History of a music video- Miss Georgiou

A music video is a marketing tool to promote the artist and their song. Music videos engage audiences as they are able to see their music background. Over the years consumers have been able to view music videos in many different ways due to technology progressing and the industry expanding. Consumers can view their artists through many different channels and the Internet. The most recent ways audiences can watch music videos is on YouTube and Vevo which is free way for audiences to view music videos on the Internet. Another way audiences can view music videos is through Ituneshowever they have to pay therefore its not the most popular way to view music videos. If they download the music video from Itunes they are then able to watch their videos of their laptop or mobile phone anytime. The older ways of viewing music channels is on Ipods, music channels such as MTV and program's such as Top of the pops. 

The music video industry has significantly developed over the years and expanded as an industry. There are now many different ways in which audiences can view music videos. Audiences can view music videos on many different music channels which show many different genres of music therefore appealing to many different audiences. Music channels include MTV, Scuzz and Flava which each show different type of music genres to suit different audiences. Audiences can also download music videos off the Internet and view music videos of YouTube in any place which is beneficial for audiences. Therefore artists are more likely to be successful as consumers can now view their music videos literally anywhere which will boost fan numbers and views on their music videos. 

In 1884 a man named Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern hired electricians and performers to promote sales of their songs. They projected still images onto a screen to audiences as a live performance. This was called the 'illustrated song' and was the first step towards music videos.

Britain first saw music videos emerge from the TV show Top of the Pops, they began playing music videos in the late 1970's. However there were strict limits on the music videos Top of the Pops could show to consumers. From a music video being shown on the show usually it would increase the sales of the song therefore showing the importance of music videos. In 1980 Daivd Bowie achieved is first number one single 'Ashes to Ashes' due to the show promoting his music video. His music video was different to others which caught audiences attention. 

The first music channel was MTV it was launched on August 1st 1981 and played music videos 24 hours a day. MTV was the main channel which promoted music videos. By showing audiences music videos it allowed them to get a deeper meaning of the artist and their song therefore they are more likely to buy/download it. When MTV was first created its main target audience were young adults however in recent years its target audiences has expanded to teenagers as well as they play more music to suit teenagers such as 'The UK top 40'. The first music video that was aired on MTV was Buggles 'Video killed the radio star' The music video promoted MTV and helped MTV to become successful. 

Equipment to create music videos has significantly developed through out the years. First music videos were in black and white but that has changed due to high tech cameras developing and technology such as green screens being created. Editing equipment has also developed which makes music videos more interesting for audiences to watch which engages them into the music video. The creation of the green screen has allowed artists to create more diverse music videos as they can now set their music video anywhere they would like. Editing equipment which allows artists to add different visuals and edit their music videos has allowed artists to make their music video relatable to them and their music video which promotes them as an artist. An example of a music video that uses a green screen and editing equipment is Miley Cyrus 'The Climb' 

In 1983 Michael Jacksons song 'Thriller' was released. Its one of the most influential music videos of all time when it was released. The video was 14 minutes long, the longest music video to ever be created of that time. It cost $800,00 to film due to the high cost set and production. Without technology such as green screens the music video wouldn't of been as popular. 

In the recent years YouTube has become the most popular way to view music videos on. It allows artists to market their music video to a wider audience. As YouTube is free consumers can listen to all genres and different music videos therefore promoting many different genres. Therefore artists gain attract a wider audience range. The most watched music video on YouTube is PSY- Gangnam Style which was uploaded on July 15th 2012. It gained over 1,830,000,00 views. Therefore indicatin that YouTube is an extremely successful marketing tool for artists to promote their music videos on. Also artists are recognized and discovered on YouTube which shows how important the website is and how huge it is to the music industry. Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube and is a massive artist in today's time.

Recently budgets for music videos have gone up and tend to be high, big artists in the industry tend to have high budgets for their music videos such as Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Rihanna. By having a high budget for their videos means they can have many special features within their video therefore its more likely to be successful. The most expensive music video to ever be made was Scream by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson. It cost $7,000,000 to make as they wanted their music video to be successful and enjoyable for the audience. Therefore showing that music videos are an important aspect for artists song to be successful. However music videos don't have to have a high budget for it to be successful, music videos just need to be interesting for it to be successful. Ed Sheeran - The A Team had a small budget but the music video was still successful and created success for Sheeran.

Music videos in the recent years have become more high quality and have many special effects to interest audiences. Music videos have also become more diverse due to special effects which catches audiences attention. Use of green screens have become popular when creating music videos as it interest audiences. Special effects have become popular within the late 90's where technology was improved. A music video which uses many special effects is 'Rihanna - We found love' Within the music video there is a time lapse which focuses the audiences attention on the artist in the music video. There is also other special effects for the audience to understand the narrative better. 

Music videos allows a song to gain more publicity and attention which persuades people to buy the song and take interest in the artist. Media channels and YouTube help artists gain attention as consumers can view their music video on there. For example on MTV 'The UK top 40 is played' and if an artists music video is played then consumers are more likely to buy it as it looks popular therefore gaining more attention. However popular artists such as Rihanna, Drake, Justin Bieber may not always need successful music videos for their music to be popular as they already have a huge fan base. 

Over the years music genres have also developed and changed. From typical music genres such as pop and classical a number of music genres have evolved over the years. New genres include: Indie, rock, dance, techno and metal. Due to having more genres in the music industry artists can target their music video to more of a specific audience therefore its more likely to be successful and artists will be able to gain more of a wider fan base. Cross genres have also developed for example pop-rock and indie-rock. This also allows the audience to target their music videos to a specific audience and helps them get a wider fan base. 

By researching into the history of music videos I have know got a good knowledge of how music videos have developed over the years and why they are important. I have also learnt the importance of YouTube and Music Channels and how they make artists successful.