creative deconstruction

Is the Album Dead?

Posted on 01. Apr, 2009 by refe in NEWS

I have often heard people say that the Album has become an unintended casualty of the post-iTunes era. I have tended to agree. It used to be a sign of greatness when a band was able to craft a cohesive album that was more than a simple collection of songs.  Now, listeners pick and choose the songs they want and download them individually, removing them from the context of the tracks and rendering the album largely unappreciated. Many in the industry now advise bands to simply record and release a series of singles and forget the album all together.

Not everyone agrees that the album is dead, however. With their latest release, The Hazards of Love, the Decemberists have disregarded the ‘singles’ trend, and have returned to the Album in a big way. The Hazards of Love is part concept album, part opera, with characters and musical themes that repeat throughout. I’ve always been a fan of the Decemberists anyway, but what I love most about this release is the potential brilliance of their approach.

I have no way of knowing what the band’s motivations were in crafting this album, but I do know that in releasing an album where each song is so dependent on the one before it they have provided a powerful incentive to purchase it in it’s entirety. Fans and even many casual listeners who download a single track will likely want to hear the rest of the story, and will end up downloading the full album. It will be interesting to find out how well my theory holds up once the album has been out for a while, but the Decemberists may have stumbled upon a great way to encourage listeners to purchase an entire album while the rest of the industry has become convinced that singles are now the only way to go.

Tags: album, business, business models, music, MUSIC INDUSTRY