With the digital era people seem to pick off the tracks they like instead of buying an album. It's much harder to sell albums now and I find that concerning.
Albums do still matter, some people prefer to be able to hold the album in their hands so they can take it around with them without having to buy an expensive iPod/MP3 (CD players are cheaper by far).
The real problem is that iTunes makes it so easy for people to be lazy.
Probably depends on the artist. Not with the kind who makes lightweight throwaway pop/r'n'b and appeal to the kids, perhaps. But artists who appeal to an older/more varied age group and who make more personal "mood" type albums (I won't mention concept albums as I guess they're more old hat but along those lines) I think people will still want to hear all their songs in the context of an album. But I'm just guessing. Would be awful if people stop buying albums!
Probably depends on the artist. Not with the kind who makes lightweight throwaway pop/r'n'b and appeal to the kids, perhaps. But artists who appeal to an older/more varied age group and who make more personal "mood" type albums (I won't mention concept albums as I guess they're more old hat but along those lines) I think people will still want to hear all their songs in the context of an album. But I'm just guessing. Would be awful if people stop buying albums!
Yes but artists outside the pop spectrum are also stuggling.
And yes, I like to have an actual cd of my favourite artists too, rather than just a download. When it comes to just odd songs I do tend to download them for my mp3 player. When it comes to cd singles I'd usually only buy them by artists I know always put great 'b' sides on them, that aren't on their albums. But not as much these days.
Every artist has a different audience and therefore gets a different kind of support from the label.Some artists are just single sellers, so the goal is to release a series of successful singles that will all surpass at least 1 million worldwide with as less promotion as possible and relatively cheap videos.The albums that single artists release are just potential hits (that all have radio appeal, a beat apt for clubs and a catchy chorus) put together in a thing (sorry, can't call it an album) with a cover and a title.
Of course the album won't sell, but they just use it as an excuse to release more singles. (electro pop newcomers, pop pretenders, rappers wannabes)
On the other hand, album sellers do release some singles, but they don't really care whether they're going to sell or not, it's all about the album.They use the singles to re-connect with an already stable following and maybe draw some casual fans too, but they never strive for/expect/need smash hits.All they have to do is bring out ONE single that represents the album and that is relatively radio friendly and then bring out a cohesive piece of work with some promotion.The album will sell a good amount and then they don't really continue the promotional trail that much and they don't launch singles anymore, they just release a few to radio and maybe shoot some videos too.The albums in their case do matter. (rock arists, rappers, genuine r'n'b' artists)
And of course we have a select group of artists that are current and belong to neither category as they are expected to shift both albums and singles by the truckload (GaGa, Britney, Beyonce), so they have to deliver both a series of carefully launched singles, but with big-budget videos and heavy promotion AND a cohesive album to get critical acclaim and convince the undecided ones to give their albums a chance.So, the albums matter for them too.
Yes they do matter, for the actual fans albums are everything. Whether they are digital or physical, an album is an album, other than touring thats how most acts make there money.
I'm very much an album person. I much prefer to listen to a whole album from start to finish rather than rearranging it or picking certain tracks. I hardly ever make playlists either. Many of the albums I listen to are very much meant to be listened to as a whole rather than picking certain tracks anyway, so it would sound wrong if they were rearranged.
I guess I'm one of a dying breed really because hardly anyone I know does the same any more. Hard to know what the answer is, because the download/MP3 era isn't going to go away, and with album sales at a worrying low, the industry will be constantly looking for new ways to make music sustainable. Still though, most of the acts I listen to (and their fanbases, from what I know) are more album-focused, so hopefully as long as that continues, they will keep making them.
Albums are important to me, I buy loads of them, on vinyl, at charity shops,some for 10p each, then copy them to the PC. I do not buy modern music hardly at all, the last single I bought brand new in a shop was hash pipe by Weezer!
I download too,the odd album but mostly individual songs that I like.
I'm very much an album person. I much prefer to listen to a whole album from start to finish rather than rearranging it or picking certain tracks.
I’m the same. In fact I find it impertinent to stop it halfway through if I need to go and do something else so I’ve been late to things because I feel it’s only respectful to the artist to accord their work the proper respect by listening through from start to finish every time. I don’t use albums as filler between other things just to plug a gap nor do I think I can rearrange the order of tracks better than the creators of it so it’s their sequence I’m interested in, not mine. I got it bad!
Needless to say, I prefer to have a physical object rather than a download and yes, I’m very much still talking about vinyl as well.
They still matter, just not as much as they used to I guess. Like you said, with iTunes etc people can just download and cherry pick what songs they want.
Albums will always matter to me though. I just don't get how people can call themselves a big fan of someone when they don't buy, download or even listen to their albums. Someone I know said two certain artists albums were really good, just going by the singles they release, as I know for a fact they'd never heard the albums :rolleyes:
One things for sure though, albums from my favourite singers will always matter to me:)
They still matter, just not as much as they used to I guess. Like you said, with iTunes etc people can just download and cherry pick what songs they want.
Albums will always matter to me though. I just don't get how people can call themselves a big fan on someone when they don't buy, download or even listen to their albums. Someone I know said two certain artists albums were really good, just going by the singles they release, as I know for a fact they'd never heard the albums :rolleyes:
One things for sure though, albums from my favourite singers will always matter to me:)
Of course albums still matter, but how much they matter is very much determined by the genre of music.
I read an interview recently with the owner of a rock label and he said it was interesting that rock music has very much bucked the trend of downloading music and that the vast majority of rock albums brought were still in the physical form, whether it was CD or vinyl.
I think that is because rock fans are used to the album concept and still buy in to that idea. I also think that is one of the reasons why there is so little rock music in the singles chart. The majority of songs in the singles chart are there because of downloads so if rock music fans are buying physical albums rather than downloading then an individual rock track is never going to sell enough to get in to the singles chart. In fact most rock labels these days give away a free track as a trailer to the new album.
Rock music sales seem to be holding up pretty well and are almost entirely responsible for the growth in vinyl sales so to say sales of CDs is falling off a cliff, as the media love to do, is a bit of a red herring as some genres are doing a lot better than others.
Albums will always matter to me though. I just don't get how people can call themselves a big fan of someone when they don't buy, download or even listen to their albums. Someone I know said two certain artists albums were really good, just going by the singles they release, as I know for a fact they'd never heard the albums :rolleyes:
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I'm so glad somebody else is annoyed by that.However, I've kind of come to terms with people calling themselves big fans without listening to the albums, because the industry is so multi-dimensional that they do indeed contribute to their 'favorite' artist's success.For example, a little hype at blogs can do wonders for an artist and also some of the 'fans' that don't listen to the album may actually go to see the artist on tour.An album costs 10$ while a ticket could cost from 50-250$.So, those 'fans' do play their part in the artist's success.
Gareth from Los Campesinos was talking the other day about the final stages of their new record taking so long because they wanted to arrange the songs in an order which meant people would listen to the record the whole way through, the way it was meant to be listened to.
Comments
The real problem is that iTunes makes it so easy for people to be lazy.
Yes but artists outside the pop spectrum are also stuggling.
That is worrying, I agree. I wish I knew the solution, but like Lord Voldemort said, downloading has made people lazy, which is such a shame.
Of course the album won't sell, but they just use it as an excuse to release more singles. (electro pop newcomers, pop pretenders, rappers wannabes)
On the other hand, album sellers do release some singles, but they don't really care whether they're going to sell or not, it's all about the album.They use the singles to re-connect with an already stable following and maybe draw some casual fans too, but they never strive for/expect/need smash hits.All they have to do is bring out ONE single that represents the album and that is relatively radio friendly and then bring out a cohesive piece of work with some promotion.The album will sell a good amount and then they don't really continue the promotional trail that much and they don't launch singles anymore, they just release a few to radio and maybe shoot some videos too.The albums in their case do matter. (rock arists, rappers, genuine r'n'b' artists)
And of course we have a select group of artists that are current and belong to neither category as they are expected to shift both albums and singles by the truckload (GaGa, Britney, Beyonce), so they have to deliver both a series of carefully launched singles, but with big-budget videos and heavy promotion AND a cohesive album to get critical acclaim and convince the undecided ones to give their albums a chance.So, the albums matter for them too.
I guess I'm one of a dying breed really because hardly anyone I know does the same any more. Hard to know what the answer is, because the download/MP3 era isn't going to go away, and with album sales at a worrying low, the industry will be constantly looking for new ways to make music sustainable. Still though, most of the acts I listen to (and their fanbases, from what I know) are more album-focused, so hopefully as long as that continues, they will keep making them.
Never downloaded a track and never will do.
I download too,the odd album but mostly individual songs that I like.
I’m the same. In fact I find it impertinent to stop it halfway through if I need to go and do something else so I’ve been late to things because I feel it’s only respectful to the artist to accord their work the proper respect by listening through from start to finish every time. I don’t use albums as filler between other things just to plug a gap nor do I think I can rearrange the order of tracks better than the creators of it so it’s their sequence I’m interested in, not mine. I got it bad!
Needless to say, I prefer to have a physical object rather than a download and yes, I’m very much still talking about vinyl as well.
Albums will always matter to me though. I just don't get how people can call themselves a big fan of someone when they don't buy, download or even listen to their albums. Someone I know said two certain artists albums were really good, just going by the singles they release, as I know for a fact they'd never heard the albums :rolleyes:
One things for sure though, albums from my favourite singers will always matter to me:)
oh and physical >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> download.
That's a pet hate of mine. I couldn't agree more
I read an interview recently with the owner of a rock label and he said it was interesting that rock music has very much bucked the trend of downloading music and that the vast majority of rock albums brought were still in the physical form, whether it was CD or vinyl.
I think that is because rock fans are used to the album concept and still buy in to that idea. I also think that is one of the reasons why there is so little rock music in the singles chart. The majority of songs in the singles chart are there because of downloads so if rock music fans are buying physical albums rather than downloading then an individual rock track is never going to sell enough to get in to the singles chart. In fact most rock labels these days give away a free track as a trailer to the new album.
Rock music sales seem to be holding up pretty well and are almost entirely responsible for the growth in vinyl sales so to say sales of CDs is falling off a cliff, as the media love to do, is a bit of a red herring as some genres are doing a lot better than others.
I'm so glad somebody else is annoyed by that.However, I've kind of come to terms with people calling themselves big fans without listening to the albums, because the industry is so multi-dimensional that they do indeed contribute to their 'favorite' artist's success.For example, a little hype at blogs can do wonders for an artist and also some of the 'fans' that don't listen to the album may actually go to see the artist on tour.An album costs 10$ while a ticket could cost from 50-250$.So, those 'fans' do play their part in the artist's success.