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First Music Video
Bessie Smith's take on St Louis Blues was debatably the first music video, it was a dramatised performance of the song. The video was played in theatres until 1932. -
Stranger In Paradise
Tony Bennet's song Stranger in Paradise was filmed in Hyde Park, London. He claimed it to be the first music video however it was only the first music video to be televised. This paved the way for shows like MTV and Top of the Pops. -
Scopitone
A visual jukebox was invented in France, short films were created for them by French artists such as Serge Gainsbourg. Soon more visual jukeboxes were created such as the Cinebox in Italy and the Color-Sonic in the US. -
A Hard Day's Night
The Beatles' song A Hard Day's Night was the defining work in the development of the modern music video. It was directed by Richard Lester and went on to influence lots of other artists. -
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops was a music charts TV show that aired from 1964 to 2006. It showed music videos and saw live performances which in turn built conversation between artists. -
MTV Created
MTV was created on 1st August 1981, it aired music videos on a 24 hour service. The first music video aired was "The Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star." This was a breakthrough in the evolution of music videos as it had a very high-budget and saw editing techniques such as over-laying being used. -
YouTube
YouTube is a video sharing platform that is now the most accessible way of watching music videos. Videos gain more attention for songs with some videos reaching billions of views. -
1 Billion Views
PSY's Gangnam Style was the first video (and music video) on YouTube to hit 1 billion views showing the viral power of the internet.
