If you’re an album band or artist, why put your work on iTunes as separate tracks? Why not just put up a single 40-minute MP3 file and sell it for the price of an LP? If it’s all about the album, then why cut it into chunks and let the fans pick and choose? For artists who consider the album a complete statement, it’s a bit like taking the time to devise and cook an amazing meal yet allowing the people at your table to skip straight to dessert.
This thought as been rattling around my brain for a while and as it happens a post by Bob Lefsetz made me think it was time to give it some air. Bob (whose blog is top of my regular reads list) says,
If you’re making an album today, I’m laughing. Create one song that grabs my ear, leave me wanting more. It’s about bite-sized rather than humongous. It’s not so much about value as it is about special. It’s about music, not commerce.
When it comes to the majority of pop and rock music, I agree with what Bob is saying. Earlier in the post he also says,
There are artists who make album-length statements. There are some acts whose audience demands more material. But does it have to be delivered in the same old way?
To paraphrase, Bob thinks that artists should draw an audience out – release only the best songs over a longer period of time. If you’re just about songs and songs alone, this makes sense. However, there are artists and fans out there who want more than just the golden nuggets. For some digging for the prize is what makes the strike shine that much brighter.
I hate to be obvious, but think about “Money” by Pink Floyd. Most people think that it’s a great song in and of itself and no one seems to care that it’s 6 minutes long – you can still hear it on the radio! I’m certain that when many of us listen to that track it brings to mind the (well worn) emotional ride that people experience when listening to the whole of Dark Side of the Moon. “On The Run” would sound like rubbish to your average listener if they hit preview in iTunes. When heard in context of the whole album however, it’s one of the most dramatic parts of the listening experience. People who would never listen to an avant-garde electronic soundscape not only find this track acceptable to their tastes, but many also point to it as their favourite section of the album.
In this way the lengthy listening experience of an album is a chance for artists to expand their range; expanding people’s listening tastes and introducing them to new sounds and ideas they might normally cast aside. Getting people to take a risk with their ears is an important aspect of an artists growth, it’s also important to the fans that really care – sometimes they want to be challenged. Artists need to gain the trust of listeners to do this, and this trust takes time. Again from Bob Lefsetz,
A true fan wants more and more music by his favorite artist. But he doesn’t want it dropped like a bomb all on one day, he wants it released spread out over time. It’s like a relationship is collapsed to a week, with not only kissing and intercourse, but babies and divorce all at the same time. Whereas real life is an endless stream of small moments. Musicians should realize this, understand it’s a changed world.
Looking over the time-span of a career this makes sense. Draw the fans out and keep them keen. Don’t give them the second rate material as filler. From a creative point of view however, I’m not so sure. We do have a tradition of listening to longer forms of music. The A.D.H.D. “shuffle” listening experience that the iPod can provide is not all pervasive. It’s no-ones place to say that this is how we will listen to music from now on and it’s reasonable to assume that it’s going to change again in the future. Think of symphonic works, musicals or film soundtracks – they just aren’t built to be broken up. Sure you can play the 1st movement from Beethoven’s 5th symphony, “Bring Him Home” from Les Mis or the “Imperial March” from Star Wars and they work on their own. These musical quotations (songs or not) also call to mind the numerous aspects of what those larger works entail. It’s about a series of emotions and feelings that are drawn out in larger arcs of time. The time period Bob’s suggesting (weeks between small releases) is too long for the album experience to happen. It’s too fragmentary for some artists and listeners. It’s a quick healthy meal for people who want to sit down at a dinner party. Have you ever listened to an album and being slightly nonplussed on first listen only to have the richness of the music unfold over subsequent repeated listens? I fell in love with most of my favourite music this way. To pick up on the relationship metaphor, it’s a little like copping a mind-blowing lay for 3 or 4 minutes every few weeks from someone you adore. It’s one way of making love for sure. Getting laid slowly over an hour however is a whole other thing entirely, and the two just don’t bare comparison.
When it come to the bulk of albums out there today I think Bob is spot on. Most albums are rubbish – many artists don’t have the depth to pull off a solid 40 minutes of cohesive musical ideas and many more again don’t care. It’s hard to make, a massive commitment and creatively risky. We all know of endless records where the 2 or 3 good tracks are surrounded by 6 average ones. Many of these were made by record companies, not artists. Most artists still persist with the album out of some beleaguered sense of tradition to a format, to a package, all the while ignoring the creative and musical aspects of what makes the great albums great. For artists who are smart enough to understand that albums don’t matter to them, then Bob’s advice is solid. However, the album still has a place and I think Bob’s a little too caught up in his own heat to see that it’s what some artists want – it’s how they need to express themselves. It’s also what some listeners want as well – they like giving 40 minutes of their ears to someone they trust. There is no doubt that these people are in the minority, but we all know that one great album can revolutionise the minds of artists and listeners alike. It’s possible that the mass market phenomenon of records like Dark Side of the Moon will not reoccur, but what does this have to do with the one-to-one relationship between creator and audience? Nothing. If this new musical marketplace is all about giving the artists more options and opportunities for them to make great work, then it goes that all cards are on the table and this includes albums. I trust Bob when he says again and again, “Make amazing music, the best you can, and if it’s truly good the fans will follow”. So if this means albums, and you really are serious about the album then maybe you should think about the 40 minute MP3 file.
If you’re an artist or in a band that considers itself “an album act”, you ought to think about what it means if you were to relinquish the option for people to buy only what they think they want. Have a look at this TED talk by Malcolm Gladwell – one of the great revolutions in product marketing and manufacture was the realisation that sometimes people don’t know what they want. Could you release your album as a single track? 1 MP3 file – 40 minutes long – no single tracks for sale? Take the lot or not at all. I made this as an album, so buy it as an album. It’s a bold move for sure, but then again isn’t that why we love music and the people who make it? They dare to express bold emotions for us all.
