Music videos began as a way to promote sheet music in the late 19th century through illustrated songs that paired images with live performances. In the 1970s, music videos emerged as promotional films for songs. Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" from 1975 is considered the first true music video. The format developed through the 1980s with innovative videos by artists like Prince and George Michael that featured the lyrics displayed without the artist. Modern music videos are primarily intended to market and promote the sale of music recordings.

1. The History of Music Videos
By Ellie Lockwood

2. What is a music video?
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song
and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes.
Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a
marketing device intended to promote the sale
of music recordings.

3. History and Development
In 1894, sheet music publishers Edward B. Marks and Joe
Stern hired electrician George Thomas and various
performers to promote sales of their song "The Little Lost
Child". Using a magic lantern, Thomas projected a series of
still images on a screen simultaneous to live performances.
This would become a popular form of entertainment known as
the illustrated song, the first step toward music video.

4. Lyric Videos
A lyric video is one in which the words to the song are the
main element of the video. In 1987, Prince released a video
for his song "Sign o' the Times". The video featured the song's
words pulsing to the music presented along with abstract
geometric shapes.
In 1990 George Michael released "Praying For Time" as a lyric
video. He had refused to make a traditional music video, so
his label released a simple clip that displayed the song's lyrics
on a black screen.
A lyric video may be released separately by a music label
prior to the more usual video featuring the artist. Cee Lo
Green, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Muse and Avenged Sevenfold
among many others, have released lyric videos.

5. The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band that formed
in Liverpool, in 1960. With John Lennon, Paul
McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became
widely regarded as the greatest and most influential act of the
rock era.Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the
Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging
from pop ballads to psychedelic and hard rock, often
incorporating classical elements in innovative ways.

6. The first music video
Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) is generally regarded as
the first "music video".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ&hd=1#!