4 Reasons We Don't Need Music Albums Anymore
This topic may appear controversial to someone who lived in the pre-streaming era or for whom the Record Store Day is something important. It's cool to hold a record in your hands, remove the foil and enjoy the artwork. Gotcha. But wait a minute! Why does something cool need an international day? Is international "awareness" not a privilege of something endangered or dying?
Contrary to what one might think, the so-called vinyl revival of the recent decade has been a by-product of the streaming revolution and not a result of successful resistance to the digital onslaught. The vinyl simply filled the void left by .mp3 lovers who switched to Spotify and Deezer. As of today, physical formats are still in decline.
But why am I bitching about vinyl? Wasn't the purpose of this entry to talk about music albums in general? Okay, okay. You got me. But the reason I started off with vinyl vs. streaming is simple - the black disc has been shaping our consumer preferences ever since it was introduced in the middle of the 20th century. We were tought to think that new music is a dozen of songs with the playing time of approximately 40 minutes or more. However, nowadays, there's no need to stick to albums anymore. Here's why.
1. The "album" is not the golden standard but rather a natural development of the 1950s.
Once upon a time, phonograph records could only feature one song per side. Large collections of songs were thus a pain in the ass in terms of storage. LPs were a true blessing for a rational music consumer - five discs were squeezed into just one with superior quality. Artists could suddenly express their creativity more freely by recording songs of 5 minutes length if they wanted to. Record labels raised their revenues. Everyone won.
Illicit copying notwithstanding, cassettes and CDs didn't significantly change consumer behavior, they were still physical formats. You buy them in their entirety as they are sold. It is mp3 and digital downloads that could deal the first serious blow to the idea of a music album. Why buy the whole thing if you can download what you like and save the rest of your money?
Streaming services are by definition more playlist and less album-oriented. Consequently, it makes more sense to release single tracks on a regular basis than painstakingly collect material for an 80 minute release and then suffer from creative crisis for two years or so. The majority of album tracks, even some good ones, will sink into oblivion anyway.
2. Can you name an album each song of which you really enjoy?
This leads us to the nummmmber twooo. Think of any album, even an iconic one, that you can play from the beginning to the end without being distracted or wanting to skip a track or two or being overwhelmed because it's too f***ing long. If you can, you're a lucky person. Although Rammstein's Mutter is damn close, I generally find something to be unhappy about on any album. And exceptions only reinforce the rule, right?
Thinking in albums forces a band to publish all it has at once instead of releasing single tracks, say, quarterly. The latter strategy has several important advantages.
- You don't have to fill remaining space with garbage (filler songs, live material, old demos etc.)
- You publish only the best material
- You can market each song indiviudally
- No need in countless pathetic anniversary (special, platinum, rainbow farting) editions of your previous material to fill the time between "big" releases
3. You don't need a recording studio to make good quality records
The time in a recording studio costs a whole lotta money. So you write your songs, practice as hell and record as many as you can in as fewer sessions as possible. Recording one song at a time might not be worth the money.
However, recording at a private home studio is now easier and cheaper than ever. On the one hand, it's possible to record electric isntruments silently using only a cable, even drums. Your neighbors will thank you. On the other hand, one can build a home studio for appr. $1000 or even lower.
So, when the inspiration strikes, you can record, mix and master without paying anything. You just need to be passionate about what you do and spend some time exploring your possibilities.
4. Self-marketing is easy as f***
An objection may be raised that newcomer bands can't afford the piecemeal strategy I've just described in 2. because no-one knows them. In order to kick-start your musical career, you need a label that signs you which involves the usual ablum-tour routine. True. The obvious advantage of a label contract is financial security. You get a salary and there are some obligations.
Au contraire, self-marketing takes a long time to trickle down. However, with some understanding of digital marketing and social media there is a plenty of possibilities to find your audience. Bandcamp, Soundcloud, YouTube, you name it. Hell, I think Minds is very interesting platform to build your fan base from scratch. Don't know how a musician could effectively use Patreon but it's definitively an option, too.
Again, it takes time to find and expand your fan base but why the hurry? Most of us have jobs anyway.
***
I may be wrong in every point I make. Nevertheless, I think musicians can learn a lot from other content creators. Some free minds on the alt-tech are already challenging the dinosaur media by effectively exposing their false narratives and biases. It's about time that musicians liberate themselves from the narrow boundaries set by the music industry and practices of the past.