Soundies were an early version of the music video: three-minute musical films, produced by professional film crews in New York, Chicago, and Hollywood between 1940 and 1946. (The completed Soundies were generally released within a few months of their filming; the last group was released in March, 1947.) The films were displayed on the Panoram, a coin-operated film jukebox, in nightclubs, bars, restaurants, factory lounges, and amusement centers.

Soundies covered all genres of music, from classical to big-band swing, and from hillbilly novelties to patriotic songs. Jimmy Dorsey, Spike Jones, Liberace, Stan Kenton, Gale Storm, Kay Starr, Doris Day, Gloria Parker, The Hoosier Hot Shots, Harry "The Hipster" Gibson, and Lawrence Welk were a few of the Soundies stars. More than 1800 of the Soundies mini-musicals were made, and many of them have been released to home video.

Today Soundies are perhaps best known for the performances of African-American artists who had fewer opportunities to perform in public venues. Fats Waller, Louis Jordan, Dorothy Dandridge, Big Joe Turner, Meade Lux Lewis, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, and Stepin Fetchit all made Soundies.

In 1941 Soundies experimented with expanding its format, and filmed comedy Soundies with Our Gang star Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Broadway comic Willie Howard, and dialect comedians Smith and Dale. Most of these films were non-musical, and were not as well received as the musical Soundies. Soundies abandoned the comedy-sketch idea, but continued to produce filmed versions of comic novelty songs.