August 21, 2006
iTunes and The Album
Posted by Stacy Chandler at August 21, 2006 7:36 AMThe Associated Press had an interesting article recently about how some artists who had been holding out on iTunes have finally caved, recognizing that it's here to stay.
Hi guys, welcome to 2006.
While most artists (or, probably more accurately, their record labels) rushed to be included on iTunes, by far the dominant source of legal music downloads, some -- like the Beatles, Bob Seger, Metallica, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kid Rock, Garth Brooks, and Radiohead -- kept conspicuously away. Some of the reasons make sense, I suppose: The Beatles' Apple Corps' ongoing legal tensions with Apple Computers over, you know, apple-ness. Garth Brooks' (eyeroll) exclusivity agreement with Wal-Mart (eyeroll, gag) -- although he refuses to have his music sold even on Wal-Mart's legal download site. But Seger's camp and Kid Rock's people cite a different reason: They don't like how iTunes supposedly destroys the sanctity of The Album.
They'd be all for it, it seems, if iTunes could mandate that something is sold only as an album -- no individual song sales allowed. Now, I like albums, and I like the idea of them as a cohesive, collective artistic expression, especially if that's what the artist intended. That said, I never, ever, ever, ever buy albums on iTunes. Why? Because I can buy albums from my favorite local indie CD store. What iTunes lets me do that's unique is cherry-pick. I can buy a song or two here and there, maybe something I've heard on the radio, or a gem from an artist that I otherwise don't dig much. Or a guilty pleasure (which may or may not include Britney Spears' "Toxic" or a song or four by Maroon 5).
Some of the iTunes holdouts find this cherry-picking idea horrifying, but I don't really get that. Sure, it's better for a band (and the record company) if I buy the album for $11.99 or whatever iTunes is charging these days. But say I'm just not ever going to do that. Isn't it better to allow me to buy a song or two as I wish and get my 99 cents (and maybe my future fandom) instead of getting absolutely nothing from me?
That's the business side of things, but I guess Mr. Seger and Mr. Rock are making a more aesthetic argument (because Kid Rock is all about the artistic aesthetic, you understand), and that's admirable. But I think it's a little control-freaky, too. Yeah yeah, I understand that Green Day's "American Idiot" is meant as a sort-of rock opera, with a beginning, middle and end, a plot and a point. And it works beautifully that way. I love listening to it beginning to end. But you know what? Even knowing that, sometimes I just feel like listening to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," dammit, and then maybe skipping to "Holiday" and then I'm done. Does that make me a bad person?
Some albums (though it's a small, small minority) are better taken as a whole than mined for parts, true. But how about letting me make that discovery myself? And if I don't (because I've only bought one or two songs), well, is that really so bad if I'm still enjoying what I hear?
I went through two years of frustration before AMAZ finally put my music up for download on CD Baby's download arm, eMusic. It is just hard for some music people to wrap their minds around the new listening environment. It is about what the customer wants now, not what the artists envision. Times have changed.
Posted by: Jim Pipkin at August 21, 2006 8:52 AMStacy, I'm not sure I even understand Seeger's and Rock's arguments then -- because iTunes has had "album-only" songs for a year or two now. And I know there's been some albums that you can only buy en masse too, and that's been there for a year or two too. Holy No-Clue, Batman.
I'm wrestling with the loss of the album too. A couple of years ago I really had to make that mental leap, and you know what? For most artists it isn't a hurdle. I own a LOT of CDs, and we get quite a few CD submissions here at HW.org, and I'll tell you -- the majority of CDs have one or two great songs and a bunch of filler. There will always be exceptions, but still, I think it's pretty true.
So how do I listen to music nowadays? For the past several years I rate in iTunes songs I really like as 4 stars, songs I love as 5, songs that are alright as 3, songs I don't like as 2, and songs that I wish never existed as 1 star. Then I pretty much just listen to 4 and 5 star stuff on random.
"3 Star Songs" have to me become what I listen to when I just want to listen to a single album. It's the filler that makes the album gel. Otherwise, however, they don't merit a spot in my random playlists.
Posted by: larry at August 21, 2006 9:03 AMExcellent comments Stacy. I would add that artists need to think about whether, you know, everything on the album is worth buying. RHCP just put out a double album, which could have been gleaned down to a much better single CD. (And need I mention Ryan Adams?)
I've been thinning out my CD collection in the past year. It's not too hard, either. I burn the songs I like and don't worry about the rest. The albums that remain in my collection are the ones that I can listen to all the way through.
Posted by: Dusty Bear at August 21, 2006 11:29 AMIt used to be that the whole process was designed to support working musicians and provide a steady revenue stream, rather than to always deliver the best possible product. So a "great" song or two would be released surrounded by filler songs; songs included as a business favor to third parties or important contacts that needed to be stroked somehow.
This also kept the session players working.
The new paradigm is much harder on these folks. I have to say personally I have never included what I considered to be a "weak" song on a CD - they all have to resonate for me, and deliver the goods live. But music is subjective, I defy any songwriter to pick their own hits. The truth is most of us have no clue which songs will really take off, or why. We're too close to them.
There are some great hit-pickers out there, but usually producers more than writers. Snuff Garrett had an incredible run back in the day. Tim DuBois is a genius at it. So is John Leventhal.
I feel the more control artists have in their own projects, the more dicey it becomes. I include myself in this. Just because I think a song delivers, doesn't mean that it does.
Posted by: Jim Pipkin at August 21, 2006 12:26 PMIt all comes down to this -- music listeners are really an Attention Economy. With more artists, albums, and songs available than ever before -- do we have the time/interest to invest in albums anymore?
Posted by: larry at August 21, 2006 1:01 PMAs long as fans want to buy music at live shows, something large enough to get an autograph on, I think there will be a market for CDs right along with tee shirts, ball caps, and other stuff. But IMHO the main push has to eventually go to the growth market - downloads - with CDs more and more becoming a specialty item.
Posted by: Jim Pipkin at August 21, 2006 2:49 PM
