If Albums Are Dead, Why Not Offer Playlists?

from the just-a-suggestion dept

Mon, Mar 26th 2007 3:47pm — Mike Masnick

Every few months or so, we see yet another article talking about the end of the "album" concept. The latest one comes from the NY Times, noting that even some record labels are signing artists to only record a couple songs at a time. The article notes that many music listeners don't think in terms of albums any more, but rather think of "playlists" found on iPods or other music listening devices. Of course, what's not explained is why the industry doesn't shift to bundling up music and offering such playlists. If the concept of the playlist is replacing the album in the minds of consumers, why isn't the same thinking moving to the industry execs as well? Why not bring together DJs who can create compelling playlists of a variety of different bands, and offer that as a compelling value-added service? Oh... that's right, because the industry wants to throw those DJs in jail.

Also of interest in the NY Times article is the following quote: "Another solution being debated in the industry would transform record labels into de facto fan clubs. Companies including the Warner Music Group and the EMI Group have been considering a system in which fans would pay a fee, perhaps monthly, to "subscribe" to their favorite artists and receive a series of recordings, videos and other products spaced over time." Funny that some of us were suggesting exactly that concept four years ago -- but we're still being told that the business models we're suggesting have no basis in reality.

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24 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 26 Mar 2007 @ 4:20pm

brilliant idea. im glad they are actually problem solving instead of pointing fingers.
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insomniac4104, 26 Mar 2007 @ 4:25pm

drm'd play lists
A playlist that is drm'd to play in say win media player or real or winamp only or apples play list for iPods certainly won't help matters. We are just shifting formats not innovating. What they need is a way to make a universal median that plays on all devices that all companies can agree on and work on quality not competition.
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Jim, 26 Mar 2007 @ 4:27pm

Now thats what i call music
The recording industry has recognized the playlist idea. This is evidence in the "Now! Thats what i call music" series. This is an album which just bundles a bunch of current pop hits.

The Now series is a fixture on billboards top "albums."
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Michael Long, 26 Mar 2007 @ 4:28pm

Everyone?
Better is the comment from the end of the article, “You have to create an almost hysterical pace to find hits to sell as digital downloads and ring tones that everybody’s going to want.”

Which again tells you that their head is in the wrong place. In today's fragmented market finding music that "everyone" wants is increasingly difficult, if not impossible.

Instead of focusing on the mass-market "blockbuster", they should be doing everything possible to foster niches and subniches, and ensuring that they have the best offerings in each.

It might not look as easy, but it's more of a sure road than spending millions in promotion on a band they "hope" will succeed.
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davin, 26 Mar 2007 @ 4:30pm

or just skip the record company
Einstuerzende Neubauten deals directly with their fans... the "supporter" fans can subscribe to receive supporter only CD's as well as webcasts and a personal email address.

Its pretty cool.
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Simon, 26 Mar 2007 @ 4:32pm

Re: Now thats what i call music
Exactly. Not to mention the many compilation albums at the "cooler" end of the market - both DJ mixes of electronica/dance, and compilations put together by artists such as the Flaming Lips or the 'Back to Mine' series where New Order, Morcheeba, Ian Brown and many others created a mix-tape/playlist/compilation CD of their favourite tunes.
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squik, 26 Mar 2007 @ 4:58pm

Playlists exist
Playlists already exist within the music industry. They are "Best of" artist, genre, year, and decade albums. Yeah, they aren't so compelling.

The idea of offering playlists because they are popular in iPods misses the mark. The iPod personalizes the music experience by letting the owner to put together playlists. I find it hard to believe a DJ could select a better playlist than I can.

DJ playlists sound like something Apple or other music download services can offer as a value add. Apple already does something list that since they have celebrity playlists.
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Michael Long, 26 Mar 2007 @ 5:03pm

Re: Playlists exist
Apple also has compilations they call "iTunes Essentials", basically playlists of a specific type or for a specific mood.
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nonuser, 26 Mar 2007 @ 5:42pm

tightly focused compilations
A shift towards compilations is a good idea, since an album featuring the best 1-2 songs from 8 different bands is likely to be more consistent than one band trying to put together 12 songs. But the industry should concentrate on compilations that educate the listener, each putting the spotlight on a particular geographic scene or sub-genre. And they should invest in a good set of liner notes and photos so there will be an extra incentive to owning the physical CDs.

I hate buying a CD and finding out there are no liner notes, just a piece of paper with a list of other products I "might enjoy".

They should leave the task of assembly party tapes, workout tunes and personal soundtracks to their listeners. Frankly, nobody cares about Mr. Executive's fave tunes from the last 20 years, even if he happens to have excellent taste.
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VinceF, 26 Mar 2007 @ 5:56pm

Horrible Idea
This is shocking to hear... I really hate the way this sounds. I don't want my favorite band to produce 2 songs at a time so I can create a playlist! I want my albums! That's all I listen to is music in album form . That should be the way most music should sound the best. What will happen to the good old concept albums? Some types of music are meant to be listened to as a whole for the sole reason thats what it was created for and I dont want anybody taking that away from me. I will always buy a cd when I know I get my moneys worth and I just don't get why music has gone in such a horrible route the last few years. If this is what everyone thinks is the best way to distibute music then I say Pop music killed the music industry but thats just my opinion.
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Ben, 26 Mar 2007 @ 6:06pm

This does not sound good
The songs that are popular are always the ones that I get tired of first, but if the artist has a solid album, I begin to enjoy the others as well. I want to make playlists myself, or I can just get one from Webjay, but getting rid of albums altogether is a bad idea in my opinon.
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RandomThoughts, 26 Mar 2007 @ 7:06pm

Maybe the Times should take its own advise and make us stop buying the full paper (which we don't read) and just sell us the article they think we should read?
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:HAn., 26 Mar 2007 @ 7:12pm

Al "album" is just a freaking "playlist". I dont get it.
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EvilWoodchuck, 26 Mar 2007 @ 8:04pm

The Reason that Albums Suck
The whole reason that we need playlists now is because most artists cant sift through all the bullshit their small little minds dream up in order to make a decent album. If there were still artists around that could make an album that one could play all the way through without completely changing moods and getting a headache; than we would have no need for playlists. Getting rid of albums is a horrible idea because if albums were gotten rid of, all the music industry would consist of is a bunch of loser ass wannabe rappers who come up with one decent song and then completely dissappear, which would cause the whole fan base for the music industry to evaporate.
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zaneZEROZERO, 26 Mar 2007 @ 8:21pm

psh
A couple songs?

If I have an artist on my iPod, I can guarantee I have about 50+ songs, or if they're indie, then I've got all that's possible to get.

a 'couple of songs' is for a casual listener, not someone into the music scene.
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Timmy, 26 Mar 2007 @ 9:03pm

Playlists....satellite radio
Isn't this just the same thing as satellite radio? Just paying for one continuous playlist. I do agree with the strategy though...
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hastings, 26 Mar 2007 @ 9:24pm

albums will never die.
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Charles Griswold, 26 Mar 2007 @ 10:29pm

Albums
A mediocre album may be just a bunch of songs thrown together, but a really good album is more than just the sum of its songs. For instance, "Another Brick in the Wall" is a great song, but if you listen to it out of context, you're missing part of the experience.

Going to a different genre, an Enigma album really should be listened to start-to-finish. Pulling one song out and sticking it onto a "playlist" of songs by different artists destroys a large part of what makes an Enigma album truly wonderful.
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Danno, 27 Mar 2007 @ 6:56am

I'd really miss albums. There's a number of groups whose album work is significantly stronger than their single song output.

I actually tend not to buy single songs, unless it's a remix off an EP or something like that.
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Mike S, 27 Mar 2007 @ 7:23am

playlists a new business?
haven't the record companies been selling soundtracks from movies already? Isn't that a play list?

A whole new industry; figure out a way to pay the creator of the play list a bit (after all he/she is acting as producer), or even better let them be your distribution channel, let them keep a little piece of the action when they sell the songs on the list.
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rkm, 28 Mar 2007 @ 2:07am

Albums are not dead
They are just called CDs now.
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Mark B, 28 Mar 2007 @ 8:00am

albums and playlists are the same thing
the musics industries busnines model died in the late ninteis.

by not addressing this issue then they really have a two pronged battle on their hands. One of which is that there are music fans who may have never once paid for their music.

The second one is the older fans, who have supported artists, by buying the same music on 8 tracks, cassettes, vinlye and cds.
those older fans also grew up in a era where it was never really considered ileagal to make a recording of your albums.

In my opinion these mind sets will be hard to change.
The reality is if one ureleased song was leaked to the internet, within days or weeks there could easily be a million copies of that song. Which would translate to a million dollars in lost sales to that record company.

what is needed is a radical new bussiness model. Perhaps record stores could have kioseks in them where they could pick their songs and burn their cds on the spot. They could have release parties for newly released albums. Perhaps the bands could play the album over the internet and be streamed to these stores and at the end of the nite these concerts could be sold to those at the parties.

Or maybe there could be a insurance policy on your cds where damaged disks would be replaced free or for a small service charge. Or you could upgrade your music collection from cd to DVD.

Is this the right bussiness model maybe not but the possibilities are endless and the music industry change or die.
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Charles Griswold, 28 Mar 2007 @ 2:58pm

Re: Albums are not dead
Not to be pedantic or anything, but an album is just a collection of media (e.g. a picture album). I believe that what you're referring to is known as a "phonographic record".
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|333173|3|_||3, 28 Mar 2007 @ 7:30pm

Albums vs. compiliation
I agree that albums are a good thing. Tking the example of Another Brick In the Wall, most of the time, only part 2 is played, so you don't even hear the whole song unless you listen to the album.. I can think of plenty more albums which are more than the sum of its parts, such as Sgt. Pepper's, Days of Future Passed, and In Search of the Lost Chord.
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