當今音樂一瞥英語美文

　　Prior to the invention of the radio and the phonograph, the only means whereby music could be brought to a big audience was actually having it performed live. But today we have radio and film, records and tapes, and something lese, music videos!

　　Actually the marriage of motion pictures and popular music is nothing new. The movie industry has made musical films for decades, and musical programs have been a staple on home screens ever since the first days of television. So what makes this phenomenon called “music videos” so different? Perhaps the answer could best be provided by the music recording industry By the late 1970s, record sales in many Western countries underwent a major slump, faced with competition from new leisure time activities such as video games. To fight back, record companies stepped up the production of video clips as a marketing tool for their records. By the middle of this decade, virtually every pop song that became a hit would also be presented to the public in the form of a music video. Today, pop music lovers perceive their favorite songs not only in musical terms, but also in visual terms. Music videos are so popular that they have become an important part of television programming in many countries. In the United States, there is actually al television channel which shows videos 24 hours a day. The visual style of music videos have also affected different branches of the communications media. For instance, a lot of today’s advertising looks and sounds like pop music video. This usually means snappy editing techniques, upbeat music and striking images. Typically, most music videos run for about 3 to 4 minutes, the average length of a pop song.