Nowadays it feels like it is more lucrative for an artist to aim for a hit song in order to blow up, or pack their albums with as much songs as possible to increase their sales #s or chances of getting a hit.

Do you guys feel like the rise of streaming has led to the decline of artists putting out more focused and cohesive albums? (Im not saying that great albums are not being put out today because they can still be found)

I don’t think so

I’d be interested to hear why not 🤔

I mean this kinda applies to Drake seeing as how he keeps bloating his albums with 20+ songs just for streaming

I’m enjoying a lot of music that’s been coming out and streaming has allowed me to discover artists I normally wouldn’t have.

Also the recent trend of deluxe albums.

Im not opposed to new music, but it feels more like a collection of songs rather than a curated album.

Yes
Too much fast food music

nothing was the same after the streaming era (and I mean that in the worst way possible)

In hip hop yes

no its just lead to trash rappers polluting the airways by constantly dropping

people that care about album quality still exist just as much as before

No s***

Im not saying streaming is bad or that music is bad but rather that it has changed the way artists approach releasing albums or projects

You weren't around late aughts when album sales tanked.

Not sure why y’all keep saying this. SFG and take care have almost 20 songs each. He’s always been a high volume artist

that doesn't mean albums are good. yeah it's cool discovering good new songs and artists but can they craft entire good quality projects/albums?

the deluxe is move is lazy and obvious attempt at keeping the album afloat...like who wanted deluxe albums from Jhene aiko, Kehlani and dababy....just promote ya s***

yes.

too much filler on albums now

artists are trying to increase streams by having 25 songs albums instead of focusing on a cohesive project full of quality material

Idk. Hip hop has always had long albums. The difference is that our attention spans are shorter. Back in the 2000s niggas releasing at least 16-20 songs was a given. But you had to live with the music more cause it wasn’t as accessible

Length ≠ bad album

For example Kendrick Lamar’s and Travis Scott’s debut albums (which arguably released before the impact of streaming was truly felt) were both about 1 hr long but had concepts and even loose narratives behind them rather than just seeming like a collection of songs

Duh lol

are we forgetting most rap records in 2000s were too long

rap is genre which i think suffers badly when a record is overly 60 mins unless its concept record

most my fav rap records usually 10 - 12 tracks and 30 to 40 mins long