IT’S REWIND TIME
- Sep 25, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 24, 2023
Music videos have evolved over the past century, however, to have a more in-depth understanding of music videos, it is essential to break down their history.
Music and film have co-existed for quite a while, aiding each other in the art of storytelling. From the mid-1890s to the 1920s, Silent films were almost always accompanied by sound as usually a pianist, theater organist—or even, in large cities, a small orchestra—would often play live music.
A century ago…...
1920s
Early filmmakers had experimented with sound, however, they couldn't match it perfectly with motion pictures, but with the invention of the Vitaphone, a sound-on-disc system, the synchronized sound was made practical by manually linking a vinyl disc to a film projector.
Warner Brothers studio made nearly 2000 Vitaphone musical shorts from 1926 to 1930 and the Rivoli Theater became the first to screen a motion picture with sound-on-film commercially which later on became the standard. Towards the end of the decade, The Jazz Singer became the first film in the history of cinema to have synchronized sound for dialogue, marking the start of ‘talkies’
One of the earliest music performances filmed is one of Bessie Smith, a renowned black Jazz singer of the 30s. The St Louis Blues(1929) performance features an all-black cast which breaks the convention of the time.
1930s melodies:
As a 2000s kid, I grew up watching Looney Tunes cartoons and had never wondered how they came to be until now during this research I discovered its origin. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were initially produced by Leon Schlesinger and animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising from 1930 to 1933. The main distinguishing factors were that Looney Tunes was more story-driven and Merrie Melodies remained a vehicle for Warner Brothers musical properties but over time they both became interchangeable. Initially, these were in Black and white from 1931–1934, and over the next few years, they became available in 2-3 strip technicolor and cinecolor.
Spooney melodies -replacing merrie melodies in 1931- were produced for the Warner Brothers to showcase popular tunes of the time and were shown in theater before playing the main film.
Crying for the Carolines, for example, is a 1930 short film made by Leon Schlesinger.
40’s soundies:
Music videos became more accessible to audiences with the introduction of Panoram Soundies in 1943. These were jukeboxes with a mini-screen on top placed where viewers could choose songs and watch performances such as in the soundie A Zoot Suit by Paul white that came out in 1942. Typically, 8 soundies were stored on a reel and played on a loop.
50’s
The earliest “soundie” with more abstract qualities, similar to modern music videos, was the video for the Czech song “Dáme si do bytu” (“Let’s get to the apartment”) created in 1958 and directed by Ladislav Rychman.
Elvis Presley, The king of Rock and Roll, also entered the music industry in the 50’s forever changing the genre for the future generation. The iconic song “Jailhouse Rock,” used in the film of the same name released in 1957, went on to be number one on the US music Charts and has since then left a great legacy being recognized by the Grammy Hall of Fame etc.
With the introduction of soundies, audiences now had greater access to music, considering that these panorams were kept in amusement parks, clubs, restaurants, etc. Short musical clips were made as fillers for television shows. Jiles Perry Richardson, also known as "The Big Bopper", was given the credit for producing one of the first music videos in 1958.
60’s
As an advancement from Panoram, Scopitone was created. It was a type of jukebox having 36 films (or soundies) to watch from, now in colour. Aside from the technological advancement, an iconic band came to being as “The Beetles” released their first single in 1962, and being ahead of their time they harnessed the allure of film in their future singles to market their records. These promotional films went on to be featured in local and international television making “The Beetles” a global sensation. Videos went to be produced for music programmes such as Top of The Pops in Britain and Hullabaloo in the USA.
70’s
The disco fever of the 70s definitely spilt into the music videos of the decade. Let me now give you a list of music videos and artists I have researched thoroughly to give a sense that I already knew about them and make me look cultured. ABBA’s Mamma Mia and Dancing Queen are the epitome of disco in the music videos of the 70s.
Another key moment of the decade was the release of Queen’s renowned “Bohemian Rhapsody” promotional film in 1975, which went on to become their first No. 1 Hit in England. The film was a unique performance for its time and has made its place in the history of music videos.
Revolutionary '80s
In 1981, MTV was launched with The Buggles’ Video killed the radio star which forever transformed the music industry with its 24-hour cable channel streaming music videos round the clock. As cable TV became a more viable option for many Americans, the success of music videos became inevitable.
90’s
Nothing is quite revolutionary about the 90s with respect to MV, aside from the fact that many of the iconic groups were gaining traction including Spice Girls, Nirvana, Destiny’s child, Backstreet Boys etc due to the magic of MTV. The '90s set up the reliance on music videos in the later years as it became a norm for groups to have MV to promote themselves.
2000’s y2k Technology era
The proliferation of technology and the creation of YouTube in 2005 transformed the distribution of music videos. It was far easier to release music as an indie artist as it reduced the reliance on major record labels to push out music. Facebook(2004) and Twitter (2006) were used mostly for promotions and active discussions, whereas YouTube (2005) provided a dedicated website to view videos that were available globally and the comments allowed for active consumerism, unlike a TV channel.
2010’s Social media takes over
Finally the most recent social media platforms: are Instagram(2010) and TikTok (2016); Teasers for music videos are posted here to create hype for both the album release and the Music video itself. The format of video for these applications is now vertical instead of horizontal, thanks to the rise of touchscreen phones so now content produced for music video teasers is tailored for these apps. TikTok over the past 7 years has launched numerous artists by the rise and fall of TikTok trends, dances created and music audios used by prosumers. The audience on TikTok produces content using other music from sources or originals that they can publish on the app, so the more the audio trends, the more the promotion for the album and artist. Social Media has become the epitome of intertextuality with people referencing music they love in the videos they create, such as me a classic Gen Z creating silly little edits of music that I like with scenes from shows that I enjoy. The prosumers now serve a larger role in the promotion of the Music videos and music Itself.
As we rewind through the decades, it has become evident how far music videos have come from their humble beginnings in the 1920s.
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