Industrial context: Contemporary context

 Timeline of music videos

1894 - The first time anyone linked something visual to a song was back in 1894 when a sheet music publisher hired an electrician to synchronise a live performance with a lantern that projected images.

1953 - The first music video more as we know it was released in 1953 and it was Tony Bennett’s song ‘Stranger in Paradise’, he was shot walking through Hyde Park with a recording of his song playing and the clip was distributed to radio stations in the UK and America.

1960s and 70s - Then in the 60s and 70s when film technology started to get a bit cheaper there was a growth in broadcast television and consequently artists were looking for new ways to promote their music so promotional clips were made and distributed locally and in other countries

1980s - Then, in 1981, MTV launched and the first video aired was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by the Buggles and it began a 24 hours a day music on TV, so by the mid 80s, music videos had grown to be a central role in music marketing.

In the early 1980s, music videos also began to discover political and social themes such as David Bowie’s ‘China Girl’ video in 1983.

Then in 1984, MTV launched the VMAs which then placed even more importance on music videos.

1990s - In the 90s, there was a rise of directors that brought a new vision and style to the videos they directed and some of them would go on to direct feature films and so music videos would become even more expensive to produce. 

2000s/2010s -Vevo, a music video service was launched in December 2009 by several major music publishers, debuted in December 2009 and made videos even more accessible.

In the late 2010s, some artists began releasing alternative vertical videos tailored to mobile devices in addition to music videos and can be found on Snapchat’s discover section or Spotify.

Contemporary context:

The major players in the music industry:

FINANCE:

It can range from the artist themselves, the producer, the record company or anyone that wants to take the chance and make the investment. If an artist is signed to a major music label, the funding for a music video is normally provided by the label, this would also happen if the artist is signed to an independent label. 

Music videos make money from both direct and indirect revenue streams. Some examples of direct revenue are the actual sales of the video (digital downloads), sponsorship, ad revenue from platforms such as YouTube and product placement, for example Drake's 'Headlines' video heavily features Nike. Then forms of indirect revenue include royalties from the video, donations and crowdfunding, live performance opportunities, merchandise sales and performance royalties.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXCHANGE:

Distribution companies such as Vevo, Tidal and Vimeo sign deals with record labels, which gives them the right to sell that label's products. The distributor takes a cut of income from each unit sold and then pays the label the remaining balance.

HOW AUDIENCES ACCESS THEM:

Music videos have recently become more accessible through the advancement of technology. Audiences are now able to download as well as stream music videos straight to their devices to watch when they want. The main 3 ways that audiences access videos are the internet, through platforms such as YouTube and Vevo, the TV and channels such as MTV, and media players/apps like iTunes where people can buy and downloads music and videos.