Music video

A music video (also video clip, promo) is a short film or video meant to present a visual representation of a popular music song. The American cable television channel MTV ("Music Television" launched in 1981), originated the format of end-to-end music video programming without any conventional programs, although the music video itself has a history dating back to the earliest days of sound film.

Timeline

• 1941: A new invention hits clubs and bars in the USA: The Panoram Soundie is a jukebox that plays short videoclips along with the music.
• 1956: Hollywood discovers the genre of music-centered films. A wave of rock'n'roll films begins (Rock Around the Clock, Don't Knock the Rock, Shake, Rattle and Rock, Rock Pretty Baby, The Girl Can't Help It), and the famous Elvis Presley movies. Some of these films integrated musical performances into a story, others were simply revues.
• 1960: In France a re-invention of the Soundie, the Scopitone gains limited success.
• 1962: British Television invents a new form of music television. Shows like Top Of The Pops, Ready! Steady! Go! and Oh, Boy started as band vehicles and became huge hits.
• 1964: The US-Television market adapts the format. Hullabaloo is one of the first US shows of this kind, followed by Shindig! (NBC) and American Bandstand; The Beatles star in A Hard Day's Night
• 1966: The first conceptual promos are aired, for the Beatles' "Paperback Writer" and "Rain". Early in 1967, even more ambitious videos are released for "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever".
• 1970: The record industry discovers these TV-Shows as a great opportunity to promote their artists. They focus on producing short "Promos", early music videos which started to replace the live performance of the artist on the TV-stage.
• 1975: "Bohemian Rhapsody" released by Queen.
• 1981: MTV, the first 24-hour satellite music channel, launches. Initially few cable TV operators carry it, but it rapidly becomes a major hit and cultural icon.
• 1984: Michael Jackson's short film, Thriller is released changing the concept of music videos forever
• 1995: MTV begins to credit music video directors.
• 1996: Pop-up Video is first aired on VH1.
• 1996: M2 is launched as a 24-hour music video channel.
• 2000: M2 is renamed to MTV2 is launched to focus on music videos as MTV has largely substituted them with other content.
• 2002: MTV Hits is launched as MTV2 slowly starts showing less music videos.
• 2005: MTV2 reformats station with new two-headed dog logo, with 12-24 year old guys as main demographic.