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First Music Video
In 1895, an experiment by William Dickson lead to the first 'music video' being produced. It was purely experimental and was not 'released'.
The First Music Video - Dickson Experimental Film -
St. Louis Blues
Bessie Smith (blues singer) was in a performance of the song St Louis Blues in a dramatised performance. -
Soundies
These were three-minute films on jukebox machines in bars (with a projection machine). The films featured music and dance performances and many different types of singers, dancers and musicians appeared on them. -
First Music Video Clips on TV
The very first music video clips were made for TV in the USA between 1950 and 1954. They were used primarily as a television filler. -
"Music Video" Term Coined
Singer and songwriter Jiles Perry Richardson was the first person to the use the phrase "music video" in an interview with a British magazine in 1959. -
Singalong Jubilee
For a Canadian show called 'Singalong Jubilee', Manny Pittson pre-recorded music audio and then went on location and recorded musicians lip-synching and edited the video and sound together. -
Concert Films
Concert films were released in the mid-1960s, with the T.A.M.I Show -
Beatles Promotional Videos
The Beatles released promotional videos for distribution in other countries (i.e. the USA) so they could promote their songs without having to be there themselves. -
Countdown & Sounds
Australian TV shows Countdown and Sounds premiered in 1974, which helped to popularise music videos in Australia. -
'Bohemian Rhapsody' Video Released
The video was first shown on Top of the Pops in November 1975. Bohemian Rhapsody -
Video Killed The Radio Star
The music video for this song by The Buggles was released in 1979 and shown on BBC's Top of the Pops. It was the first video to be shown on the MTV Network when it launched in 1981.
The Video - Video Killed The Radio Star -
MTV Network Launched
The MTV channel originally played music videos by 'video jockeys', targeted at young adults. Today, the primary target audience is teenagers (high school and college students) and the channel plays reality, comedy and drama programmes as well as music videos. -
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
The 14-minute horror themed music video released to accompany Michael Jackson's song 'Thriller' was released in 1983. John Landis co-wrote the video with Michael Jackson. It was named a "watershed moment for the [music] industry for its unprecedented merging of film-making and music". -
The Chart Show - Channel 4
In 1986, The Chart Show was launched on Channel 4. The programme consisted entirely of music videos, linked by computer graphics (not presenters). -
'Chart Show' moves to ITV
In 1989, the Chart Show moved from Channel 4 to ITV. It was the only TV show that showed many videos on British TV at the time. -
YouTube Launched
Video sharing site YouTube launched in 2005, making viewing online videos much faster and easier. -
