Albums and the perception of their purpose has shifted through the ages. What was once a coveted concept and a quintessential slider as to whether an artist is great or not has become an accessory to some.
This could be part of a bigger picture in this day and age in terms of artists and the listeners. Maybe its about compartmentalising everyone. But before the discussion is ended prematurely and chalked up to ‘there are different types of artists and listeners’ – let’s explore the album evolution.
From the side lines of the court of music it seemed like releasing an album was a goal for an artist. It almost seemed as though it was privilege to release an album. This notion is also supported by artists complaining about their albums being shelved on either interviews or some of their songs. It was akin to players wanting minutes in a game.
However; these days artists are singing a different tune. The itch or urgency to make an album isn’t as prevalent lately. Artists with big singles and large profiles seem to dragging their feet when it comes to album mode, it seems like a chore to them. This however is not just on the artists and labels. A question one can ask is whether the climate favours albums. The cool thing to say now is that we are in a playlist era which could lead to the calculated assumption that all an artist needs is a hot song or two to get on some popular playlists and they will be good for a season or two while they enjoy some virality through social media challenges if they are lucky.
Looking at the music digital business landscape it would seem all that’s needed is one hot viral song to maintain relevance and cash out. The influencer economy is still quite good and doesn’t seem to be dying down. Juxtapose that with the costs of making an album. Putting together an album and its experience may prove to be an expensive exercise from a time and a money perspective. Thus, logically you can justify not being an album artist.
However even with the quick music business math (that is not derived from any fact or education just quick curious observation) there are still people who value albums from a creator and fan point. Albums still rack up streams and the call for unofficial projects to be formalised and thrown on DSPs does speak volumes in terms of consuming full bodies of work. There are artists that put a lot of muscle in rollouts and full conceptual projects. It is just that one can step out and loudly say that they are not for albums as an artist and it will not be frowned upon by the general audience.
This brings us back to the compartmentalizing notion. Time will tell which compartment grows larger between the playlist artists and the album artists. Life in marvellous times.
FRATPACKER WORLD. 