Opinion: The future of albums

[JerseyGirl]

I thought this was an interesting article and make for a good discussion here since it's been brought up a few times.

Opinion: The future of albums

With the increase in the amount of music sold digitally, more people are buying songs, and fewer people are buying albums. While some have suggested that the days of the album are numbered, I don’t think this is the case. Buying individual songs is nothing new, and while many buyers are eschewing complete albums to get just the hits they want, this is only a minor shift in the way music is sold. So what is the future of albums?

MORE IN LINK: Opinion: The future of albums | Macworld

 

[Riff Raff]

I used to like getting singles for those individual songs but over time I was more interested in hearing the entire bands albums if they were interesting enough on that one song. Buying individual songs to me is kinda pointless, better off just getting the album seeing as most albums I see are not that pricey, well here anyway.

 

[LG]

It's come full circle. When I was 12 years old I bought my first 45rpm single, and because of a lack of funds only collected about 6 old 45's. Then I got into full albums and never looked back. Mom gave us each 10+ records we could get from her Columbia House subscription and I was hooked. Albums are so much better than 45's, you get the depth that just wasn't usually possible on a specifically chosen track that was released as a single to the radio stations to captivate your interest in the band.

One of my pet peeves with i-tunes is the single song BS, and the lossy Only format.

Ah well I have lived through the golden age of contemporary music and if the landscape changes to suit the new generation and how they go about collecting/buying music that is their choice nothing I can say or do to hold back the digital tide that has engulfed the music industry.

 

[Death on Credit]

I don't really see why the album would go away...While some albums have a distinct feeling to them, most are just collections of songs.

Are artists going to start releasing only one song at a time...Maybe just a few songs a year with no connection to each other? That would be the only conceivable way that albums would go away.

 

[Riff Raff]

Compilation albums need to go away though, stop releasing so many of them, its just money grabbing bullshit.
Sorry but they are a huge pet peeve of mine when it comes to music lol

 

[LG]

That's a sapient point DOC...but also along with the "Single Song Only" option you are taking away the experience of opening a new album and enjoying it in totality the way many classic records were designed by intent.

This is a symptom of an impatient society used to having instant everything, those damnable cell phone commercials are proof of that. By the time you buy a new phone they have released something better/faster/more complex.

That is taking away the "growers' that occupy a special place in my music collection.

We are losing the art of patience on a vast scale...and I find that sad.

 

[Powerage]

The only concern will be for new artists, seeing as the old bands I listen to will stop making music within the next 10 years or so. They will only make music one way, albums and the odd single.

I guess the main factor is, as long as the music press still consider albums cool, artists will make them. As for physical releases, with HMV the last chain in the UK in major financial difficulties, it'll have to be online purchases for back catalogue and supermarkets for the latest releases.

 

[LG]

Sorry to hear that Powerage, HMV is the last chain here as well, everyone else has folded up shop years ago.

Kids will soon have to visit a second hand shop to enjoy the total unique experience of buying an album in a dedicated store. Browsing through the new arrival bins, the import bins, the delete bin, forgetting the album you intended to buy when you set out and not realizing it until you're back home. Taking a blind chance on a band just because you thought the gatefold album cover art was cool.

Sigh end of an era...but I have enjoyed every minute of collecting up to this point.

 

[AboutAGirl]

Album sales are up this year.

Digital technology ensures that physical media is on the decline but that doesn't mean that the album format is on its way out. Despite the digital revolution, individual tracks have failed to conquer the market. Clearly people still care about albums.

 

[JerseyGirl]

We have f.y.e, but I think they are closing stores. I usually buy from Best Buy because it's right around the corner.

We do have Vintage Vinyl close by which is a cool store. Here's the link for that.>>> Vintage Vinyl Records - CDs Records DVDs Imports Blu-Ray - NJ Legendary Independent Record Store