Ask HN: Would requiring musicians to release only singles improve music quality? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Would requiring musicians to release only singles improve music quality?

2 pointsamichail9 comments

Indie game developers don't release entire collections of games. Why should musicians release collections of songs?

I suspect that the pressure to fill "a whole album" has diminished as recorded music publication has shifted largely toward digital distribution, and especially streaming.

I don't think that prohibiting the publication of whole full-length albums would be a good idea. There have been plenty of great albums, that really deserved to be whole albums. Maybe usually that's not the case, but still, I wouldn't want to prohibit the album construct.

Try posting less often, it might improve your post quality.

I think the opposite is true.

If artists would be forced to release only singles they would be pressured to make every song fit the “hit” format. Music would be more homogenous and boring. I doubt Bohemian Rhapsody would ever be released in such a world.

I guess I’m in the minority but I like listening to full albums even when using a streaming service.

Some albums are more than the sum of their parts.

1. An indie game lasts far longer than 30-70 minutes.

2. There is an economy of scale for studio time.

3. The way artists are paid requires more value than 3 minutes at a time.

4. There is value in music for deeper fans to dive into that are not the casual fans that listen to singles.

5. An artist doesn't always know what song is going to resonate with fans -- the right singles to release is not a science.

For 5, maybe they can "beta test" each song and not release ones that don't generate much interest?

Out they can just release all the songs they’re proud of. Some fans will prefer the deep cuts.

No, some of the best albums ever were all written around a common theme. Having nothing but a collection of singles makes it hard for artists to commit to a subgenre for a while without making it their identity. I think Pink Floyd is the best example of this (the large difference between Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall) or perhaps any album written by David Bowie (where his albums experimented with characters or identities such as Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke, in conjunction with new sounds) but My Chemical Romance is a more contemporary example (for me, anyways), with Welcome to the Black Parade standing in contrast to Danger Days. I don't listen to Taylor Swift, but she's supposedly remade her identity around each new album release (or what her fans call Eras)

There's an assumption here that the first class concept is the song. Maybe it's the album?

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