MP3's and digital music in general have changed the landscape of the music business more thoroughly than perhaps any other technological development. Sure, the formats music has been sold in have changed numerous times throughout the years, but never has the change in format resulted in such a dramatic shift in the way people listen to and buy music.
The ability of consumers to purchase music on a per-track basis has in some ways made concepts such as 'singles', 'EPs', and 'albums' a bit antiquated. So how will this effect the way musicians release their music? The Denver Post has
an interesting article on this very topic. They're predicting that as people buy more individual tracks and less full-length albums, the incentive for artists to release music in the traditional album format will evaporate and we may see the shorter EP become the standard format for many artists.
I'm a bit conflicted about this, if, indeed, it comes to pass. On the one hand, more frequent releases from artists certainly helps on a promotional level, as there is always going to be press around the artist. Perhaps it may encourage artists to experiment and take risks more often if they know their next release is only 3-4 months away, making it easier to do a bit of 'corrective steering' if they lose the audience.
On the other hand, I feel like music in general would be worse off without the album as a format. Sure, shorter, more frequent releases might benefit the consumer, but does it benefit the art? There are countless albums that I can't imagine NOT listening to from start to finish. These aren't merely a random collection of songs, they are artfully arranged so as to be more than just the sum of their parts. A great album is its own universe that you can escape to for an hour or so. The impact of a song can be amplified depending on what precedes it or follows it. Indeed, just as songs are structured to have emotional and energetic peaks and valleys, a great album shares a similar structure that can't be experienced in bite sized morsels.
But times change, and you either adapt or die. The fact is, people are buying their music differently than fans in the past have, and that can't help but alter the way it is sold. It'd be nice to see more artists working to make the album more appealing to consumers by making as much effort as possible to ensure every song is a good one, but we may have already passed the tipping point. The truth is, no one truly knows where all of this is going to end up. It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time. But we as musicians need to keep open minds and listen to what the fans want. It might be at odds with what we personally believe, but if we approach changes like this as challenges to be conquered, instead of trying to convince consumers that they're "wrong", we might find out this business can be salvaged after all.
What do you think? How do you buy your music these days? If you make your own music, would you be open to releasing multiple EPs instead of full length albums or is the album format too important to just let it die?
Ex-Depeche Moder Alan Wilder will release a new Recoil album entitled "Selections" at an as of yet unspecified date this spring, reports Side-Line magazine.
MP3's and digital music in general have changed the landscape of the music business more thoroughly than perhaps any other technological development. Sure, the formats music has been sold in have changed numerous times throughout the years, but never has the change in format resulted in such a dramatic shift in the way people listen to and buy music.
NPR just ran a new story on the Loudness Wars in which engineer Bob Ludwig does a pretty good job of explaining the phenomenon in terms anyone can understand. A good article to share with your non-musician friends.
The one with real analog filters. The interface is a pain, but really nice sounds.
Happy New Year's! No Free Sample Friday today, but it's a pretty safe bet that more than a few of you are sufficiently hungover to not want to sit in between a pair of speakers anyway.
When it first appeared in Logic 8, Apple's Quick Swipe Comping feature represented one of the biggest time savers introduced into the program in - well - forever. (If you're not familiar with what "comping" is, check out this post). It turns out that the feature is also useful for far more than just the traditional uses. A couple weeks back, I showed you how to use Quick Swipe to build "broken beat" type drum loops. Today, I want to show you another way I find this feature useful.
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