As I continuously ruminate about the state of music, album sales, and the growth of online digital markets, how much consumers care about these topics is something I have not strayed too close to. I think it is safe to say that consumers do care, but I cannot say if it is to the degree with which I am fascinated and write about it.
I was reminded by a mentor and colleague a few days ago how easy the use of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Store and iPod are if you are hoping to listen to only one song or a few songs, but not an album. Of course, that very dynamic is what I so often write about in my blogs about the death of the album, but who exactly is decrying the death of the album? No matter how much I write about that death, it is very apparent that those who are worried about the death of such a money maker are the labels and the industry.
The nice thing about iTunes and other digital stores is that if you are just browsing you can listen to clips of the songs. This is not a method of shopping that you can easily acquire at stores like Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) or Target (NYSE: TGT), although Best Buy is beginning to incorporate computer stations where you can make test runs of programs like Rhapsody and Napster. They hope you will then sign up for a subscription to that service through Best Buy. Browsing at stores like these only ever really entails looking at the product. If you know nothing about it, then you cannot know if it will be something you are happy to spend your money on.
The other nice thing about iTunes is that if you hear a song on the radio, you can easily download only that song from the service. There is no mucking about with a full-length CD where you repeatedly listen to one song. I used to do that very thing, so I know how beneficial this type of selling is. At the same time, I know how enjoyable an entire album can be over a single track. This is where the continuous discussions about the death of the album take off.
Why do I write about all these basic facts of iTunes and the difference between downloads and physical albums? Well, aside from the basics, these are truly monumental facts. They determine how the consumer will react to the music. As always, I think what we should be thinking about in our discussions regarding the "death" of so many aspects of the music industry is how will the consumer benefit. If the album "dies" in its conventional since, the benefits may outweigh the supposed drawbacks. Could I be wrong about this? Certainly, but the album is killing itself on top of the promotions and offers the digital services give the consumer to entice them away from buying that CD.
It is a hard question to answer: Do consumers care if the album dies? The answer is yes, but at the same time it is no. Our concept of the album is very tied to the CD and former formats. We should consider that the album can also and should also be tied to digital services. The ability to break up an album by buying single tracks will always exist on those services, but as an entity the album will not be dead. Is it healthy or wise to cut out a part of something and leave the rest? Sometimes it is and sometimes it is not. The success lies where the consumer who bought the one track comes back and buys the other eleven that make up the album. If that can happen, the consumer does care and the album will not die.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-08-2007 @ 1:44PM
Gary E. Sattler said...
From the perspective of a man who still has a closet full of vinyl discs, I say that they album can't be done away with completely. We'd suffer such a loss! When you consider all the music which is created that shall never break into the top forty, why would anyone want to be restricted to only the top singles?
A few artists especially come to my mind when I think about the possible loss of the album format. Tom Petty, The Beatles, Elton John, Metallica and Offspring all have bushel loads of extremely ear worthy music which never made the air waves and so do many other artists. It seems to me that there will always need to be some way to access that "B" side music.
4-08-2007 @ 7:33PM
Richard Driver said...
I completely agree Gary, and with my own collection staring at me from the other side of the room I can say that without the "B" side music, there would be no point to the top forty music. I've often thought that the album tracks that are not played on the radio often pale those that are. Take the latest Tom Petty album. Is "Saving Grace" the best track? In my opinion no, but it did receive the most airplay. I like "Flirting with Time" and most of the latter half more myself.
In any case, you are absolutely right. As much as I like singles (the kind with actually "b-sides") I like the non-single album tracks even more.
4-08-2007 @ 7:58PM
Duckie said...
The world of music is really going downhill if that's the case. I really don't think that the guys at iTunes are trying to bring about the death of the album though. I mean with the whole "complete my album" thing they got going... it seems like they're actually trying to urge listeners to purchase the whole album instead of just a song or two (of course, they could be just trying to make a few extra bucks). I think people do care... maybe I'm wrong, but there's something about having that little shiny disc in your hand that makes you feel good.
Actually, just this weekend I went out and bought two CDs from artists I'd never heard of before to add to my collection. The only reason I bought them was because I heard their singles on iTunes. As it turns out, both of the albums are awesome.
If there are more people out there who'd buy an album simply because they heard a song or two on the radio or iTunes or anywhere, then I don't think there's anything to worry about.
4-08-2007 @ 11:37PM
Ben Gepp said...
I prefer to buy whole albums from iTunes. It is not the fault of iTunes but the artists. If the music is not popular or the artist is manufactured, only the hits will sell and result in "one hit wonders." And might I say there are a lot of manufactured artists out there. In some ways this is a far better way to allow the market to operate freely.
4-09-2007 @ 10:28AM
Warren said...
If I can buy just the singles that I like, that means artists can no longer pad albums with filler tracks. Sounds like a win to me.
If the majority of an album is good, I'll buy the whole thing to support the artist but if only 1 or 2 songs are worth listening to - forget it. I'll buy the singles and move on.