History of Music Videos

 1940's

In 1940 Walt Disney released Fantasia which accompanied famous pieces of classical music with animated visuals. This was one of the first times that a piece of music was accompanied by a visual interpretation at the same time.

1950's

In 1956, singer Tony Bennet was filmed walking in Hyde park  accompanied by his song 'Stranger in Paradise.' This was one of the first times that an artist was shown without the band in a video, and is considered one of the earliest music videos ever made, although sadly no footage of it can be recovered.

1960's

At the hight of their popularity, the Beatles used feature length movies and clips to show off their songs without having to show up in person to interviews. The way that these videos were shown and shot influence many of the music video conventions that we still use today

1970’s

Top of the pops videos became an important way to advertise singles, so producers placed a greater focus on innovative and interesting music videos.

1980’s

In 1981, after the launch of MTV with "video killed the radio star" the importance of videos began to grow, with almost every new single or release getting its own music video. Stars began to use them to build their personas, as the videos became more and more sophisticated and complex.

Up to now.

In the present, every video in the charts has a video as they become easier to make. The popularity of a video helps propel songs to new heights, as video services such as VEVO on YouTube makes videos more profitable and easily accessible than ever before.

A hard days night.

The band develops their image by having a large part of the plot be devoted to how much the band is loved and adored, being swarmed by fans the moment that they get off of the train. They also try to make the band seem friendly and approachable, as the band is shown constantly having fun and cracking jokes. Since the film is advertised as "an average day in the life" it can be assumed that the Beatles always act this way, furthering their positive image and encouraging the audience to continue to support them in everything they do.