Music videos started as simple recordings of bands playing live but evolved to include visual interpretations of song lyrics and narratives. Bob Dylan's video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues" in which he held up lyric cards instead of singing was influential, showing that music videos did not need to just feature the band performing. Today, music videos are primarily marketing tools for record promotion and artists strive to make unique videos that stand out from others.

2. Music video- A videotaped performance
of a recorded popular song, usually
accompanied by dancing and visual images
interpreting the lyrics.

3. Today’s music videos are make primarily for
marketing purposes and are intended to
promote record sales. Music videos started to
become more significant in the 1980’s when
MTV started to base their format around
music videos as they became more
entertaining to watch.

4. Originally, music videos started as just
recordings of bands playing, so when they
were touring the country, their music video
could be played on television instead of a
live performance. This meant that the song
could also be listened back at by fans and
eventually bought on records.

5. Then, music videos started to change, and this
started with Bob Dylan’s video for subterranean
homesick blues. This consisted of him holding up
several cards with the lyrics on instead of him
singing with a band. This was a revelation for music
videos as people then started to explore more with
what they could do and started to add narratives.

6. Music videos now often tell
stories and rarely include the
band playing. Artists are
constantly trying to make
their video stand out from
the rest and therefore are
always trying new ideas. Bob
Dylan was hugely influential
to the future of music videos
as artists today are still
copying his idea of writing
lyrics on paper such as
Coldplay.