History of music videos

A music video is a short film that accompanies a piece of music. It is used as a marketing device to promote the song, they are also used to make a buzz and get people talking about it. They became more popular in the 1980's when MTV based a station to them. in 1981 was when MTV first launched playing music videos 24/7 soon after other stations followed with slots for music videos to be played. Now MTV plays some music videos and TV programs, also you can watch some on their website as well.

Music Videos come in different styles abstract, animation, live action e.g concert clips and documentaries e.g. feed the world - Michael Jackson. Some music videos take the song lyrics literally and some do not. Some try and send a message to the viewer whether it is about love, peace and death. The music video allows the viewer to see the artist without them making a personal appearance or the fan going to the concert.

In the 21st they are now just as popular as songs themselves, being sold in collections on video tape and DVD or on itunes where you buy and watch music videos on the move to what ever song you want that has a video. As technology is improving since when MTV first started we can now watch it on the Internet and share amongst friends on websites like You Tube and Facebook. Anyone music video can be seen online and gain hits. some are leaked and can be viewed before they reach on TV creating a media hype around the song.

Since the beginning of music videos there are now Thousands music channels and music video shows around the world which reinvent and adapt the way they show music videos. New music videos styles are also emerging called unofficial videos made by the fans of the artist which is then posted online using cartoons or remixed with clips from other videos, also lip syncing to the song.