Would you rather a band release an album every few years or release new music with more frequency?
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Singles vs. Albums
I have often thought about what it would be like to not make an album and instead just record and release smaller amounts of music more frequently. Rappers do this all the time even though they still release albums pretty regularly. I read an article in Rolling Stone about Lil Wayne guesting on hundreds of other people's songs and being on mixtape after mixtape (even against his labels wishes at first) and then went on to sell a million albums in one week. Regardless of your opinion of him or his music, you have to respect his willingness to defy what is standard procedure in a very slowly evolving industry. Check out this link to Kanye West's page, kanyewest.com, and you will see that on the front page you can download a new song every friday. These songs often feature artists on his label as well as long time collaborators, and for the most part these are longer songs less focused on being single and more focused on being a showcase for each artist. Here is my question:
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i would get more excited with the album every year. But the new music more frequently sounds like a good idea also but i will go with albums every year
ReplyDeleteAlthough it would be nice to hear a lot of music more frequently from your favourite bands, it is also nice to get excited about waiting for a musicians new material and to hear how they've evolved which might not be possible if they're on a deadline of releasing material constantly. The music could become stale and uninspired pretty easy this way.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of singles better. When a band gets into a rhythm of releasing and album once a year, it makes it hard to keep fresh. I'd rather an artist take a little bit of time off and really write, and then release an album after they finally feel it's ready. Then when they are on the road maybe if they come up with a nice track or two, record it and throw it up on iTunes and Zune for everyone. Mix it into the live setlist. It keeps steady content to the fans and helps keep the artist fresh and honest.
ReplyDeleteI think it could be done on a semi quarterly basis, say tour 3-4 months, a month to record some material, tour some more. It would definitely be an experiment for sure.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of releasing new music every 3-4 months 'cause this would be an awesome way to keep track of what you're doing.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think I still prefer the yearly release: the excitement is indescribable! And I love holding the CD in my hands... you know :P
I'm not too sure about the weekly release... I think most rappers do it because they only care about money and not the quality of their releases.
You can experiment and see if it works. I'll be there to support you :)
I think its better to wait and have an album be released over a longer period of time. For some artists, having to release music so soon at a very fast pace could worsen the quality of the music if its being rushed, or they could get burnt out from making music so much. Even if they didn't, I think it would make new releases from that artist less exciting seeing as how they'd be released so often. I don't know, maybe what Paolo said could work, but a song every Friday seems like a bit much.
ReplyDeleteIs not a bad idea to release music constantly, but personally, it may not be a good idea, cause you need time to work on it. The good music requires a lot of time to be done. I will we awesome for me to listen music each time, but I'm used to wait the necesary time, cause I know that it will worth it :)
ReplyDeleteBut wouldn't be bad idea to hear one new song each month for example and at the end of the year you can release a CD with the tracks you made... is just my humble opinion.
I feel that an album is a complete piece of art. While music itself is obviously an art form, I feel like singles that are released frequently would end up being pieces of a puzzle that don't fit together.
ReplyDeletei'd definitely go with an album.
ReplyDeleteas far as frequent smaller releases/EP's go, i don't think they have the same artistic effect as an album has especially a conceptual one or the type that you have to listen to in order, from start to finish to fully indulge and enjoy the music at its greatest potential.
I like the studio albums. Because it gives more time to enjoy 11 or 12 songs in one album, the singles are a commercial format, and if you like an album is from start to finish, not just the most popular song.
ReplyDeleteAlso, with a time of 2 (or more) years, you write songs or maybe more elaborate experiment with new styles in your music (faster, heavier, darker) or whatever it is the path of your band.