Express Yourself (Freedom Version) Eminem StanStan Compare representations of race Look at the original music sampled Look at history of the artists

Conclusion In summary, the music promo video is only the most recent (and most successful) development of the fusion between music and image. Music video established image as a key factor in artist promotion and, by the end of the 1980s, the music video was a prerequisite in the promotion of singles.