4 ms·

I don't think Spotify (streaming services) are influencing the composition of new music – listening habits are mostly unchanged since popular music in the 50's.

I don't think Spotify (streaming services) are influencing the composition of new music – listening habits are mostly unchanged since popular music in the 50's. The 3-minute song with the initial hook is a product of 50's AM radio. Whereas Radiohead/Sigur Ros/Slowdive artists with long builds do so intentionally, and their listeners enjoy that about them. But.... what has changed is the frequency in which artists need to release content in order to compete in the algorithm arena. Some artists understand this, and more singles, EPs and early album previews allow for more "touch points" with their audiences throughout the year.

criddell 8y ago
> what has changed is the frequency in which artists need to release content So, the album is dying? Could something like Pink Floyd's The Wall be released today? It's a two CD package with gapless songs.
- moate 8y ago
  The Album has always been a weird thing. Yes, the album as a concept has largely fallen off. It has very little advantage over a 2-4 song EP at this point. You no longer need to package weak b-sides in, because they're not going to get plays anyway. More bangers, less chaff. But yea, you can still do a concept album like The Wall or Sgt. Pepper's. Kids doing drugs and laying around listing to weird noises for an hour+ is still a thing these days.
  - NikolaeVarius 8y ago
    I don't quite understand this claim that the concept of Albums have fallen off, Metal still puts out quality albums today.
- ComodoHacker 8y ago
  The album maybe is being transformed into something like TV series. When you wait for the next week to hear the next verse. And to fully understand any particular one, you have to listen to previous 2 or 3.
- TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
  It could be released today. And it would be nothing like the event it was at the time. It's not about the physical delivery format, but about the social rituals around it and the impact they make. Streaming cheapens and commodifies music and turns culture into wallpaper. Likewise subscription video on Netflix, etc, which seems to have become a home for trashy potboilers about zombies, vampires, superheroes, and soapy post-apocalyptic dramas. Likewise Amazon's all-you-can-binge-on KDP for fiction readers. Culture has always had the potential to be an event. In the past, the arrival of a stand-out movie, album, or novel literally left a generational imprint. It's hard to imagine Spotify, Netflix, Apple, or Amazon, creating an environment in which that's possible. There will be products that have millions, maybe billions of fans, but there won't be many creative projects that keep the interest of those fans for more than a month or so, and even fewer - probably none at all, in fact - that will continue to have cultural power decades after their release.
jononor 8y ago
Listening habits almost unchanged since the 50ies?? Nowadays almost everyone (young) walks around with headphones on in public, in school and at work, even at home, listening to music of their own choosing. Compared to the 50ies, 70ies or even the 90ies, several things have changed significantly: How many hours of the week that people listen to their own music has increased tremendously. The number of artists and genres that people listen to over a year increased massively. How long an average song is in "the rotation" has decreased massively.

criddell 8y ago

> what has changed is the frequency in which artists need to release content So, the album is dying? Could something like Pink Floyd's The Wall be released today? It's a two CD package with gapless songs.

moate 8y ago
The Album has always been a weird thing. Yes, the album as a concept has largely fallen off. It has very little advantage over a 2-4 song EP at this point. You no longer need to package weak b-sides in, because they're not going to get plays anyway. More bangers, less chaff. But yea, you can still do a concept album like The Wall or Sgt. Pepper's. Kids doing drugs and laying around listing to weird noises for an hour+ is still a thing these days.
- NikolaeVarius 8y ago
  I don't quite understand this claim that the concept of Albums have fallen off, Metal still puts out quality albums today.
ComodoHacker 8y ago
The album maybe is being transformed into something like TV series. When you wait for the next week to hear the next verse. And to fully understand any particular one, you have to listen to previous 2 or 3.
TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
It could be released today. And it would be nothing like the event it was at the time. It's not about the physical delivery format, but about the social rituals around it and the impact they make. Streaming cheapens and commodifies music and turns culture into wallpaper. Likewise subscription video on Netflix, etc, which seems to have become a home for trashy potboilers about zombies, vampires, superheroes, and soapy post-apocalyptic dramas. Likewise Amazon's all-you-can-binge-on KDP for fiction readers. Culture has always had the potential to be an event. In the past, the arrival of a stand-out movie, album, or novel literally left a generational imprint. It's hard to imagine Spotify, Netflix, Apple, or Amazon, creating an environment in which that's possible. There will be products that have millions, maybe billions of fans, but there won't be many creative projects that keep the interest of those fans for more than a month or so, and even fewer - probably none at all, in fact - that will continue to have cultural power decades after their release.

jononor 8y ago

Listening habits almost unchanged since the 50ies?? Nowadays almost everyone (young) walks around with headphones on in public, in school and at work, even at home, listening to music of their own choosing. Compared to the 50ies, 70ies or even the 90ies, several things have changed significantly: How many hours of the week that people listen to their own music has increased tremendously. The number of artists and genres that people listen to over a year increased massively. How long an average song is in "the rotation" has decreased massively.