With the current music trend, is the standard 12-track LP still relevant to the GP? Do people still listen to albums/care about cohesiveness? Imo since everything is more packed/shorter, 8-track is the sweet spot. Thoughts?

I stream full albums + love themes/cohesiveness.

With streaming? More than ever! 

+/- 40min albums are the best! But I do use shuffle most of the time, only the first few times I listen to them in order.

Edited June 18, 20233 yr by Don

As an indie artist myself, I feel like it's starting to not matter unless you're at the top of the music industry.

 

Bey, Taylor, Drake, and various others totally benefit from full length albums but unless I have a real budget, short projects and singles are the way to go imo. 

If your as successful as Taylor yes.

 

If your fan base buys everything you Release billion times (CDs, download, vinyl, cassettes, different colors and covers) as Mariah yes.

 

For rest no

 

Yeah and I think the album experience has really come back if anything. People are loving physical CDs, tapes, vinyls again. Don’t blame them either, it’s an experience

Given the vinyl renaissance it's as important as in the 70s.

If you are Taylor Swift maybe.

 

The truth is: no one has anything interesting to say, who really needs an album 

If it is quality, then yes. I’m pretty tired of the trend of short tiktok-friendly songs and albums full of them. 

Yes. We've had similar conversations ever since the Napster days, and the answer is always yes. I've lost my taste for a lot of these artists who drop one song every half-year. The music may be good, but I'm going to forget who you are if you don't put in the work to release a cohesive body of work. Give me something that I can sink my teeth into.

 

 

For me, they very much are. I've always been an album listener; I love listening to an album as a full body of work. I don't like how some artists are doing, even one of my own favorites, and releasing various EPs and then putting them all together as an album. Just release the full album.

 

 

10 minutes ago, DemDam92 said:

If your as successful as Taylor yes.

 

If your fan base buys everything you Release billion times (CDs, download, vinyl, cassettes, different colors and covers) as Mariah yes.

 

For rest no

 

That's why 'Caution' is as successful as 'Midnights'.

 

 

The concept of "albums" is getting old, especially since the CDs died. I think playlists should become the new albums...

 

Many artists obviously have issues getting their albums released by the label... which is just delaying their music output.

 

I feel like artists should be releasing songs or groups of songs right after finishing them...

Yeah they are still relevant as interviewers always talk and ask about their next album and body of work. Peoppe still anticipate a new album. 

Streaming era has made them more relevant than the digital era 

yes, they are actually more relevant than before

It depends on what career level you are, and I say this from a budget perspective. But I would say that they are more important than ever for breakthrough mainstream artists, because it's a once in a lifetime chance of gather a solid fanbase and build a solid career from there. And full LPs for consolidated artists on the mainstream scene are more important than ever to cement their positions on the current music industry. But of course if you are an independent act the strategy needs to be different.

Yes duh. 

 I hope they stay relevant. I can't stand artists who just release singles and small EPs

Yes, they're even more relevant than they were during the digital/iTunes era.

mmm somewhat yes

but I think super long albums are becoming out dated, I used to like 16+ song albums but now it feels like they drag on.

 

10-12 song albums >>>

Yes and if effort is put into it they can still be huge pop cultural moments

Yes.

Songwriters that put effort into LPs get a lot of longevity and success from them.  Look how well Lana and Sza are doing these days.