Music Video Timeline

Nickelodeon (movie theater) 1905

A nickelodeon was the first  indoor exhibition space  showing projected films/motions. They were usually small and simple theaters which would charge five cents for admission. The name 'Nickelodeon' was inspired by the name of the U.S five-cent coin with the addition of a Greek word odeion, a roofed-over theater. Nickelodeons changed the way films were exhibited to the American public, they were distinctively known for showing continuous performance of short films. Nickelodeons in general was a cheap form of entertainment, especially for those who could not afford it.

Soundies 1940

Soundies were three-minute musical films, produced in New York City, Chicago, and Hollywood, between 1940 and 1946, often including short dance sequences, similar to later music videos - WIKIPEDIA. The films were usually played on a Panoram (a coin-operated  jukebox) in nightclubs, bars or restaurants.

Scopitone 1955

Scopitones were developed Panorams which origianlly played Soundies. Scopitones were first developed in France, in which eventually spread acorss Europe and evenutally reached the USA during the 1960's. Like Soundies, scopitones were intiially made to play inside nightclubs and bars, however many artists failed to release music onto scopitone films.

Golden Age 1920-1960 Musical Films

Musical Films (otherwise known as 'Musicals') were created due to the development of Sound Music Technology. This development therefore allowed the room for more performers, set and location in Musical Film production. One of the most famous musical films to date is Moulin Rougue, produced in 1928.

Top Of The Pops 1964

Top of the Pops was a British music chart television programmer, broad-casted by the BBC. Traditionally, TOTP was broad-casted every Thursday evening on BBC1. Each weekly programme consisted of performances from some of that week's best-selling popular music artists, with a rundown of that week's singles chart.  The show's audience was mainly aimed at teenagers to young adults who were interested in music. Famous performers include Kylie Minouge and Meatloaf.

Concert Films 1964

A  concert movie, or concert film, is a type of documentary film, which includes live performance or concert by a musician. Originally introduced in the 1960's, concert films became increasingly popular, especially for individuals who wanted to see their favorite artist without having to pay for a ticket. Concert Films could therefore be produced onto music videos which enabled those who was not available to view the artist live, could watch them in the comfort of their own home. 

MTV 1981

MTV (or otherwise known as Music Television) is an American  television channel owned by the MTV Networks Music & Logo Group. The channel is now head quartered in Los Angeles. MTV was first launched on August 1, 1981 where the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos to their main target audience who at the time were young adults, but today, MTV's programming is primarily targeted at adolescents and teenagers. The first ever video to be played on MTV was 'The Buggles- Video Killed The Radio Star'. 

YouTube 2005

YouTube is now the world's largest and most popular internet space to share videos varying from all types. YouTube is now the most common place to view music videos from all genres. Many artists today will release their videos onto YouTube via large corporations such as Vevo. YouTube is still free for all many years on and is the hub for all new music content.