Feature: The Future Of The Album Format

 Does the album format really still make sense today? In order to really answer this question, as is almost always the case, we have to dig a little deeper, especially when it comes to the historical context. Now then, why "long-playing records" at all and what is the meaning behind them?

As always, when it comes to the dissemination of music, the commercial aspect is at the forefront. Very few artists like to hear this statement, but it is and remains a fact. By the way, no one is surprised that a craftsman primarily pays attention to his hourly wage, but as soon as a musical "craftsman" takes the same approach, he can expect an official shitstorm in the style of "art instead of commerce" and "filthy lucre".

If we turn the clock back about 80 years, we end up in the area where the commercial use of the sound carrier took off. Up to that point, there were simply only live concerts if you wanted to listen to music outside of your personal home. Although this was socially beneficial, it was associated with corresponding travel expenses and time dependency. How nice it would be if you could enjoy the music of your favorite artist at home, regardless of the imposed concert schedule. The record was born. First as a single, then later in the coveted LP version, on which there was room for several tracks at once and you didn't have to get up after every song to change the record. The absolute mood killer, especially in the area of cuddly music.

The format, born out of the desire for more sales, developed magnificently and not only enabled the artists to achieve gigantic sales in some cases, but the large cover surface also offered the artist the opportunity, both visually and in terms of a concept album, to coordinate the order of the tracks in relation to the narrative thread and to take the listener on a journey into creativity for a maximum of 45 - 50 minutes. People would meet up to listen to music together, the album would of course be listened to at least once in one go and then they would spend hours discussing what the artist wanted to say with their output. There were no research methods a la the Internet, so there were no limits to personal interpretation.

The possibilities of recording an album professionally were very limited. It required acoustically perfected premises in the real estate sector, a gigantic investment in professional equipment such as microphones, outgear, consoles and, above all, technical and artistic staff who could both operate and maintain the huge fleet of vehicles. Depending on the artist, the release of a new album was an event of the highest category and sometimes caused long queues in front of the record stores on the release day, which you had laboriously found out through friends or the trade press. You had artists who were superstars, record companies who were bathing in money and fans who were happy to be part of the big machine and were over the moon about every special edition of a record.

And now let's take a quick shake, open our eyes and come back to the present, where artistic hell awaits us!

The present

To start with, I'm by no means one of those guys who carries the credo "everything used to be better" on a coat of arms. On the contrary, some of my artistic and commercial successes would not have been possible without the current exploitation structures, so I am very ambivalent about today's opportunities.

But the current situation looks much more like this. Modern DAW's have not opened up the possibility for the artist to do most of the audio work themselves, they have introduced the OBLIGATION to do so! Where record companies used to have budgets that allowed professional sound engineers, producers, songwriters, lyricists and arrangers to be hired and paid on the basis of the high income from record sales, today's Advance model is limited to "zero advance" for newcomers or "20% of what was paid 20 years ago" for established artists.

The development runs according to the guidelines. There isn't a musician today who doesn't have a "home studio" in some room of his apartment and tries to get close to his desired sound with Kemper and Superior Drummer. Well done to anyone who makes electronic music and has probably never had to think about the complex social structures of a band. The result for the "band musician" is inevitably almost always the same. Happy to have put enough hours into practicing his personal instrument, he is now also expected to be a songwriter, lyricist, sound engineer, arranger, producer and, of course, to be able to mix and master the product perfectly without ever having undergone any further training. The sonic results in the form of pumping compressors, EQ lines without sense and reason and channel strips stuffed with plugins can be heard millions of times on YouTube and the corresponding streaming services.

Now let's get back to the actual question: is it still worth recording an album these days? The answer: No! "But all bands still do it". Exactly, but it doesn't change the fact that it has become pointless. Let's take a look at the individual arguments:

1) Concept album with corresponding sequence of tracks

With "Violence", superstar Adele recently pushed through Spotify that the random play button on an album can only be activated with special settings. This action is intended to save the artist's dramatic intention in the order of the tracks. Why is such an action important? Because the vast majority of music listeners don't care what is played in which order! To avoid misunderstandings, yes, there are still music listeners who are interested in an album and an artist, but the number of these music lovers is probably in the per mille range.


2) The value of an album

Cubase and Logic have opened Pandora's box. On the one hand, undreamt-of possibilities of perfection and self-sufficiency for the professional artist, on the other hand, an unprecedented flooding of the market with all possible and impossible outputs. The result is the same as on the financial market, what is available in abundance no longer has any value. Anyone who has ever tried to make an impression at a party by saying "my new album will be released next week" knows what I'm talking about. You can only impress people by saying "I'm playing at a sold-out Wacken Open Air in front of 80,000 people next week", but you won't get anyone behind the stove with a "sound carrier" these days.


3) The regular "Let yourself be heard"

The attention span of a younger music listener who grows up with formats such as TikTok is around 60 - 90 seconds, after which almost everything and everyone becomes "boring". It's best to regularly point out your personal output at short intervals and that's that. An album with approx. 10 - 12 tracks will get all the tracks out at once and will hold your attention for maybe a week at most, after which most fans will want new content. I have fans in Brazil who ask me 4 weeks after the release of an album when the next album is coming. So why not release a single track every week or every month? This procedure keeps your back free for 3 months or a whole year and the fan gets new content at regular intervals.


4) The physical sound carrier

As already mentioned several times, the CD format is dying and is only quietly rattling along. Attempts are made to keep collectors interested with elaborate special editions, which succeed up to a certain point, but do not really make economic sense due to the high production costs. Even the constantly praised vinyl department, which has established itself with a market share of just under 7%, can hardly be satisfied with a "normal" black LP. It has to be at least 4 different colors, preferably even more with corresponding production costs. Is that why fans buy the same album several times in different colors? Hardly ...

And now? what to do?

Ultimately, of course, every artist has to decide for themselves whether they want to go down the traditional route of marketing or whether they want to explore new avenues. Of course, it is easier for the music magazine trade press to interview the artist about a new album than about a single new song. However, the extent to which this traditional form of music magazine will survive in the next few years is another matter entirely.

Far be it from me to denigrate an artist's output in the form of an album. I remember only too well how proud I was to hold my first album in my hands, on which I could be heard and on whose cover I was depicted. Apart from the fact that the album sounded really shitty and by today's standards I can only beat my hands over my head, this action was almost 4 decades ago and a lot has changed in this respect in recent times.

So don't hang your head, but maybe think about a few format alternatives, it could be worth it ...

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The Comprehensive History of Vinyl Records

Introduction

Vinyl records have a rich history that spans over a century1. They’ve been around for over a century now, and their roots trace back to American inventors like Thomas Edison and others from around the world1. Since the days of the phonograph and gramophone, advancements in audio technology have made vinyl one of the most compelling and immersive ways to listen to music1.

The Beginning: The Phonograph

The grandfather of the modern turntable was the phonograph, an invention created by Thomas Edison way back in 18771. This device was a far cry from the record players of today, but the ingenious technology at its core was remarkably similar1. Phonographs served two purposes – recording sound and playing it back1. The devices were equipped with foil-coated cylinders, which could have grooves etched in them by one of their two needles1. The recording needle would write recorded sound into the cylinder, which could then be played back by running a second needle through the grooves1. The phonograph was powered by a crank mechanism, which the user had to turn manually throughout the recording and playback process1. While that might sound like a hassle, the technology was completely revolutionary for its time, and it laid the groundwork for the turntable that came after it.

The Phonograph Evolves Into the Gramophone

After Edison’s phonograph changed the world, the next innovation in audio technology came from a German immigrant named Emile Berliner1. Berliner’s gramophone, the father of the modern record player, was invented ten years after the phonograph, and it bears much more resemblance to the turntables you’re familiar with1. The gramophone made several major departures from the design and function of the phonograph that came before it1. For one, the gramophone used flat discs instead of cylinders to play back recorded audio, and these discs were created without the use of the gramophone itself1. The use of a device strictly to play back recorded music instead of recording the music itself made the gramophone much more consumer-friendly than its predecessor

Early Vinyl Records

After the gramophone grew in popularity, new versions were created that made the technology more accessible, affordable, and suitable for the early 20th-century consumer1. The discs used on the earliest record players were made from shellac, not vinyl, and they could only be played at 78 revolutions per minute (RPM)1. We now know that records with higher RPM have the potential for better sound quality, but at the time, the speed at which these shellac discs spun was based on necessity. The 78s, as they became known, could only hold a few minutes of recorded music on each side

Shellac vs Vinyl Records

Vinyl records are called “vinyl” records because of their material composition2. Records today are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), hence the nickname vinyl2. Polyvinyl chloride can be many different colors, which is why you might see some colored vinyl in your record collecting adventures2! The earliest records invented were made from shellac2, so these would technically just be records, and not vinyl records2. However, those shellac records are not made anymore2. Records started being pressed more frequently on vinyl partly due to less available shellac for record production during World War II2. Shellac records eventually stopped being made around 19602. The older shellac records (also called 78s) were much more brittle and heavier than the newer vinyl records2. Vinyl records are more prone to warping and scratches than shellac records (because they’re more lightweight), but are still thought of as a better record material because they have less audio feedback.

Different Types of Records

Records come in various sizes. The most common sizes of records are 12″, 10″ and 7″ records2. Most albums are recorded on 12 inch records, and most singles are recorded on 7 inch records2. Records are also made with different rpms or revolutions per minute2. The rpm is the speed at which a vinyl spins.

The Rise of Vinyl Records

The vinyl record took off during the 1940s and 1950s, particularly after World War II. With the rise of the music industry, the demand for recorded music grew, and vinyl records became the primary medium for recorded music.

Conclusion

The significant period for vinyl records was from the inception of the vinyl LP in 1948, to 1988, when CDs outsold records for the first time1. However, the format definitely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon1. Today, vinyl records are still a vital part of music history2 and continue to be a popular medium for music enthusiasts around the world.