Early television

In the early days of television, most output was live. The hours of broadcast were limited and so, for test purposes, a test card was commonly broadcast at other times. When a breakdown happened during a live broadcast, a standard recording would be used to fill-in. On the BBC, a film of a potter's wheel was often used for this purpose, filmed at the Compton Potters' Arts Guild.[1] Similar short films, such as a kitten playing, were also used as interludes. Interludes or interstitials are small items used to fill gaps in TV schedules. In the USA, these have their roots in the old Saturday afternoon horror movies hosted on independent stations.[2]

[edit]Music albums

Albums of music were typically of a set size determined by the physical medium such as the vinyl record or CD. Artists might then have to pad out their material to the standard length by including filler tracks of lesser quality and this was normal for popular music in the 1960s.[citation needed]

Oftentimes songs written by the artists or the producer of an album were included as filler and/or released on the b-side of singles to generate more royalties for the songwriter or artist.[citation needed]

Cover versions are often considered to be fillers, though this judgement varies with the amount of creative interpretation and adaption of the original.[3

Early television

In the early days of television, most output was live. The hours of broadcast were limited and so, for test purposes, a test card was commonly broadcast at other times. When a breakdown happened during a live broadcast, a standard recording would be used to fill-in. On the BBC, a film of a potter's wheel was often used for this purpose, filmed at the Compton Potters' Arts Guild.[1] Similar short films, such as a kitten playing, were also used as interludes. Interludes or interstitials are small items used to fill gaps in TV schedules. In the USA, these have their roots in the old Saturday afternoon horror movies hosted on independent stations.[2]

[edit]Music albums

Albums of music were typically of a set size determined by the physical medium such as the vinyl record or CD. Artists might then have to pad out their material to the standard length by including filler tracks of lesser quality and this was normal for popular music in the 1960s.[citation needed]

Oftentimes songs written by the artists or the producer of an album were included as filler and/or released on the b-side of singles to generate more royalties for the songwriter or artist.[citation needed]

Cover versions are often considered to be fillers, though this judgement varies with the amount of creative interpretation and adaption of the original.[3