20-minute threshold for albums to be included

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Boltzmann
supplier of entropy


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Age: 27
Netherlands

  • #1
  • Posted: 04/05/2021 17:11
  • Post subject: 20-minute threshold for albums to be included
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I remember having read somewhere that an EP or mixtape or any release has to be at least 20 minutes long to be included on this site. I don't like this rule for two reasons. There are many EPs and mixtapes that are shorter than 20 minutes that feel very much like a complete project. These releases are already on this site and I could name a couple, but I fear that someone will delete them immediately. As long as they stay there's no problem of course - it will just be a rule with exceptions -, but lately I have added some EPs by a very obscure Mexican band (Baltazar) which all contain three songs per EP; they are deleted now sadly (and I think the 20-minute threshold is the reason). I would love to use this site to spread some more obscure, upcoming artists, and since it's mostly small, upcoming artists that will release short EPs like this, I think this rule will disproportionally filter them out.
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albummaster
Janitor


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Location: Spain
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  • #2
  • Posted: 04/06/2021 08:34
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BEA is purely an album site, and so releases need to be at 20 minutes long OR contain at least 5 tracks. There has to be a cut-off somewhere, otherwise BEA ceases becoming an album site and becomes something else. If an artist hasn't created a release that meets this criteria, then it won't be listed (this is true for all artists and not just for new artists). The 20 minute cut-off is itself a compromise. and having a clear cut-off keeps the site easy to understand and administer.
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Boltzmann
supplier of entropy


Gender: Male
Age: 27
Netherlands

  • #3
  • Posted: 05/09/2021 19:39
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That isn't even remotely true; this website is filled with EPs and mixtapes. As I said, this rule is already being broken too. I did some searching for examples that I don't care for, here is a list: Spiral Scratch by the Buzzcocks, Watery Domestic by Pavement, Feed Me With Your Kiss, Tremolo and Glider by My Bloody Valentine, Nervous Breakdown by Black Flag; some of which don't run for more than 12 minutes. But please don't remove those for the sake of the people who do care about these EPs, but realize that the 20-minute mark is rather a guideline and that the actual rule is a subjective one: namely, does it feel like a complete project. Some records that do conform to this rule: EPs or even singles with like 4/5 remixes on it like Happiness by Goldfrapp and Roísín Murphy's Narcissus (Crooked Mixes) which is 6 remixes of the same song. If I would add those, you would keep them is what you're saying? You would rather have remix EPs on your website than three original tracks by a small band?

Also I want to point out that I never said new artists are the only ones that are targeted by this rule, but that they suffer disproportionally by this rule.
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Romanelli
Bone Swah


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Location: Broomfield, Colorado
United States
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  • #4
  • Posted: 05/10/2021 16:29
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Boltzmann wrote:
That isn't even remotely true; this website is filled with EPs and mixtapes. As I said, this rule is already being broken too. I did some searching for examples that I don't care for, here is a list: Spiral Scratch by the Buzzcocks, Watery Domestic by Pavement, Feed Me With Your Kiss, Tremolo and Glider by My Bloody Valentine, Nervous Breakdown by Black Flag; some of which don't run for more than 12 minutes. But please don't remove those for the sake of the people who do care about these EPs, but realize that the 20-minute mark is rather a guideline and that the actual rule is a subjective one: namely, does it feel like a complete project. Some records that do conform to this rule: EPs or even singles with like 4/5 remixes on it like Happiness by Goldfrapp and Roísín Murphy's Narcissus (Crooked Mixes) which is 6 remixes of the same song. If I would add those, you would keep them is what you're saying? You would rather have remix EPs on your website than three original tracks by a small band?

Also I want to point out that I never said new artists are the only ones that are targeted by this rule, but that they suffer disproportionally by this rule.


It's absolutely more than remotely true. Understand that there are over 100,000 albums on this site, and the number of people who are watching over it is miniscule in comparison. The reason why those albums exist here is because people add them without regard for the site rules, and sometimes, they slip by. I know that when I see one, I flag it to be deleted.

This has been debated more times than can be counted. AM gave us the compromised rule of more than 4 tracks or 20 minutes. Just because albums below that threshold exist here isn't because rules are being bent...they are here because rules are being broken. As AM has stated repeatedly...this is an album site. If a band wants their release to be considered as an album? Put more material on it. 3 songs, 21 minutes? It's fine here. 4 songs, 12 minutes? No. My answer to your question above: Does a 3 track 12 minute release "feel" like a completed project? My answer is no. Not as an album release. As a single? Sure. But this is, again, not a singles site.

Should 6 remixes of the same song be counted as an album? I don't think so. But for the sake of the sanity of the site, there has to be a cutoff. More than 4 tracks or 20 minutes is that cutoff, it's the site rule, and I'm going to follow it rather than try to slip in releases that don't meet that criteria.

My opinion and bottom line: you want to release music and have it counted as an album release? Write an extra song or two and make it 5 songs instead of 3. Or, be happy with your single. BEA is for albums. Not singles. And the definition has been clearly drawn here.
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