good work

literally lmaooo

I feel like the first half of your video summed it up pretty simply. there were limitations on the amount of content that could be placed on vinyl, then tape, then disc, and now there's not. who's to know what the trends of album duration would be if those limitations hadn't existed. now that it's boundless, i think it'll be more interesting to see what happens over the next 10-20 while streaming is the dominant means, because all the data will be based off the same format. no limitations.

the frequency/rate at which acts would release albums then vs. now would be another important factor to look at

also not completely necessary when evaluating this as a whole, but I'd be more interested in a genre breakdown and how THOSE trends have looked over the years

also just some random points that don't even really need to be said but

more tracks does not necessarily equal a much longer runtime

less tracks does not necessarily equal a more cohesive project

If albums are long, then it better be masterpieces or artists do something different

great response. genre breakdown would be especially interesting i agree

I think long albums with no concept or direction rob the listener of a cohesive experience

It’s just like any other form of entertainment. Take movies for example. A long movie with an interesting plot that has depth doesn’t feel as long as it is because in draws you in but a long movie that’s all over the place will put you to sleep every time.

Not every album has to have a strong narrative but there is definitely something to an album’s music passing through the stages of a good drama from intro to climax then conclusion. Throwing a bunch of songs together that go nowhere is just not a good experience for a listener unless they are just shuffling which is more so meant for playlists

Album is a dying art, most artist have forgotten or don’t care enough

albums are seen more as playlists than experiences on their own terms by both fans and artists because that’s what people want

yea. the thing is a lot of real fans, the type that will support you and go to your shows n s***, havent given up on the album format. especially when u make it feel like an "era". and the funny thing is if artists culled their s*** a little more and cared about the listener experience, they might be able to make two cohesive projects out of one bloated one

do u think people enjoy that tho? like more than an alternative, where maybe artists drop a few more loosies but keep the projects themselves tighter and more cohesive

GKMC and Wolf both spring to mind

Gkmc is 12 tracks

long track runs tho to be fair. some of those songs are long as s***

wolf is another album i never realized is kinda long because i genuinely enjoy it front to back (with some small exceptions in 2023)

because they are not able to make a quality project that translates into a loyal fanbase

perhaps thats it. but i also feel like a lot of the bloated but good projects (to me this would be like, FATD, donda, off the top of my head but theres so many more) could be great if they were just condensed a little

What of the artist sacrificing their own vision for the sake of the listener's enjoyment?

You mentioned you're an artist yourself, what if those 3, 4, 5 records that a portion of the listeners (because it's never all) deemed unnecessary felt essential to you in completing your work?

if a project is under 10 tracks or over 16 tracks i dont care for it unless i like the artist

if its an artist i actually reaslly like tho then i do like as much as they'd give me because its more chances to find another great song

like donda is bloated and mix of different sounds and themes but i still got some of my favorite kanye tracks from it - and if it was cut down then the tracks i personally liked might have been taken away

10 or under tracks if i really like the artist makes me a bit annoyed like daytona or yeezus - but i do think 10 to 12 tracks is actually a good length to get introduced to a new artist

imo 12 to 14 is the sweet spot, with 10 & 16 being the upper and lower limits

I love long albums when its the artist being creative and not contained like velvet rope or stankonia

Lets bring that back if we gonna do long albums

artists are also making 2 minute songs cause 90 seconds is like the minimum amount of seconds for a stream to count

I think sales should count in streamed minutes and not in streamed amount of songs

i think both of those albums are great.

dont really know what i would take off of either. but i get your point

We will be there

that's a good point but I think, as an artist, you have to make the decision whether that portion of your vision is more important than potentially boring a listener

bring back longer songs

As time has passed, I think it’s less to do with streaming itself being the reason for it and more to do with playlists becoming the primary method of music consumption for the majority of people.

Artists (in general, not all of them) aren’t concerning themselves anymore with making the most well thought out and most cohesive albums because they know that the majority of listeners are just looking for songs to add to playlists.

With that being the case, it’s become more and more routine that we get bloated 20+ song albums from high profile artists where sounds and styles and themes clash all throughout the hour and a half long runtimes, in an attempt to appease as many audiences as they possibly can and get listeners to add at least one or two songs to their personal playlists

In conjunction with albums being too long, I believe the beat switch trend has been the direct result of short attention spans because of social media.

What was once a cool, niche way to make a song more interesting and surprise the listener has now become a cheap gimmick in order to pad a song’s runtime and essentially build out a song without actually having to progress it