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Is there a point to making an album?


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Mark said something in a different thread that got me thinking.

 

"Certainly, if I ever decide to make a 'album,' whatever that is, I'll definitely consider some pro-mastering."

 

What is that nowadays anyway? It used to be pretty clearly defined what an album was, and how people listened to them. Do people still listen to albums these days? Our band finally has enough decent songs to actually fill out a full album, but I'm not sure there is a point. It's a lot of hassle to master a bunch of tracks so they all sound cohesive, and that's a lot of work to create a CD that probably won't even be used as a coaster by our friends and family that receive our album as gifts.

 

I mean there are some really fun things that I'd like to do in making an album, like figuring out a great sequence, or maybe adding some fun skits in between tracks, and of course the album art and liner notes. But is there a reason to do it anymore?

 

Edited by chumpy
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Chumpy - apparently the new album format is going to be the EP - around 5 to 7 songs - this can be completed and churned out quicker than an album - remains more current and because you can do (well if you can) 2 or 3 a year, they reckon people will stick around more if they like your music. The single format is also going to get bigger again, as acts release a single song on a more regular basis.

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@Richard Tracey: I personally love the EP format. Some of my favorite records ever are Guided By Voices EPs. In terms of making one it seems considerably easier to do, and you still get to work on sequence, album art, liner notes -- things I've always wanted to do.

 

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1 minute ago, chumpy said:

@Richard Tracey: I personally love the EP format. Some of my favorite records ever are Guided By Voices EPs. In terms of making one it seems considerably easier to do, and you still get to work on sequence, album art, liner notes -- things I've always wanted to do.

 

 

and you don't have to worry too much about mastering an albums worth of songs to all sound like they belong together. An EP can be a mix of different styles and be accepted as such. Or you can do a mini concept idea.

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18 hours ago, chumpy said:

Mark said something in a different thread that got me thinking.

 

"Certainly, if I ever decide to make a 'album,' whatever that is, I'll definitely consider some pro-mastering."

 

What is that nowadays anyway? It used to be pretty clearly defined what an album was, and how people listened to them. Do people still listen to albums these days? Our band finally has enough decent songs to actually fill out a full album, but I'm not sure there is a point. It's a lot of hassle to master a bunch of tracks so they all sound cohesive, and that's a lot of work to create a CD that probably won't even be used as a coaster by our friends and family that receive our album as gifts.

 

I mean there are some really fun things that I'd like to do in making an album, like figuring out a great sequence, or maybe adding some fun skits in between tracks, and of course the album art and liner notes. But is there a reason to do it anymore?

 

 

Your post made me think... Aside from making albums to sell (or give away...whatever)... I think if you plan to make an album it could help focus you with a goal (not that you need it...but 'you' meaning anyone), and maybe more importantly an album captures a period. All artists develop, change, and I suppose a good thing about an album is it generally, or maybe should, contain the best of an artist's work during a certain period of time.... and it needs to be done so there's some pressure which has some effect too... then when it's done, time to think about the next...which will likely be slightly different and so maybe also encourages change and development.

 

Something that the artists we all know and love have always done... but something that most amateurs/unsigned (including me) don't really think about because we don't need to! 

So it made me think...although I don't expect to sell any albums, maybe I should focus on making one as a goal within a set time. I have made one before but really it was an afterthought sticking tracks I liked together.... which isn't the same thing at all.

In terms of a sales related reason... I dunno. Don't people buy albums anymore? If not...they should! ;)  

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Short answer is yes, although I agree with Richard, an EP was anywhere from 4 to 6 songs traditionally, while an album (LP) was usually 8-12.  Albums will lose a track or two for more rapid turn around.

 

Albums are more than just a collection of songs, especially for the pop market, and often with rock. They allow the artist to indulge fashion, similar or related concepts and styles, and then let them draw a line under it and move on. Think of Bowie, Madonna, Lady Gaga etc. They established a strong image by reinventing how they looked and sounded. They rely on marked characteristics to connect them. Sometimes that is something image related but usually it is something distinctive about their music. The character of the voice, the approach to production.

 

With rolling single releases musicians lose the burst in activity of "something new" because change seems to be so gradual. This mutes response to changes. 

 

Regular singles in the rolling single mode will still occur, even mini 4 song EPs. These allow artists to have small pockets of experimentation... which is a good thing, and allow them to take advantage of the instant access generation, while retaining the step-wise benefits of the LP.

 

Only rolling singles is a problematic model. Change becomes unremarkable, and that is often the death of an artist.

 

Cheers

 

John.

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I think, for me, if I decide to do anything for release it will be an EP first - a couple of vocal songs and instrumentals. It would have to be digital download as I have no inclination to go down the CD route.

 

Chumpy, if I was you and your band, I would do the EP as a starter. It may then focus you towards an album if people become interested.

 

David - I also think you should do an EP or something, as a lot of your newer material would go well together as a collective for listening to.

 

Dek - you should think about it also, you like David, have a recent collection of songs that would go well together in an EP or something similar.

 

John - I think the days of the Legends creating albums to show off a new side has gone. Today we have pop stars releasing an album every 6 months, with what are considered the singles, probably about 4 or 5 songs and the rest is filler, throwaway tracks that no-one will listen to again. I've listened to a lot of albums recently and apart from a couple of songs, the rest are the kind of stuff that would have been on b-sides or thrown away in years gone by.

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15 minutes ago, Richard Tracey said:

I think the days of the Legends creating albums to show off a new side has gone. Today we have pop stars releasing an album every 6 months, with what are considered the singles, probably about 4 or 5 songs and the rest is filler, throwaway tracks that no-one will listen to again. I've listened to a lot of albums recently and apart from a couple of songs, the rest are the kind of stuff that would have been on b-sides or thrown away in years gone by.

 

Maybe in 'pop' or rather what is intended to be pop, I don't know to be honest, I've not looked into it ... but outside of 'pop' is that the case? I mean if you take artists on 'Sub Pop' for example, don't they still produce albums in the same way that the 'legends' did? From what I can gather, some artists like that might spend a year making an album because they want it to be 'just so', and it's not unusual for long periods between albums. I think it's different depending on the type of music you're making, or perhaps more importantly the label you're on and the kind of fans you have. 

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1 hour ago, Richard Tracey said:

John - I think the days of the Legends creating albums to show off a new side has gone. Today we have pop stars releasing an album every 6 months, with what are considered the singles, probably about 4 or 5 songs and the rest is filler, throwaway tracks that no-one will listen to again. I've listened to a lot of albums recently and apart from a couple of songs, the rest are the kind of stuff that would have been on b-sides or thrown away in years gone by.

 

Richard, I am not saying "business as usual" or more of the same. Short albums, short EPs and singles is more or less what you are saying. Filler and experiments for singles, yes, but EPs and short albums allow them to have themes... and that plays well with branding, with tours and tour promotion... otherwise albums and EPs would already have disappeared. Physical CDs may still be around but my guess is they would be more about consumer choice of tracks and burned as needed in shops with whatever artist artwork is appropriate.

 

There is a strong marketing benefit to a big splash and strong identity. That is far harder to do on the budget of a single. The need for reinvention is useful for artists for many reasons. Relaunches give more of an excuse for push marketing. People pay more attention when the message is new and fresh. They pay more attention with the difference between this model and the last is more marked. Incremental change does not really offer such opportunity.

 

Music, software fashion, all develop incrementally. True some increments are bigger than others. People tend to buy incrementally too, except with binge buying at Christmas. This has pretty well always been the case. Now tech makes it easier to support it, because it is less expensive to do so.... but that was never really the problem with incremental release... otherwise singles would always have been the method of release, physical media or not.

 

undoubtedly distribution costs are lower. It is easier to make incremental releases, and buyers are used to the ease of track purchase.... but that is not the same as batch release. Batches, in thus case albums, allows budgets to be pulled together. They allow the exploitation of brand themes, musical and otherwise. They allow marketers to make bigger budget splashes. The make it easier to hut with greater impact.

 

Albums, EPs and singles mixed together allow the benefits of always present artists to be married with larger impact brand advertising. Albums and EPs being smaller make that more maintainable. Singles in particular allow them to explore new market segments.

 

Its all a bit like mining. In mining you use bore holes (singles) to test for the presence of a mineral. A test pit can then be dug (EP) and when lucrative a seam will be opened with a full mine gallery (LP).

 

As ever in the music industry there are artistic and business reasons and choices. You can guarantee that if albums did not serve a sound business purpose they would already has disappeared.

 

 

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1 hour ago, MonoStone said:

 

Maybe in 'pop' or rather what is intended to be pop, I don't know to be honest, I've not looked into it ... but outside of 'pop' is that the case? I mean if you take artists on 'Sub Pop' for example, don't they still produce albums in the same way that the 'legends' did? From what I can gather, some artists like that might spend a year making an album because they want it to be 'just so', and it's not unusual for long periods between albums. I think it's different depending on the type of music you're making, or perhaps more importantly the label you're on and the kind of fans you have. 

 

There are still many old and new artists making the typical album - I was just meaning the 'pop' artists that are ten a penny at the moment. I love finding an album where every song on it has been crafted to perfection and there isn't a dull song on the track list.

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13 minutes ago, john said:

 

Richard, I am not saying "business as usual" or more of the same. Short albums, short EPs and singles is more or less what you are saying. Filler and experiments for singles, yes, but EPs and short albums allow them to have themes... and that plays well with branding, with tours and tour promotion... otherwise albums and EPs would already have disappeared. Physical CDs may still be around but my guess is they would be more about consumer choice of tracks and burned as needed in shops with whatever artist artwork is appropriate.

 

There is a strong marketing benefit to a big splash and strong identity. That is far harder to do on the budget of a single. The need for reinvention is useful for artists for many reasons. Relaunches give more of an excuse for push marketing. People pay more attention when the message is new and fresh. They pay more attention with the difference between this model and the last is more marked. Incremental change does not really offer such opportunity.

 

Music, software fashion, all develop incrementally. True some increments are bigger than others. People tend to buy incrementally too, except with binge buying at Christmas. This has pretty well always been the case. Now tech makes it easier to support it, because it is less expensive to do so.... but that was never really the problem with incremental release... otherwise singles would always have been the method of release, physical media or not.

 

undoubtedly distribution costs are lower. It is easier to make incremental releases, and buyers are used to the ease of track purchase.... but that is not the same as batch release. Batches, in thus case albums, allows budgets to be pulled together. They allow the exploitation of brand themes, musical and otherwise. They allow marketers to make bigger budget splashes. The make it easier to hut with greater impact.

 

Albums, EPs and singles mixed together allow the benefits of always present artists to be married with larger impact brand advertising. Albums and EPs being smaller make that more maintainable. Singles in particular allow them to explore new market segments.

 

Its all a bit like mining. In mining you use bore holes (singles) to test for the presence of a mineral. A test pit can then be dug (EP) and when lucrative a seam will be opened with a full mine gallery (LP).

 

As ever in the music industry there are artistic and business reasons and choices. You can guarantee that if albums did not serve a sound business purpose they would already has disappeared.

 

 

 

John - I'm not saying that there shouldn't be albums being created and released. I was talking about where the future is meant to be going. I read a couple of good articles about this a while back and they could see the Single and EP being the way of the future and given the price point, could lead to people purchasing music again. One of the groups I like - Royksopp - have said they are no longer making albums. They are concentrating now on releasing singles or EP's depending on what they have ready at that time. They don't want to be tied down to waiting till an album is ready before releasing. They realised their fans were wanting music quicker, but they were unable to get it out there, due to the length of time it takes them to perfect their sound. They see this is the way the industry is going to go due to streaming and digital and they are looking to embrace it.

 

I think it is a good idea, it means you don't have to wait a year or two, or longer for something new from the artists you like and it takes the pressure off of them, hopefully leaving them with time to concentrate on their music.

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I can see that working for Royksopp (I like them too). Their market is not so image dominated. Their marketing is not as big a budget. Their branding is not as heavy.

 

Maybe we can call it EP and mini EP lol

 

There are a few theories on where the future lies. Everything from loss leading music, to rolling single releases, and even a few who think if they just hang tight with the old model it will come back around again.

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On 20/01/2017 at 8:19 PM, john said:

I can see that working for Royksopp (I like them too). Their market is not so image dominated. Their marketing is not as big a budget. Their branding is not as heavy.

 

Maybe we can call it EP and mini EP lol

 

There are a few theories on where the future lies. Everything from loss leading music, to rolling single releases, and even a few who think if they just hang tight with the old model it will come back around again.

 

I think the album works for some artists, who have been around a while and people expect that from them and will wait for new music.

 

A new artist should look at the EP or mini EP to get them out there, especially if they are not signed to a label. It may get them noticed and can help their career. I know of a few artists who have done this and a big labels picked them up as they saw something in the music.

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Ed Sheerin released about 9 EPs on his own before he was signed

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Since it hasn't been mentioned I think another reason to do it could be to prove that you can go the extra mile and are willing to put in the hard work. It's a lot easier and less expensive to just create .mp3s for download than it is to put a CD together. It could be seen as showing you actually care. Although I'm not sure if caring and doing the hard work are really sought after in the music biz. I think the main things they want are your voice, your looks, your (no questions asked) time and proof of a good following. Or combinations of those.

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I would add something to my earlier comments.

 

I read regularly, from indie musicians and unsigned indie bands, that money cannot be made from music. I hear the same from full-time but self-releasing artists. From artists signed to established labels I hear simply that less money is made from music than it used to be possible to make.

 

Some artists cite artistic reasons for either maintaining releasing albums or for stopping doing them, though there are very few who cite the latter. Labels sometimes cite business reasons for changing how some artists will be releasing music. Certainly things have been shaken up. Both indie artists and labels are experimenting with new business models, new release models. Few things are certain. Most experiments are short lived, and are mainly about creating space, differentiating themselves from other artists, or even emphasising anti-establishment credentials.

 

I ask these questions (to make the point)

 

  • Of the professionals, how many are giving their music away for free? just as a guesstimate percentage.
  • Of the professionals, how many are stopping releasing albums? Yet again as a guesstimate percentage.

 

I would estimate the percentages are pretty low.

 

As far as low level pro musicians go I think there are differences. Just not necessarily the differences most think of.

These issues tend to impact the viability of albums as money making endeavours more than listening habits. Go on iTunes. Songs are still gathered in albums and EPs. 

 

What has has changed somewhat is the release process and the size of albums in some markets.

 

Believe me, if releasing albums did not make money in comparison with doing free releases, albums would no longer exist. At all. Labels are ruthless about making money.

 

Different markets are different, largely dictated by listening demographics.

 

 

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I was recently in one of the largest book emporiums in my area looking for books that might lend lyric ideas and while there I came across a huge selection of vinyl records. They don't seem to be moving. It's not like they can't keep them on the shelves.The CD's are collecting dust too.

 

I really admire the relentless optimism I see here in some posts, yet the realist in me says that there's a new normal. It doesn't look quite as good as the old normal did. Try hard enough at anything and I suppose eventually you will push through. The rules might need to change and the expectations might need to be adjusted.

 

I don't claim to be an expert. I can see the changes a comin' actually already came.

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Hi Tim

 

Vinyl and CDs are formats. Additionally, vinyl, albeit for mainly EDM is making a comeback. It will never be like the best days. Too much has shifted. For me it is not about an imagined optimism of a yesteryear musical nirvana, a belief that things have not changed or that the world has not moved on. It is a realism about what is possible and what is not possible. What is and what isn't.

 

Back in the long, long ago, it wasn't easy to make money as a musician. Indeed it was difficult to get paid from recordings at all. After the industry became established and evolved into a recording marketplace, guess what, it still wasn't easy to make a living. Most musicians relied upon gigs and did well to earn enough to make recordings. What did happen was a path for dubious success appeared, and others were, to a degree, able to mimic it. It still required a lot of luck. Success was still closer to winning the lottery than anything else.

 

The once established pathways have shifted. There are significant changes. It doesn't mean everything has changed. That is not the same as expecting old vinyl and old CDs to fly off the shelves.Physical format is not the same as song collections.

 

Less books sell, yet there are more opportunities for unpublished authors to sell their own books. Yes you can still get published by a known publisher, but there are less opportunities through traditional publishers precisely because of the variety of formats on offer, the rise of self-publishing and the ability of different publishers to adapt their catalog. Music sales are similar. Formats are diverse. Opportunity for self-publishing, self-release, are more achievable.

 

You are indeed right that changes have come. At the same time, changes are always coming.

 

The great thing about an album is that in electronic formats, songs can be sold individually. The two approaches need not be mutually exclusive. Chosing to sell only singles has it's virtues and it's drawbacks. They are simply different approaches and sometimes more of a gimmick than anything else.

 

Cheers

 

John

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A book emporium? I thought those were obsolete? Nobody reads books anymore. The Kindle's the future. Not for my kids and many others. They do read stuff online but nothing beats a book in your hands. Even kids have that figured out. You see, that's the thing. I would gather that the only reason people have stopped buying CDs, Albums, etc… is because they simply don't have to. They can get what they want free everywhere. If you couldn't get music free, people would go back to buying it. I guarantee it. People would not stop listening to music if the internet went away and you couldn't get it all free or through a "dirt-cheap-screw-the-artist" streaming service. But geesh, tell the world it's wrong to rip people off and a hissy fit ensues by the freeloading masses.

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12 minutes ago, Just1L said:

A book emporium? I thought those were obsolete? Nobody reads books anymore.

 

But they do read novels. Yes they buy books, on Amazon etc. Book shops are struggling Kindles etc are booming.

 

Who knows Randy, if Mr Trump gets his wish of getting rid of the free internet as we know it, maybe piracy willl take a knock. Hopefully not behind a Chinese-like firewall of censored internet! It might have an impact on the US market. Mr Trump is nothing if not pro business, and the music biz was a biggie. (I am not looking for a political debate of rights and wrongs, but the implications of his controlled internet may well have a music industry impact, at least within the USA.)

 

As for music, one thing the music industry knows is that fans, true fans, still buy music The buzz word these days is "super fans". The industry is geared to turn listeners to fans, and fans to super fans... and largely, it works.

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