In 1927 the inaugural sound film The Jazz Singer was screened across the USA and was heralded for it's innovation - combining two forms of media that were not previously associated with one another. As a result of it's commercial success, the film was somewhat of a catalyst in the decline of the silent film industry - which deteriorated soon after the release of Alan Crosland's feature.
It was in the 1930's that the first 'soundies' - three minute films comprising of music/soundtrack and short dance sequences - were produced in New York, Chicago and Hollywood. They were screened on visual jukeboxes - the Panoram to be specific - in bars, nightclubs, restaurants and amusement centers. The Panoram therefore served as a viable means of marketing the product as consumers found themselves surrounded by a platform on which they could watch the videos, rather than having to go and 'chase' music videos. The Panoram was a coin operated jukebox system, and with ample Panorams scattered around New York, Chicago and Hollywood, producers found that this system of marketing could prove lucrative.
Throughout the late 1930s and 1940s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) enjoyed it's most fruitful spell of musical productions, most notably The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940). After the success of the latter films, MGM realised that music and video were a successful convergence and began producing an array of musicals in what has been described as their 'Golden Era'.
1963 saw the appearance of the UK's first TV programme: Ready Steady Go!, which was broadcast live from ITV. The show would stage mainly rock bands with choreography and make-up kept to a minimum to make audiences feel closer to the action, promoting consumer involvement. Performers where scattered amongst many small stages so that transitions were smooth and kept the viewers engaged - similar to the format in which Later Live With Jools Holland is now presented. The studio was quite confined and limited, however the production team stated this is actually what they wanted, as it allowed people watching at home to be able to feel a sense of involvement and facilitated camera work to capture the bands from a number of different angles.
Just as Ready Steady Go! was gaining popularity, it was rivaled when BBC began to air Top of the Pops (TOTP) in 1964. Essentially, TOTP was a 'performance video' of bands performing hits popular that week, although they were actually performed live, some bands have used footage of themselves performing on TOTP for performance music videos.
By 1967, The Beatles had released promos for Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. This form of music video was referred to as a 'promo' - which engulfs it in connotations that suggest the video was to help market/advertise the record. The promo for Strawberry Fields Forever has been cited as an innovation in the music video industry and that what was in the 60's classed as a promo is now widely accepted as a music video.
Queen released the soundtrack and promotional video for Bohemian Rhapsody (directed by Bruce Gowers) at a time when the incremental success of music videos was rapidly increasing in 1975. It was noted that by releasing a promotional video for a record, it meant television companies could broadcast the video and have the song played on their channel without having to have the artist present and boredom was not a problem for the audience. This idea formed the basis of MTV and all the other music channels that followed. It is widely regarded as the first promo that is now
1981 saw the inauguration of MTV, which is when various artists saw the lucrative benefits of producing music videos as they could screen the videos without having to be present in a studio, yet the artists/record companies received royalties - record companies began to exploit the financial rewards of MTV.
Michael Jackson's Thriller made music video history due to the effects and vibrant display. It sustained a captivating narrative - almost a hybrid of a thriller (hence the title) and a horror wrapped into a music video. Released in 1983, MTV was already incredibly popular, meaning Thriller received plenty of air time.
1984 saw MTV's official music video awards launched, encapsulating just how important video convergence is to the industry, a song could be mediocre however if the video was deemed interesting my the public, a promo alone could win an artist an honour.
At the time of it's release (1986), Dire Straits' Money for Nothing music video was considered not only an innovation in the music video industry, but ground breaking. It utilised advanced computer animation software that illustrated the bands lyrics, this alone placed it top of the charts and also top of the music video charts for it's compelling narrative features.
1963 saw the appearance of the UK's first TV programme: Ready Steady Go!, which was broadcast live from ITV. The show would stage mainly rock bands with choreography and make-up kept to a minimum to make audiences feel closer to the action, promoting consumer involvement. Performers where scattered amongst many small stages so that transitions were smooth and kept the viewers engaged - similar to the format in which Later Live With Jools Holland is now presented. The studio was quite confined and limited, however the production team stated this is actually what they wanted, as it allowed people watching at home to be able to feel a sense of involvement and facilitated camera work to capture the bands from a number of different angles.
Just as Ready Steady Go! was gaining popularity, it was rivaled when BBC began to air Top of the Pops (TOTP) in 1964. Essentially, TOTP was a 'performance video' of bands performing hits popular that week, although they were actually performed live, some bands have used footage of themselves performing on TOTP for performance music videos.
By 1967, The Beatles had released promos for Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. This form of music video was referred to as a 'promo' - which engulfs it in connotations that suggest the video was to help market/advertise the record. The promo for Strawberry Fields Forever has been cited as an innovation in the music video industry and that what was in the 60's classed as a promo is now widely accepted as a music video.
Queen released the soundtrack and promotional video for Bohemian Rhapsody (directed by Bruce Gowers) at a time when the incremental success of music videos was rapidly increasing in 1975. It was noted that by releasing a promotional video for a record, it meant television companies could broadcast the video and have the song played on their channel without having to have the artist present and boredom was not a problem for the audience. This idea formed the basis of MTV and all the other music channels that followed. It is widely regarded as the first promo that is now
1981 saw the inauguration of MTV, which is when various artists saw the lucrative benefits of producing music videos as they could screen the videos without having to be present in a studio, yet the artists/record companies received royalties - record companies began to exploit the financial rewards of MTV.
Michael Jackson's Thriller made music video history due to the effects and vibrant display. It sustained a captivating narrative - almost a hybrid of a thriller (hence the title) and a horror wrapped into a music video. Released in 1983, MTV was already incredibly popular, meaning Thriller received plenty of air time.
1984 saw MTV's official music video awards launched, encapsulating just how important video convergence is to the industry, a song could be mediocre however if the video was deemed interesting my the public, a promo alone could win an artist an honour.
At the time of it's release (1986), Dire Straits' Money for Nothing music video was considered not only an innovation in the music video industry, but ground breaking. It utilised advanced computer animation software that illustrated the bands lyrics, this alone placed it top of the charts and also top of the music video charts for it's compelling narrative features.
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