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History of Music Videos
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The Moody Blues - Go Now
One of the first music videos ever made. This video was designed as a way of promoting the song and was mostly a performance based film. This style of filming with the low key lighting and having only faces shown at various points inspired many more recent films to use the same techniques. For example Queens Bohemian Rhapsody used the same style over a decade later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0yepakHMv8 -
The Beatles - Hard Days Night
A music video that had a huge impact on the way films were made. This video by the Beatles was the first to introduce a narrative into a music video. Prior to this video most clips promoting music were almost solely performance based. The first clip from the Beatles became the basic template for most music videos to follow. The narrative side of the film provided viewers with an exiting way to consume the music and also helped explain the narrative of the song. -
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
this song premiered in 1975 and was released with a music video made by Bruce Gowers. The Go Now style of film was aired on Top Of The Pops to go along with the track. The whole sequence was edited on videotape and brought more fame to the song and band. More extreme music videos were later made by Queen such as I Want To Break Free with narrative elements included. However many traditional rock bands made music videos just including performances, Queens don't stop me now is an example of this. -
Micheal Jackson - Thriller
By now music videos were a regular occurrence with the track. Michael Jackson was one of the first performers to base a music video completely on a narrative. His eccentric films exited captivated audiences and helped his music to sell better than anyone else's at the time. The Album Thriller is the most sold album to date with over 48 million sales. The music video cost $500,000 to produce and aired in the style of a short film including dialogue, dance scenes and a narrative, -
MC Hammer - Cant Touch This
A music video that heavily revolved around dance was used by many times in the 1990s. Cant Touch This was awarded best dance video at the 1990s MTV music awards. This music video created many pop culture references and signature dance moves that have been used since. For example the running man was used in the film as well as the Hammer Dance. The extreme use of canted angles and colour filtering gives the viewer the sense that they are in a club dancing to an extremely catchy song. -
Youtube
The new home of music videos emerged in 2005. This website was a way for artists to promote a song for free. Some music videos have had extreme success on the website. For example, Baby by Justin Bieber has had over 1 billion views on youtube. -
Spotify
Along with YouTube came the introduction of music streaming. Spotify which was founded in 2006 in Sweden has recently started getting many hits because of the easy access to millions of songs. I believe that this simple way to consume music may have an effect on the need for music videos to be produced. For example the new hit song be Calvin Harris This is what you came for was released over a week before a music video was finished. -
30 Seconds To Mars - Kings and Queens
This Track had a video released on YouTube on the same day of its release. This was extremely successful as the video acquired over 100 million views on the website and 40 million on Myspace. The internet had become the new way to air a song and make a band famous. This song made 30 Seconds To Mars the most nominated rock artist in VMA history for a single year. I think that this music video highlights the extreme quality in music videos today.The cinematic silhouette shot is an example of this. -
PSY - Gangdam Style
The most viewed video on YouTube. A South Korean artist showed the world that a music video including unique dance moves and a narrative was a great way to sell your song. This song reached 1 billion views in just 159 days and has currently been viewed 2.5 billion times. This video included huge dance scenes and a simple narrative making it easy to watch multiple times for the audience. The comedic elements to the film also contribute to its huge success.
