[albummaster]

Very interesting piece in the UK's Guardian newspaper about the future of the album format.

With the general move toward the digital consumption of music, online streaming services & the popularity of pick-and-mix playlists, there has been debate about the wider picture of the album format for the last decade or more.

It has always been said on this site that a good album is far more than just a collection of songs. There is something intangible that binds them together and creates something bigger than if a single track was listened to in isolation. The best albums from the most talented artists still have a significant market, & I think this is the main reason that the album format will continue to survive.

Personally, I think the album format is far from dead (but that's maybe a bit biased, & perhaps hopeful, coming from someone that hosts an album website!) I feel some artists will just drip-feed singles into the market-place looking for the next big hit, but the more musically ambitious artists will want to create something more and are not aiming at the same market & the best of these will continue to be on BEA.

[sp4cetiger]

For the casual listener, it makes perfect sense that the album format would be inconvenient. They just want to hear their favorite songs played back-to-back for arbitrary chunks of time and they don't necessarily need or want a "complete" 45+ minute experience. I'd be very surprised, though, if the album format died completely. The music of tomorrow will be made by music lovers, not casual listeners, and I'm guessing that most music lovers are still attached to the longer formats. Albums may sell less than they used to, but there will always be artists who choose to express themselves in ways that are not commercial.

[meccalecca]

I would guess that since most everything thing in the world works in cycles, it would make sense for singles to again overtake albums for a significant time period, but I'll forever prefer albums over singles.
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[RockyRaccoon]

It doesn't surprise me that the album format isn't as popular as it used to be. I know far too many people who just want to listen to the radio or listen to a playlist or something. In fact, I remember one friend of mine telling me that he's only ever heard one album that he liked listening to all the way through (granted, he's probably never really listened to a full album). Most people, it seems, don't want to listen to the same artist for 45+ minutes, they just wanna listen to some songs they like and that's really it.

I'll always love albums though. It can be such an experience. There are so few art forms that can be an entire experience, that can appeal to the very basic emotions of a human being. It can be beautiful stuff and it's unfortunate that so many people aren't interested in even attempting to have that experience.
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Progressive Rock

Early Psychedelic Rock

Live Albums

[NowhereMan]

[lightmyway]

I love albums, I've had so much fun with them, a good one gives an experience deeper than listening to the radio. But if it's over I'm fine with it. They had a good run, it was an interesting experiment. Only about 1% of artists can even fill an album with good songs. Nothing's stopping those artists from continuing to make albums, and I'll buy them when they do, but I don't think we lose anything if the rest switch to singles. Except for 500,000 awful songs per year.

[meruizh]

The industry has suffered a radical change since the introduction of Napster. Itunes just made it legal. I believe the vast majority of people will make this argument: the digital era gives you the chance to choose the "one song" you like from a band for free or $1 it's much more appealing than spending 15$ in an album filled with songs you simply dont care.

According to the article, Tinie Tempah mentioned they wont be doing albums any more. For me this is the most logical decision Tinie Tempah can make. He is artist made for the charts. But would it sound logical coming from Arcade Fire, no.

In the end we'll have bands with albums and bands with singles. But the album wont die, at least for the immediate future
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"Hurry Up, We're Dreaming"

[Skinny]

[samistake2ice]

I greatly prefer the LP format, but the future the article lays out seems logical. I agree with Mecca that most things are cyclical, and I do believe that Long Play records will survive. But I also see the possibility of more artists releasing EPs. So, instead of releasing 1 album in a year, they might release 2 EPs, 6 months apart. That way they achieve what they want creatively, and also give themselves a bump to consistently stay relevant. Reflektor would actually be a good example of an album that could've been released and marketed in this format.
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Kiki wrote:

You're chart is sooooooooo american. It's like a diner in here.

Check out my new review/pop-culture site MAD DISTRACTION

[RockyRaccoon]

David Crosby had an interesting quote once that somewhat relates to this. His view on the "industry" of the music industry.