2. 1800
1850- The only earner in the record industry is the sale of sheet music. Sales
people would travel the country, playing and selling this sheet music to music
shops.
1861 - Western Union completes the first transcontinental telegraph line.
1876 - Alexander Graham Bell issued a patent for the Telephone.
1877 - Edison invents the cylinder "phonograph" used to record and playback
sound.
1877 - Emile Berliner invents the first microphone and sells the rights to Bell
Telephone.
1887 - Emile Berliner invents the flat record player ("gramophone").
1889 - Louis Glass invents the modern jukebox.
1891 - The International copyright agreement is adopted between major
countries.
1892 - Popular music becomes a serious business.
1892 - The first "million-seller" song hit (sold via sheet music) was “After The
Ball” by Charles K. Harris, who was both its composer and publisher.
3. 1900
1900 - Eldredge Johnson perfects first system of mass duplication of pre-recorded flat disks.
1912 - Charles "Doc" Herrold begins the first regular public radio broadcasting of voice and music from his
"wireless telegraph college“.
1935- The first Cassette tape was made.
1950- Introduces the Rock n roll era, Elvis Presley is the most famous Rock n roll icon known as “The king of rock”
who first started his career in 1954.
1960- “Swinging sixties” in came the ‘Motown Record Corporation’. The hit number one was ‘Shop around’ by the
Miracles. Bob Dylan brought the first ever music video with his song ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’. Also a very
famous band called ‘The Beatles’ had became very popular.
1970- This was a big century for rock when many famous bands formed, Aerosmith in 1971, Kiss in 1973. Then in
1974/1976 punk rock formed and now it appealed to a younger audience.
1980- MTV was introduced as a TV channel and featured music videos. A new wave band called ‘The buggles’
became famous and are most remembered for their single ‘Video killed the radio star’. The popularity of heavy
metal and hard rock increased when bands like Guns’n’Roses and Bon Jovi came along. However Hip Hop became a
lot more popular in the later 1980’s, especially after the Run- D.M.C group came along as they were one of the most
influential.
1982- The first CD was invented
1990- By this point in time the 90’s saw to several diverse genres. Grunge music peaked in 1991, alongside bands like
Nirvana and U2’s ground breaking Zoo TV and PopMart tours were top selling. Later on in the 90’s Britpop became
famous and bands like Blur and Oasis formed and became very popular, Oasis is still very popular today. Female pop
icons such as Spice Girls were a British girl band, who became very popular in America. Their impact brought an
invasion of young pop artist such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, N Sync and Backstreet Boys. In the mid 1990’s
MP3 players were invented, which was a very popular way of listening to music.
4. 2000-2014
• Famous pop artists like N Sync and Britney Spears battled artists like Eminem and Nelly for
chart superiority and some of the year’s most significant music was being made in studios
and on concert stages.
• The first Apple iPod was released in 2001 and has continued to develop and expand. Also in
this year iTunes was made, introducing a completely new way of downloading and listening
to music.
• The controversy over ‘The Napster’ programme began, Shawn Fanning, the creator was only
18 when he wrote the source codes that shook the music world. The free downloads was
creating chaos on the internet. The big 5 (Warner Brothers, EMI, Sony, BMG and Universal)
shut him down and sued him for copy right and infringement.
• A popular artist that came around was Eminem who is still famous to date. He was first
described a vile, violent and insensitive but has sold millions of albums worldwide with his
huge fan base supporting him.
• Britney Spears became a prominent figure in popular music and culture during the 2000’s.
Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records.
• Later on in the 2000’s music has become very influenced by social networking sites like
Facebook and twitter, music can both be promoted and slated on them. Also artists can be
discovered by shows like X-Factor, Britain's Got Talent, The Voice UK etc.
• Other Famous artists, who all show different genres have developed like Justin Bieber, One
Direction, Jessie J, Adele, Leona Lewis, Little Mix, Miley Cyrus, Calvin Harris, Lady Gaga,
Tinie Tempah, Katie Perry, Slipknot, Westlife etc.
5. How are Music Videos made?
Music videos are typically made over the course of 2-3 12 hour days and are usually very expensive. The big
labels tend to spend a lot of time and money on producing music videos, they believe that music videos are
a good way of marketing the song/album/artist. However smaller, indie record labels tend to spend less time
and money on music videos as they believe the recording of the music is most important.
Process:
- First the song will need to be professionally recorded ready for the artist to mime in the video. The song will
only be mimed if the music video is based around a performance aspect. Next the music video will be
planned and finalised, with a clear idea of what will be filmed.
- The location is set up for the music video, along with all of the appropriate filming equipment.
- If needed actors and dancers are prepared with costumes and make-up, along with the artist if they choose
to star in their music video.
- Filming is usually finished within 3 days.
- The filming is then taken to the studio to be edited by the music producers and members of the filming crew.
Usually the artist will also have an input with the different editing taking place.
- Once the final product is made a music video date will be set and the countdown for the release begins.
6. Purpose of Music Videos
- Marketing techniques- help promote and sell the song and artist.
- To expand the artists profile- this applies if they are new to the
industry or if they are making a comeback.
- To make an impact on the audience- make a song and music video to
remember.
- To promote the song/album/artist.
- To create controversy.
- To create a brand for the artist.
- To illustrate the song.
