Media A2 Music Coursework: History of Music Timeline

We looked at the history of the music industry. I started looking from the 1890s.

Year	events	description
1894	First Example of 'Illustrated Song'	The Little Lost Child is a popular song by Edward B. Marks and Joseph W. Stern which sold more than two million copies of its sheet music following its promotion as the first ever illustrated song, an early precursor to the music video. The song was also known by its first three words: "A Passing Policeman."
1926	Arrival of 'Talkies'	Many musical short films produced featuring many bands, vocalists and dancers.First sound film, The Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland, USA)
1930s	"Screen Songs" Introduced	This was a series of cartoon films which encouraged audience to sing along by using a “bouncing ball”. It is similar to a karaoke.
	Ancestor of the Music Video	This was a short film starring Bessie Smith. The film had an all-African-American cast and was directed by Dudley Murphy
	Musical Films	This was a film genre in which several songs were interwoven into the film.
1940s	Arrival of promotional clips	These were short films of many famous jazz artists and their bands on a movie-set bandstand.
	Hollywood musical	Peak period of MGM Hollywood musical
1960s	The rise of Television	The rise of popular music was tied with the rise of television as the format exposed new stars.
		Television during the 50s and 60s gave everything from the rural life stillness of “Petticoat Junction” to Walter Cronkite’s tearful announcement of the assassination of President Kennedy. In the 1940s, the three networks – NBC, CBS and ABC – were "networks" in name only. All of the programming originated, live, in New York. The only way the networks had to distribute the shows to the rest of the nation was to point a film camera at a television screen and convert video to film.
	The Beatles	The Beatles release the film and album, A Hard Day’s Night (Richard Lester, UK)
1980s	Launch of MTV	Music Television is an American cable television channel based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981 by media executive Robert Pittman. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs.
	David Bowie	"Ashes to Ashes" is a song by David Bowie, released in 1980. It made number 1 in the UK and was the first cut from the Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) album, also a number 1 hit. As well as its musical qualities, it is noted for its innovative video, directed by Bowie and David Mallet.
	Thriller by Michael Jackson	Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records. The genres include pop, R&B, and rock, post-disco and adult contemporary music. Thriller was Michael Jackson's most successful and influential video of all time to have been released.
	VH1 Launched	VH1 or Vh1 (known as VH-1: Video Hits One from 1985 to 1994) is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on Tuesday January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly older demographic than its sister channel, focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music.
	Hip Hop Growth	Hip Hop sees significant growth and popularity as MTV launches Yo! MTV Raps.
1990s	Rise of the directors	Listed in the credits for the first time, directors such as Gondry and Romanek launch careers. Sledgehammer (Stephen Johnson), wins best director award.
	Jake Scott	REM: Everybody Hurts (Jake Scott), wins best director award
	Spike Jonz	Fatboy Slim: Praise You (Spike Jonze), wins best director Award
1995	Scream	"Scream"/"Childhood" is the lead single from Michael Jackson's ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I where "Scream" is the first song. The A-side, "Scream", is a duet with his younger sister Janet Jackson. The single was released on May 31, 1995.The Jackson's "Scream", costing seven million to produce, is the most expensive music video ever.
20th century	Pop Idol: Reality TV Pop	Pop Idol is a British television music competition created by Simon Fuller which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer in the UK based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003. Pop Idol was cancelled in February 2004, and was replaced later that year with The X Factor.
	YouTube	YouTube allows people to watch videos online. New artists see popularity rise through the internet.
	iTunes	Apple steamed in and gave the audience what they've always wanted: instant access. Selling 25m tracks in 12 months and passing the 10bn mark before the end of the decade, iTunes' impact on labels, retailers and the album format is well documented
	One Billion	Lady Gaga is the first artist to reach 1billion video views. The singer’s three singles, including new release Telephone, make her the most-watched artist on the web. Her song "Poker Face" sees 375million alone.
2011	21	21 is the second studio album by English recording artist Adele. Released on 24 January 2011[1] in most of Europe, and on 22 February 2011 in North America, it was named after the age of the singer during its production.