HISTORY OF MUSIC VIDEO
Studying popular music videos presents unique challenges compared to other media texts. While students often have an intuitive understanding of music videos due to lifelong exposure, turning that familiarity into a structured learning strategy is difficult. Part of the issue stems from the sophisticated relationship students have with music videos, especially in the MTV era, while the genre's fluidity makes it volatile teaching material. Despite the iconic status of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, striking a balance between familiar and diverse examples can be tricky. One useful approach is to study popular music videos through key media concepts like forms, conventions, representations, and institutions.
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Forms and Conventions
Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) is often cited as a defining moment in music video history because it exemplifies the genre’s core grammar. A key feature of the music video is the synchronization of moving images with the music, a practice that traces its roots to film innovators like Sergei Eisenstein and Busby Berkley. However, Bohemian Rhapsody is not the first music video. Early examples include the Panorama Soundies jukebox clips of the 1940s and rock ‘n’ roll films of the 1950s, such as Rock Around the Clock (1956), which showcased band performances. The emergence of music television programs like Top of the Pops in the UK and American Bandstand in the US further integrated popular music into visual media, reinforcing conventions such as lip-syncing, choreographed performances, and editing synced to music.
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The 1960s and 1970s saw further evolution, with artists like the Beatles producing short promotional films to accompany their singles, including Strawberry Fields Forever. By the time Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody hit the airwaves, the conventions of popular music video were well-established, but what made it revolutionary was its meticulous alignment of visuals with the song’s complex structure.
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Representations
The subversive nature of the music video sets it apart from other media. While it shares certain conventions with live performance and narrative film, the genre often disrupts its own rules, embracing a wide range of styles, including documentary (U2’s Rattle and Hum), animation (Dire Straits' Money for Nothing), and abstract visuals (Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues). Parody and pastiche are central to the music video’s sensibility, with artists borrowing and reworking iconic cultural moments with irony and wit. A notable example is Madonna’s Material Girl (1985), which mimics Marilyn Monroe’s performance in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
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This parodic sensibility extends to self-representation. Debbie Harry’s portrayal of female sexuality in Blondie’s videos is laced with humor, while Duran Duran’s Rio (1984) plays with the band’s image of excess with a knowing wink. Yet, as budgets grew in the late 1980s, music videos began focusing more on spectacle than subversion. Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983) pushed the boundaries of the genre, but its grand scale shifted focus toward self-aggrandizement. Similarly, Guns N' Roses’ November Rain (1992) and Meat Loaf’s I Would Do Anything for Love (1993) echoed Hollywood cinematography, marking a turn toward big-budget excess.
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By the mid-1990s, there was a backlash against this overindulgence. Grunge, Britpop, and MTV Unplugged championed authenticity and simplicity, with directors like Kevin Godley (Blur's Girls and Boys) and Samuel Bayer (Garbage's Stupid Girl) producing more minimalist, lo-fi videos. These trends emphasized a return to abstract and conceptual visuals, often achieved through cost-effective methods like scratching celluloid.
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Institutions
The evolution of the music video genre is deeply intertwined with institutional changes in the music and media industries. The advent of MTV in 1981 was a game-changer, but it was itself a product of broader technological developments, including the proliferation of satellite communication. The idea of a music video television channel was pioneered by Mike Nesmith of The Monkees, who sold the concept of a video-driven show to Warner Cable in the late 1970s. This culminated in MTV’s launch, with the iconic broadcast of Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.
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MTV helped transform music video from a promotional tool into a form of artistic expression. The 1980s saw the rise of visually oriented artists like Duran Duran, Culture Club, and Eurythmics, often referred to as the "second British invasion" due to their dominance on the American charts. These artists understood that visual style could be as significant as musical content, leading to a new era where the music video became a central marketing tool for pop music.
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EMAP, a UK-based media company, played a significant role in shaping the music video landscape through its magazine Smash Hits, which celebrated the colorful aesthetics of New Pop. By the 1990s, EMAP had diversified into radio and digital television, creating niche markets for music videos through channels like Q TV and Kerrang! TV. This shift from broad-reaching platforms like Top of the Pops to specialized digital channels reflects the increasing fragmentation of the music video market.
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Audiences
Contrary to popular belief, music videos are not exclusively targeted at teenage audiences. While youth culture has long been synonymous with popular music, older demographics remain active consumers. The success of artists like Bob Dylan, whose 2006 album Modern Times topped the US Billboard chart, demonstrates the enduring relevance of older musicians to contemporary audiences.
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Music videos aimed at older viewers, especially in the Adult-Oriented Rock (AOR) genre, often feature nostalgic themes and familiar conventions. For example, Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark (1985) reassures older audiences with its portrayal of blue-collar America, while Cher’s Heart of Stone (1989) includes archival footage to connect with fans. These videos offer a sense of continuity and reassurance, appealing to audiences with long-standing relationships to the artists.
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However, younger audiences have unprecedented access to both the history and the cutting edge of popular music. Platforms like YouTube and MySpace have democratized the music video industry, allowing unsigned bands to reach global audiences without traditional distribution networks. The viral success of OK Go’s Here It Goes Again (2006), which gained over a million views within six days on YouTube, illustrates how digital platforms have transformed the way music videos are consumed and promoted.
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These platforms have also facilitated new forms of creativity and interaction. Fans can now post DIY videos, parodies, and montages, blurring the line between creators and consumers. Mainstream artists like Moby have embraced this trend by commissioning low-budget, YouTube-specific videos, further diversifying the aesthetics of music video production.
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The Influence of Social Media on Music Videos
The rise of platforms like YouTube and MySpace in the early 2000s reshaped how music videos were consumed and shared. YouTube democratized access, allowing independent artists to reach global audiences without needing traditional labels or MTV. A defining moment was OK Go’s Here It Goes Again (2006), which gained viral success on YouTube, highlighting the potential of music videos to achieve massive reach online. However, as social media evolved with platforms like Instagram and TikTok, the way music videos are produced and consumed transformed even further. These platforms have shaped the aesthetics and culture surrounding music videos, redefining their role in the broader music industry.
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Instagram's Visual Impact
Instagram, launched in 2010, has become a powerful platform for music artists to build and maintain their visual identity. The platform’s focus on visual content has influenced how artists approach music video production, emphasizing aesthetics, style, and brand-building. Artists such as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift utilize Instagram to release teaser clips and behind-the-scenes content, creating anticipation and engagement before a video’s official release. The platform encourages videos to include visually striking moments, designed to be easily shared and reposted by fans. Instagram also enables user-generated content to flourish. Fans contribute to the promotion of music videos by reposting clips, creating memes, and engaging with artists through hashtags, making the audience an integral part of a video’s viral success.
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TikTok and Micro-Music Videos
TikTok, launched in 2016, has drastically altered the landscape of music video consumption, focusing on short-form content that encourages user participation. On TikTok, snippets of songs often go viral, paired with popular challenges, dances, or trends. Artists now tailor their releases for TikTok’s algorithm, with songs designed to feature a catchy hook that can be easily looped and shared. Viral success on TikTok frequently leads to increased streams and chart performance, as seen with Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road and Olivia Rodrigo’s Driver’s License.
TikTok has popularized a more authentic, DIY video aesthetic, which appeals to younger audiences who prioritize relatability over high-budget production. This approach has led artists to release alternative, TikTok-friendly versions of their videos or participate directly in fan-generated content. For example, Doja Cat incorporated a viral TikTok dance into her official Say So music video, reflecting the platform’s influence on mainstream media.
TikTok also blurs the lines between creator and consumer, turning fans into active participants. By remixing, duetting, or recreating music videos, fans extend the life and reach of the content, driving its continued relevance on social media.
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Reinventing Music Videos for a Social Media Era
Platforms like Instagram and TikTok have empowered artists to reinvent themselves and their visual branding. Cardi B, for example, uses social media to cultivate a bold, unfiltered persona, which is reflected in her music videos. These platforms also allow real-time interaction with fans, turning music video releases into dynamic multimedia events that unfold across multiple channels. As social media continues to shape the industry, music videos are increasingly designed to be shared in bite-sized formats across various platforms. This shift has made music videos more interactive, engaging, and community-driven, blending official content with fan participation, and turning them into a form of digital conversation.
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Conclusion
Popular music video is a dynamic and constantly evolving genre. While its roots can be traced back to early cinema and the birth of youth culture in the 1950s, the genre truly took off with the rise of music television in the 1980s. Throughout its history, music video has been defined by a playful and often subversive approach to representation, blending high and low art forms, parody, and pastiche. Technological advances, from satellite TV to digital platforms like YouTube, have transformed both the production and consumption of music videos, creating new opportunities for artists and audiences alike. Despite the fragmentation of the market, the core feature of music videos—moving images edited in time to music—remains as relevant today as it was in the early days of the genre. Popular music video continues to reflect and shape the cultural zeitgeist, appealing to a broader spectrum of audiences than ever before.
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CHECK YOUR LEARNING
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Historical Context: What were some early forms of music videos prior to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody? Provide at least two examples and explain their significance.
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Key Features: How does Bohemian Rhapsody exemplify the core conventions of music videos? What specific elements contributed to its status in music video history?
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Genre Evolution: Discuss the shift in music video production from the 1980s to the mid-1990s. How did the focus of music videos change during this period?
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Cultural Representation: In what ways do music videos engage in parody and pastiche? Provide an example from the text and explain how it reflects these concepts.
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Influential Artists: Identify and describe the role of at least two artists mentioned in the text who contributed significantly to the music video genre in its early days.
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Institutional Changes: How did the launch of MTV in 1981 transform the music video landscape? Discuss its impact on both artists and audiences.
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Audience Engagement: What misconceptions exist regarding the target audience for music videos? How does the text address the consumption of music videos by older demographics?
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Digital Transformation: How have platforms like YouTube and MySpace changed the dynamics of music video production and distribution? Provide an example to illustrate your point.
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Social Media Influence: In what ways have Instagram and TikTok influenced contemporary music video aesthetics and production? Discuss how these platforms empower artists.
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Content Creation: How has TikTok altered the relationship between artists and fans in the context of music videos? Provide examples of how fan engagement is fostered through this platform.
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Trends in Video Production: What are some characteristics of the DIY aesthetic popularized by TikTok? How do these differ from traditional high-budget music video productions?
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Future of Music Videos: Based on the text, what trends are emerging in the music video genre as it adapts to social media platforms? Discuss the potential implications for artists and audiences moving forward.
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