We all knew this question would need to be answered eventually - is the album going the way of the dodo? Is there even a need for it anymore?
Music in its current sell-able form has splintered into singles. For example, Jonathan Coulton’s recent success has been based on writing and distributing one song a week. Moreover, when most listeners search for music they search by group or artist rather than album. How do you listen to your iPod? I would bet you randomly play within one artist much more than you plan one specific album anymore, and my guess is that even younger music purchasers and listeners almost never listen to specific albums and rather just play the entire library randomly or select just one artist without regard to album.
I agree that musicians are human and they go through phases, and those phases add meaning to their work. Thus, listening to songs as they were created and grouped in one period of time does perhaps add to the listening pleasure for many music fans. Early U2 is certainly different than late U2.
But an album grouping is so arbitrary and in many ways now is starting to feel like simply the easiest way to sell the next batch of songs. Is the time ripe for a paradigm shift away from albums and perhaps in the direction of mini-albums? Artists can now release songs in, for example, batches of 3 at a time. This can be practical for both fans, who get studio versions of new songs quicker, and artists, who wouldn’t have to worry about the additional time and expense to finish 11 or so songs for an album.
Moreover, once the album becomes a less useful way to group music, artists (and technology) will get more creative in how songs are grouped, which may render the album even less necessary. For example, how about listening to just Beatles songs written by George Harrison, only live Widespread Panic songs when Michael Houser was their lead guitarist, or Tom Petty songs only when he is singing with Stevie Nicks? With technology and the ability to provide detailed information on a song’s data, this sort of listening function is not far away. This may make the album just some way to sell the most recent batch of songs, and not much more.
But, as discussed in a music blog on wired.com, “there will always be die-hard fans who respect the sanctity of the album format, as there will always be recording artists who create albums as coherent experiences rather than collections of one-offs.”
For these fans and artists I offer this advice:
Offer something to sell along with the purchase of the album to make the entire album purchase worthwhile. This means offering up extras like a bonus live DVD or behind the scenes discussions of your music. These extra offerings can be sent to fans who purchase the album and will help further the idea that the album represents the collective ideas of the band at the time of its release. One logistical item here, though, may be how to get the DVD to your fans after the album purchase is made. Mailing separately once a proof of purchase is provided may be the only option at this point.
Like NIN, those who purchase the entire album could receive the master tracks to edit, play with and enjoy as they see fit. I think an extra significant fee for this is reasonable.
And if as an artist you feel like the songs must be heard a certain way, take some advice from wired.com and get your fans comfortable with the idea of a one-track album comprised of a single 45-minute file!
4 Responses So Far
1
Dave
Apr 8, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Personally, I listen to movie soundtracks straight thru now and again.
2
Peter
Apr 8, 2008 at 10:36 pm
As an artist I’m still attached to the album format. I suspect that Matt is correct about the younger generation and albums, although every generation has it’s iconoclasts, so there will always be some people who as fans of older classic albums will want that same product from their current fave band.
As a songwriter I’m happy to have anyone listen to any of my songs in any way they desire but it’s also fun for me as an artist to be able to offer a suggested grouping/order for the album even if the fan never chooses to listen to it that way. As a listener I appreciate understanding the artists intent in the way as well. There are certain albums that have a vibe on their own where the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts….
3
matt
Apr 14, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I do agree that there is a benefit to appreciating whatever an artist provides as insight into their art, be it the order of the songs on a CD or order of songs in a concert. I too remember with fond memories listening to certain specific albums - Picture of Nectar, Automatic for the People for me in college, for example.
But will anyone remember the names of the albums anymore when they aren’t pulling them off a CD book shelf? Are the days of albums like The Wall and Sgt. Peppers over?
I wonder if artists will put the time into albums that way anymore. Perhaps the way people purchase and listen to music may be the reason.
I also have this question - are there favorite Grateful Dead albums of yours, or only specific shows that ring truer to you? And is the answer to that question a signal of where things could be headed for current bands looking for long term success?
4
Peter
Apr 21, 2008 at 6:32 am
For me there are only 2 GD albums that are truly great, American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead. The Dead were first and foremost a live band and all the things that made them an incredible live entity caused them to be less than brilliant in the studio. Live they could create improvised passages of music that featured each member of the band interacting and improvising freely off of one another’s ideas. This never translated to the studio very well because it’s impossible to achieve that sort of groupmind in the studio due to the fact that you can constantly listen back to passages and second guess descisions and redo them which often ends up in endless tinkering. Ultimately it comes down to who is in charge or producing the album so you get one persons vision rather than 5-6 at once as you do with live Dead.
For this reason, the Dead are really not the best example to use as a litmus test for whether albums will be relevant anymore. Improvisational music like jazz and the Dead will always be fundamentally about the live experience, so their live recordings will be treasured by fans. An album like Coltrane’s A Love Supreme is performed entirely live as a quartet (albeit recorded in multiple takes in the studio) and it sounds like it.
A better barometer would be a band like Radiohead. They are an excellent live outfit who make consistently interesting and often brilliant albums. Will their albums and studio recordings still be relevant? I think they will be, although in what format I do not know. As long as people are listening to recordings on Ipods, satellite/internet radio, etc. they will want to have the best listening experience. In many cases that will be a studio track and I don’t think that will change…
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