Albums are dead.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by manco, Jan 15, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    Good one! But I wouldn't want to spoil it by overuse.
     
    Exotiki likes this.
  2. carrolls

    carrolls Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin
    How can they afford to make an album when they got no money from the previous album? The record company won't be coughing up the money for the new one if its not going to sell. The only recording options for new artists with no money is to put a track up on Youtube and hope it goes viral. Easier said than done.
     
  3. Remote Control Triangle

    Remote Control Triangle Forum Member Rated 6.8 By Pitchfork

    Location:
    Las Vegas
    :biglaugh:
     
  4. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    A large majority of younger acts aren't signed to major labels and therefore don't need "the record company" to fund their recordings. They also keep more money for themselves per sale, since they're not paying for corporate overhead. Many artists have sustained decades-long careers in this fashion.
     
    mark winstanley and Exotiki like this.
  5. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    This isn't the 1980's anymore (regardless of the what the forum thinks). Artists can record an entire album in their apartment and throw it up on Bandcamp. And either independently or via a smaller label they can create small run vinyl / CD / cassette releases if they wanted to.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2019
    ARK, WLL, mark winstanley and 2 others like this.
  6. carrolls

    carrolls Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin
    But these days you would need a miracle on your side to sell those records and cd's in significant numbers.
     
  7. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    True. And yet these artists continue to survive - likely due to the lower overhead.

    Word of mouth, streaming and/or YT. Probably other things that I have no idea about. TikTok maybe?
     
    mark winstanley and Exotiki like this.
  8. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    This seems to be the sticking point in the conversation, apparently. You do not need to sell "in significant numbers" to maintain a financially viable career anymore, as long as you're not signed to a major label.
     
  9. Sex Lies And Master Tapes

    Sex Lies And Master Tapes Gaulois réfractaire

    Location:
    Nantes, France
    You know, i ain't sure the album is dead. Not with me at least.
    I use the streaming convenient media (Qobuz) to discover or re-discover music and i end up buying vinyl albums...
    Heaven is the vinyl store just around the corner... :angel:
     
  10. zen

    zen Senior Member

    Seems more 1984 than ever!. :winkgrin:
     
    Andersoncouncil likes this.
  11. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    Leonard Cohen Discography - USA - 45cat
     
  12. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    So why are so many still buying physical media especially vinyl? Quite a few people like to listen to a whole album, even streaming from Spotify. Artists put music out as an album whether digital or physical so no way is the album dead. Albums drop of the charts quickly because they are announced far in advance and those interested pre order online. So most sales are made on release. There have only been a few albums that have hung around a long time in recent years. Apart from Adele I would say mostly related to film soundtracks. Celine Dion was never such a huge seller in some markets apart from a few singles hits. I doubt she has a big fanbase now in either US or UK. Never could stand her myself.
     
  13. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    Her Vegas residencies have been huge.
     
  14. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Vegas is another world. Has been stars in recording terms have had long runs there. Maybe the demographic that go to those shows - but are they record buyers?
     
  15. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    It sounds like something they did with a version of a Todd Rundgren album named TR-i that was released for the Philips CD-i system. With this version of the album, instead of being just a collection of songs it consisted of snippets that could be assembled on the fly to create different versions of the same album. You could control the tempo, mood, and also choose to generate the album based on different producers. It was fun and interesting to play around with the album and see what comes up.
     
  16. Andersoncouncil

    Andersoncouncil Forum Resident

    Location:
    upstate NY
    I was just listening to Yes "Tales From Topographic Oceans" on CD. Not just an album, but a sprawling, 2 CD conceptual piece. Not a perfect album by any means, but this could never be made in today's musical climate, and I doubt anyone would stream it or have the attention span to listen to it if it was a new release. That being said, boy am I thankful for how the music industry operated (from 1964-2010) before ipod listening and streaming ruled the day. So....to me, as long as shiny compact discs and their CD players are still around (never was a vinyl guy) albums are not dead!
     
  17. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    I don't think albums (regardless of the format) are dead, but they will be less significant than they used to be. I think is mainly because now you don't have to purchase an entire album to get a single song. Where I think an album will continue to be relevant is when it comes to concept/theme albums, where each individual song is a part of a larger whole and thus that would be an incentive to purchase the collection as a whole.
     
    WLL likes this.
  18. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Fixed it for you. Of course it could be made today. Extended pieces are recorded and listened to all the time "in today's musical climate." I just finished listening to a single extended improvisation by Julie Tippetts (nee Julie Driscoll) and Mark Wastell that's utterly mesmerizing.
     
    jay.dee and mark winstanley like this.
  19. Klassik

    Klassik Guerilla BeatLOLogist

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    At year-end, it now transpires that you spoke the truth so truthfully that I've forgotten what the subject of your truth-telling was.
    Perhaps it needs an anniversary edition to commemorate a year of whatever it was :p
     
  20. Noonie

    Noonie Exploring music is a gift

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    “Dead”?

    I’m 45 and never owned a record until recently. Now (compared to 20’s) I have disposable income and can afford to buy the audio equipment and nice vinyl records. I believe the youth of today will one day go through the same phase of wanting something tangible.
     
    HairyWeimer likes this.
  21. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    I have recorded about 30 albums, and never sold one.
    I don't see why you want the album dead. Anyone that does, is certainly not a music lover
     
    Andersoncouncil likes this.
  22. JackS

    JackS Then Play On

    Ahhh yes, like someone said ... "but I may as well try and catch the wind " !
     
  23. HairyWeimer

    HairyWeimer I can resist anything but temptation.

  24. BrokenByAudio

    BrokenByAudio Forum Resident

    no way.
     
    HfxBob likes this.
  25. HotelYorba101

    HotelYorba101 Senior Member

    Location:
    California
    I feel like thankfully there is definitely a market still for those kinds of albums somewhat, even if it may be more niche - for example "The Raven That Refused to Sing" by Steven Wilson is a prog-rock-metal-jazz combo with all of the songs thematically fitting next to each other. Tool recently had a #1 album beating out Taylor Swift, with songs all 10+ minutes long and there was insane hype for this album by rock fans over the years

    I feel like the majority trends are not favorable to these full album experiences, however there is a market for it still and I don't think the album is anywhere near dead - just not as relevant to the mainstream as it once was.
     
    HfxBob and mark winstanley like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine