Not only is the album dead, but the concept of “the audience” is over… With so many options in how we (as a listener) access music today, there is very little opportunity to turn that listener into a fan.
NIN and other artists who are embracing their fans and making them part of the band is the only option worth pursuing.
When the music is free and everywhere… engagement is near impossible.

Why do the fans have to be involved in the creation of the record in the first place? When I buy an album, I trust the artist(s) involved and their judgement of things like tracklisting, production, song-writing, etc.
An album’s supposed to reflect a band or a person at a certain point in time during their creative life in music. It’s up to them how much personality they inject into it, but even the most sterile albums can represent the artist(s) involved in it. If the fans were to get involved they’d remove any form of personality from the record by injecting it with the masses ideas – who needs these when the individual fans themselves could be creating their own music instead of slavishly engorging themselves on the works of others for no-one’s benefit but themselves.
Also, after these fans finish the album they helped create – who wants to hear an album that one band and its fans made? It’s totally elitist and potential new fans won’t feel included.
I’m not a luddite but I think your ideas to re-think the album (via Web 2.0 concepts) are poor. Posting demos and clips of practices and that would just ruin any form of surprise when the fans do get hold of the album. I can see the worth in it if it emerges after the album’s release but during its own creation? Musicians aren’t blogs, they don’t need people checking what they’re doing every day. Half their time they can spend writing in the shadows, half the time they can spend promoting new material. If a band was constantly in our faces then we’d all tire of them pretty quickly.

I find that sad. I like the permance of liner notes. Albums were great, posters and lyrics, tapes were bad,no space, CDs a little better but still limited space. I like the Web, but I hate being forced to go there for everything.

In typical, fine “George Howard-style”, you’ve again managed to comment on the passing of an industry standard while encouraging us to think of it as a new opportunity. We have become a singles culture again. That’s how we started 70-odd years ago. The album was literally like a photo album, except that it contained records instead of pictures. As music became a more and more important component of our lives, in the 60′s, artists began to see the value for them and their listeners in presenting collections of songs that had a central theme or “concept”. The album was re-invented and embraced by an entire generation of fans who were also LISTENERS. Now our iPods and computers have become much like incredibly diverse, impossibly big albums. I agree with Vergel E that it has become increasingly difficult to hold listeners long enough to “turn them into fans”, but it has as much to do with shrinking attention spans as it does with the quantity of available music. There is a reason that live performance is rising to the top in terms of its value to music fans. It connects us musically and socially in groups rather than as individuals isolated beneath or inside their own earbuds, looking at their own screens. This was also perhaps the most powerful aspect of listening to albums. People usually listened with others. You are right that the album as we have known it, even as it is struggling to make a weak comeback, and that even with the small, fiercely dedicated album fans, it is unlikely to survive. The fact that you have made worthwhile suggestions encouraging new thinking is great, George. I only hope that we can somehow come out the other side of our current move towards “group isolation”.

Frankly – this is load of intellectual crap – Web 2.0 hype – soon to be replaced by another “death of music” theory. Have DVD’s of movie downloads made motion pictures “social objects”? Do any but the most avid fans ever listen to the director’s commentary or the bonus “making of” reels? The answer is no.
And to the contrary, there is a great deal of cost involved in terms of time and effort in creating and maintaining all these social objects the author writes of. Time that could be spent…ummmm…making the album better perhaps?
Always consider the source of your information. George is a marketer – not a musician.
The bottom line is, fans only care about all this other crap AFTER they care about the music. Focus on what you do best – making music – and you’ll attract those who want to document it. Focus on this and you’ll become a ‘social object” – not a musician.

For a new independent artist who has and attractive personality, developing an online fan base using this method would be the most cost effect way to create a following. I don’t know if I would demo all of the songs previous to releasing them. I would also add that it might be best to release a single at he onset of the project to demonstrate their skills and communicate that they are seriously committed to their craft.

Sorry, Dude…That is just not the way it works…you idealism does not hold up in the reality of the music industry.

Hmmm!
Maybe that’s what the matter.
LPs and CDs used to be all about the quality of the songs and performances and arrangements.
You’re lucky if you get one half way decent song per CD these days.
They only sign people if they’re YOUNG and GOOD LOOKING and SLIM!
If they were half as discriminating about the MUSIC then we might get another decade of music like we had in the 60s and people would CARE about music again!

This is absolute rubbish!
“Artists — including musicians — need outlets to express themselves. Their craft can’t only be about commerce….. Musicians need to find outlets and avenues for their creativity, whether it’s commercially successful or not.”
P.Abbot

if your saying, and i think you are
that,
to redifine our concept of what is,
“an album”
by redifining the meaning to match
“A Body Of Work”
calling it an album
wel then
youve taken away the true meaning of what is
“AN Album”
which is a choice collection taken out of a body of work
at that point its just watered down
call it what it is
a body of work that is what you acctually saying
and we already know what an album

Well, weather or not people like it, we artist do need to nurture the needs of the consumer, and give them more than their expectations. Hopefully we will see a change in the younger generations value that recorded music should be free or even dirt cheap. While I like to have full creative control over my projects, it’s just not practical in this day in 2008. and recording an album is more of a collection of collaborative works with your friends, rather than your selfish vision of what your music should sound like. Let people in on your projects, is what I would say to anyone.
Charles

I’m not sure the author is 100% on the mark, but i do disagree with those disparaging his ideas out of hand. The world is changing and media is going to have to change with it. The great thing is that there are lots of new oppurtunities available and they don’t have to replace the old, and I’m actually intrigued by just this sort of idea.
Just last week I started a new blog (http://tribemindrecords.blogspot.com)that‘s not too different from what the author describes. I’m going to attmpe to write a piece of music every week of 2009, each based on a different feeling, with each month centered around a theme. I’m not approaching it as an album per se, but instead as an exercise in songwriting and a chance to document the writing process, how technology influences my work.
Plus I think the blog format is an oppurtunity to allow others to follow along and get involved. Perhaps at the end I’ll try and produce some sort of album out of these pieces, but the goal is really more a documentation and an attempt to attract people through sharing my ideas rather than staying holed up by myself writing songs. I think it’s a fresh way to interact and my hope is that by shaing I will be able to get people invested in me and hopefully buy my albums in the future, whether it’s somethign that grows out of this or another project entirely. Check it out and see what you think of this kind of format before you pass judgment:
http://tribemindrecords.blogspot.com

Who presumes to redefine album? Who do you think you are? What exactly is “damnable” about a Myspace page? Its on the internet, it is accessible to artists and fans, it is free, what is “damnable” about that? What is so great about having a separate website?
I am neither young nor good looking, so I don’t have much chance of being signed. I have to use the resources available. For me the hard part is just getting gigs! Its like applying for a job every time. NO FUN!

what if… we are musicians. not videographers or video editors, not website developers or designers, not comedians, not models. we make music. if this is true, i am sad. this is not what music is about. what ever happened to respecting the integrity of the musician? do you think nick drake would have been on the computer blogging the play by play of recording “pink moon”? no, for god sakes, he was over there pouring his heart and soul out.
while this may well be a good idea, as a real musician, and nothing else, it saddens me deeply.

This is a difficult topic at a difficult time in music. I’ve read the article and everyones comments. Someone mentioned that George was into marketing and that’s what his info is all about. The concept of the album is not dead but the way you go about selling it and marketing it has changed and that is what you can take away from George’s suggestions…but like someone mentioned to much interaction with the fans could be a bad thing. You want to keep them interested as well and in my opinion spilling the whole can of beans about the album is not the way to go…mystery is always intriguing.
I think George is trying to get artists to see that CD’s arent selling and gigs and merch is where the money is and what he suggest could help you get more gigs and sell more merch. But like most things in life its all about timing….when should you go after a game plan like that? Artists with an established fan base could dive right in. but if you are just starting out you might want to work on making a great album first, then slowly start to apply all of that as you begin to gig. Cats like George are going to try to redefine things like what an album is because the marketing business is scrambiling now. The have to seem like they have it all figured out in order to stay relevant.

If we have learned ANYTHING in the last hundred years or so of music history (from the beginning recorded music, when the Album replaced the Symphony or Tone Poem), it’s that the prettiest people usually DON’T make the best music (vs. acting or dance), the best music is made by musicians that are interesting or strange looking.
GH’s approach seems to assume that the best verbal bloggers will make the best music, this seems contrary to History and Evolution – music is about sound experience not verbal or really even visual experience.
Todd Rundgren actually tried exactly the GH approach in the early 90′s, it really was not all that successful, but he did get some PR gigs with Info Tech companies like Apple, so I guess that produced some $$$.
And this is what music needs more than anything else, is more new revenue sources to support it.
As for the 60′s, that someone talked about, remember the general population was younger as well as richer than it was before OR since – so that Golden Age is never coming back.
Really the only guidance is Evolution – that Sophistication increases with Time. Right now were in the midst of a Artistic Ecology disaster/die-off, I admire GH’s willingness to suggest new things – but has he really made Major $$$ with his suggested approach? It kind of reminds you of Kevin Kelly’s (Wired) suggestions for musical success in the NYT – like reading an old Sci-Fi story after someone has already walked on the Moon, silly fun but hard to take seriously.
There ARE people who are beginning to figure out this Horror-Show, like Kid Rock, whose album has charted for a long, LONG time – cases like this are what needs to be analyzed if were going to figure out what works, rather rerunning old unsuccessful experiments.

Hmmm … well I just returned from a German tour where we sold 350 of these “Dead Albums” for approx $20 US each!
Granted they were VERY “Social Objects” in this context: 100′s of happy eager Fans waiting on line to greet us, say hi, give us 15 Euro and have their CD signed!
Mr Howard’s article is not addressing a key part of most bands’ business and endeavor – Live Performance! And in that arena the album (CD) is VERY relevant, profitable AND necessary.
Or in other words: “You can’t sell your fucking “microsite” at a gig dude!”
So to all you bands out there – make a good CD and print it- just don’t spend ANY more $$ then an amount you can realistically recoup and turn a profit in a reasonable amount of time – and think good and hard about what that amount of money and time is.
Peace
J

Damnable MySpace page? With 2500+ people, without a single tour, one-off gig, video, radio spot, promotional team or campaign, no record contract or pursuit of one,and not even a full ‘album’ released, in 2 years my profile’s been viewed over 130,000 times, with over 20,000 comments. Without using a bot, or ‘special things’ to boost up this thing or that thing. Without trying to schmooze to every single industry contact out there. I actually sent an email out if I accidentally added someone in the Industry without knowing.
When I was uploading ‘works in progress’ they achieved almost 400 plays a day, when I only had 1,000+ ‘friends’. I don’t use the MySpace player anymore. But last count was 110,000 plays by 2500+ people.(March 2008?)
Though I feel George wrote an interesting article, wasn’t it all just fairly obvious? I mean, I could only take seeing the words ‘social object’ so many times. But damnable MySpace page??? Are you kidding? Most of the bands on MySpace don’t even use the tool they have at their disposal. A way to tour ’round the world, at your fingertips, with a bunch of feathered social objects.
I don’t know. I’m using MySpace like its a social object with plausible and realistic results. With an ‘album’ under my belt, Imma see what I can do without Industry being involved, or as little as possible. And make music that just .. people think is cool cuz I thought it was good. social object. Just puttin that in there …

Fantastic newsletter! I like the resource you’re building here. Keep it up! Did you know that free resources are so important in web marketing that sometimes the free resource either becomes the product or competes with the product as a revenue source.
I didn’t agree with much of this article and I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous articles, but it still prompted me to think and act!
Greg Alton
Zrinity

The term “social object” seemed clinical and turned me off the moment I read it; after reading it again and again in the article I felt that music was the last thing on the priority list of this new album concept.
The album as we have known it is dead; that much I agree with. Everybody buys the songs they like regardless of whether an album is available or not; I do the same thing.
It used to be that you could only listen to your favorite music when you had a record and a player, or you’d listen to the radio for your favorite songs to play. Because of the limited access, albums were great because it meant a continuous experience without having it interrupted by changing a single, or a commercial on the radio, or a song/artist/style you didn’t like.
For better or worse, portable players like the iPod have irreversibly changed that. It’s almost like eating your favorite dessert hour after hour, day after day…after awhile, you get tired of it and become very picky about what you want to eat that’s new because you’ll get tired of that real quick too.
The other problem is level of expectation; if I can instantly have access to a thousand awesome legendary songs from the last 5 decades, anything new has to follow a ridiculously high standard so my tolerance is real tight and my willingness to listen to it is unconsciously measured by how it fares against 5 decades of legendary songs. Not much passes that test now days.
When I read how everybody thinks music is dying, albums are dead, the record/music business as we’ve known it is crashing and burning…there are some formidable factors involved in that perception. Internet isn’t the only reason but it’s certainly a factor.
For me it’s about the music; I wouldn’t really have wanted to be interjecting, or have anyone else “blogging” their input to Sgt. Pepper’s, Yessongs, Dark Side of the Moon, or any other of those great masterpiece albums. I like the surprise of discovery as I listen to a finished work; if I see every little piece of it as it’s ground together day after day; by the end I’d be tired of it and probably not buy it or want to listen to it again. If I see all the bits and pieces inside the magic box, it isn’t magic anymore.
There’s no question the internet needs to be embraced as a communication and delivery vehicle; question is though, what are we marketing? Ourselves? Our website? Other’s comments? Or the music? I am struggling greatly trying to create music that’s first and foremost interesting to me; if I get bored with it quickly I assume a listener would too. It’s not quick or easy to come up with music of this type as I’ve discovered. I can click through 50 years of awesome music in minutes on my iPod, but I can’t create music of that caliber in a few minutes. I want to; I’m so used to it it feels like I should be able to; but it just doesn’t happen and it’s incredibly frustrating. The challenge is to discipline myself to get past quick and easy and work at it anyways. And keep working until I come up with something worthwhile. I’m still working on it; haven’t arrived yet although I’m getting close with a couple of ideas that I hope to be able to release soon.
I love music; I love good music. I put on the headphones, close my eyes and go on the journey it takes me; rich or poor. When you have 50 years of richness available at the click of a button, you have an extremely low tolerance for poor…which is why people buy single songs now mostly. In order to rise to that standard we song creators must strive to create an album of worthy singles that are worth buying as a collective work.
The album as we’ve known it may be dead, but I don’t believe the idea of an album itself is necessarily dead. Music creators just need to think differently about it and work harder on why a collection of songs should be an album…no fillers; just your best. I’ll buy it if it’s good, and I think most people feel that way too.

OK, I have mixed feelings about this, but I can see there’s some value in the concept.
When we’re an enthusiast and we think of an album we love, say, Bob Dylan’s “Blood On The Tracks”, it’s true that we are thinking of of more than just the bare recordings that made of the canonical album. We’re also thinking of Dylan’s life around the time he recorded it, what he looked like, its relationship to the albums that came before and after it, the abandoned New York sessions, live performances of the songs, etc.
And if there was an extended “Blood On The Tracks double CD with the New York sessions on disc 2 and perhaps a DVD and lots of photos and essays and all that kind of stuff, some of us might get quite excited by that.
And say all that stuff was on an official web site, with Dylan himself writing or talking about the songs, perhaps a little podcast, I for one would be happy to spend some time there and go back again and again.
Maybe it’s not necessary, desirable or likely for every album in the world, but it does make me think I might consider something like that for my own one album that I recorded a few years ago. And perhaps another site for my new album. And I’m pretty sure at least some of my listeners might want to check it out.
So… it’s still too early to announce the death of The Album As We Know It, but maybe we could take a few good ideas out of what George Howard says, forget about the academic language, and run with them for our own benefit.
- DC Cardwell

Sites like myspace, youtube and tunecore have changed the way people make and promote their music.
It’s all well and good to sit back and revisit the golden years of liner notes, record sleeves and the like but please don’t forget that none of us saw the likes of myspace, youtube, itunes blah blah looming right around the corner circa the napster days, and even if we had predicted it, i doubt there’s anything we could’ve done about it. The industry was so horribly f*cked up in the late 90s that it had to eventually be put down.
Backstreet Boys anyone?
I feel the internet has given us more choice than we know what to do with in that respect and the average chances for making money, getting famous or even just spreading your music for free are way higher than in the 80s or 90s. I know lots of people who are myspace successes and have been clever enough to land great record deals and gigs through their hard work and perseverance. Check out Flying Lotus for instance. Back in 06 he was just getting started online and now he’s carved out his own little niche, makes good money and plays great shows all over the world and *still* manages to shuffle units of vinyl and cds. oh and he’s signed to warp records.
It’s a game and anyone can play now. Just don’t expect your 5 chord crappy song written on a detuned guitar and recorded with a computer microphone to get you “discovered”. The kids out there are 5000 steps ahead of that already with their laptops, daws, synths etc.
My point being: Get with it. Don’t wait around hoping for a return to the glory days of a music industry that you somehow felt you “understood” or fit into. Stop blaming your looks or location. Carve your own space out and shit will work out eventually, provided your music speaks for itself. Blogs and microsites and just the wrapping paper and your music is the core.
I think George has a point to make and if you use say Radiohead as a mental reference whilst reading his post you might recall their website and their blog dead air space handling most of what he’s talking about. Their online presence set the theme for most of In Rainbows and it was extraordinarily well done.
happy music making people

You all have very good points have a great Holiday season!!!
Heath and Miller

I’ve skimmed over a few replies and I can see that the general response to George’s post being a divided one.
On reading some of the opposing notes, I was on the verge of having second thoughts myself about George’s nicely laid-out article. But when taking a deep breath and looking at that anachronism that used to be the music industry, looking at ever-changing consumer behaviours, weighing in the dynamics and side-effects of the (social) web 2.0 and finally also factoring in my personal experiences, both as an IT person as well as musician, I tend to go along with George’s ideas a near 100%. The only unanswered question to me is how to monetize your work in those changing times (i.e., if you intend to squeeze a buck out of your work here and there). It will be a fine line to walk of giving away free samples or snippets as well as involving the potential audience at a degree that won’t turn them away with info overload. Also, the finished material has to have an extra value that people may find worth spending a buck on.
But generally, I couldn’t be happier about control being back in the hands of the artist to a large degree, as almost everyone can afford the necessary technological tools required to go about the creative as well as (self-) marketing and sales process. With a fast-emerging number of sites helping artists to get exposure and even sell their material, I think it’s all up to everyone’s creativity, self-startedness, perseverance and ultimately faith in themselves to get where your vision placed you in the first place. Or in a bluntly summed up statement: Opportunity? Absolutely!

This is very timely advice. I’m actually in the process of completing my first full-lenght LP. I started a blog but got lazy and didn’t keep up with it. Now that my record is about half way done I’m going to follow EVERY word of your advice. It is amazing how much has changed over the last 10 years and I think the musicians that are going to be successful will really need to re-learn the business altogether. Thanks so much!
Aron Gibson
The Swagger Sticks
myspace.com/theswaggersticks

End of story, if a good record is kick ass music, then no one
shouldn’t have to rethink anything. That is not the case however, for the reality behind the music “industry”- which I will write is also an illusion- being, there is no one music machine cranking out a system or a plan from lucifer/hell (a.k.a Corporate Music Product, Inc.) that dampens the soul in order to sell it to the masses- infact there are a few “major” labels and each is a seperate business entity- and it (they) manufacture-s (cough cough), produces, their own product (that is if they not plagurizing another artists work- imitating a present or past success story from another label to “create (cough cough)” a public ploy and marketing/profiteering scheme/commercial product ( notice it doesn’t read art or music) in order to control the sale of “your” record (NOT THEIRS) – if you got a good record I say then make sure it gets up and out-
One serious question I have is didn’t “Napster” start the whole free music trend or was it a bunch of greedy music business affiliates who profited from the public and sum and then, then, Napster started their site and “new” business program?
Didn’t Napster make a few pennies from their claim of things should be “free”-
And is that a bit contradictary and hypocritical?
What it comes down to from this post you read, is this- I wouldn’t think too hard if a record is really good for real- the important thing is making sure a major label can find a way to suck the life out of that project and destroy your pyschology-right or reverse?

I like this idea, but I think the idea of a collection of songs as expansive as an album is an archaic idea. Why not take it back to the Single/E.P.? Release songs or at the most a very small collection of songs. This provides the artist more flexibility to record in various manners with a natural progression of sound. Most people don’t listen to albums anymore; they fill their iPod with a lots of songs from different artists. Since each piece is more than likely listened to separately it is better to treat each song as a separate thought. If a song has to be with another song you can merge the two together, and not separate them into separate tracks. At the end of the year you could reward your fans with more boutique physical releases, and the lurkers/outsiders can enjoy the pieces they want.
You could still create micro-sites/blogs, but for each song. What a wonderful opportunity to hype/promote one song. Since the focus is on the one song, more attention would be paid to creating the best music possible.

This is a very worthwhile thread. I’ve read all the comments and there’s some good info; it’s great to see a real discussion with people really involved in the topic versus the usual “you’re such a *&%$ because you disagree with what I think” blah blah.
I like some of the points Mark Mason made. I realized after reading it that I myself don’t listen to complete albums anymore; I usually listen to maybe 4 or 5 songs but then I move on. I think he makes a very valid point about redefining what an “album” can be. Since everything else has changed, why can’t the idea of what an album is too? Maybe mini-albums of say 3-6 songs can become the “new” album format.
I appreciate the need to promote and market and I am absolutely in favor of the new freedom and opportunities the internet and sites like Tunecore have opened up to us. But it’s a double-edged sword; it’s nice to be able to do everything yourself but then you do have to do everything yourself all of which takes time.
An album takes a long time to make; If an album can become 3-6 songs then that leaves more time to promote and market it, while enabling you to shorten the development cycle for the next one if and when you do start to gain momentum in a fan base and sales.
I hope this discussion thread continues with this great input!

How do we tell those of interest how to find our CD: A Beans Musical Concert. We are also unable to find it at ITunes. If you have a telephone number please list so that we can solve this problem.
Thank you, much, Kash Earley

In a way, going from album format to “by the song” format is a good way to prevent artists from putting a lot of filler material in their albums with one or two great songs on it.
The converse of that would be the band that doesn’t have any filler material- no concept art for the album either. At least, not in the traditional way. Getting used to this will require adjustment, but the “by the song” business model just might be what saves music- especially if people are willing to pay for it.

In a way, going from album format to “by the song” format is a good way to prevent artists from putting a lot of filler material in their albums with one or two great songs on it.
The converse of that would be the band that doesn’t have any filler material- no concept art for the album either. At least, not in the traditional way. Getting used to this will require adjustment, but the “by the song” business model just might be what saves music- especially if people are willing to pay for it.

I just discovered this blog, so I’m a bit late to the party. To me, the fundamental point being made in the article is that the album has been redefined. Whereas it was once a box it a disc in it, it can now be so much more deep. Along with the box containing a disc, there are tons of other elements it can contain, especially online: videos, interviews, photos, etc. Equally important, an album no longer has to be the explosion that happens then dies away into the long tail. Rather it can be sustained through web releases and the like. However, given that an album can contain so much more value, how does the maker of the album make more money? Some say it’s as simple as doing more touring and licensing; me, I’m not so sure. i would wager that there is a pricing approach yet to be discovered that would be a lot better than or choices today, which are free, pay what you want, .99 per song or $9.99 per album.
Jeff
http://www.cerebellumblues.com

Earl, you are, in my opinion, right on the money with your comments.
Back in the 60′s, and I was there, it was so much more about the music. And of course A&R really meant A&R in those days too. Now with the 1 for 10 method that labels are using, they figure if they are going to invest two or three million each in ten artists in hopes of one of those ten hitting, they had better pick someone with a pretty young marketable face and not spend anything on A&R to develop that talent. Throw ten darts at the board and sweep away the nine that miss the mark and fall to the floor.
Old folks like me have to really on the truth and quality of our music prevailing over the wrinkles.

Earl, you are, in my opinion, right on the money with your comments.
Back in the 60′s, and I was there, it was so much more about the music. And of course A&R really meant A&R in those days too. Now with the 1 for 10 method that labels are using, they figure if they are going to invest two or three million each in ten artists in hopes of one of those ten hitting, they had better pick someone with a pretty young marketable face and not spend anything on A&R to develop that talent. Throw ten darts at the board and sweep away the nine that miss the mark and fall to the floor.
Old folks like me have to really on the truth and quality of our music prevailing over the wrinkles.

The term ALBUM referrs to physical media, it comes from albums used as package for shellacs back in the beginnig of recording industry. Why not goig futher and give up the idea of the album completely? So the whole work of an artist becomes a conitiniously growing collection of social objects.
Simon – MiNIPOP records
htt://minipop.de

The term ALBUM referrs to physical media, it comes from albums used as package for shellacs back in the beginnig of recording industry. Why not goig futher and give up the idea of the album completely? So the whole work of an artist becomes a conitiniously growing collection of social objects.
Simon – MiNIPOP records
htt://minipop.de

Okay, it seems to me that we all know the music industry has changed. But to say the album is dead and that music is a social object (along with blogs, and myspace pages, ect…) is to limit creativity. What if Rush’s 2112 album were released today? Would people would miss the story that the artists intended? I released “Woodsong” with the very intention of people listening to the whole album as they had their Sunday morning coffee. It is intended to create a “mood” for the listener, and while each song can stand on it’s own, the best effect is obtained by playing the whole thing, so that the mood is not shattered. I have other songs, as yet to be released, that are intended to be listened to by themselves. So I disagree with ablums being “dead”. Also, if attention spans are so short that a whole album cannot be listened to, than who has the time to read blogs about and during the “Social Object’s” creation? Yes I am old, and Old School-I prefer to read liner notes, and enjoy album artwork. I miss the days of Roger Dean, and Hipgnosis album covers. Yes I know the world has changed, but there is still room for artists to create the way that they want to. I may never become famous or rich, but I will not compromise my art to conform to the limiting model of a “social object”. One more thing that I’ve noticed: where once radio used to be the medium that would introduce new artists, television is the new medium of choice. The internet is a good delivery medium, but is waaaaay to overcrowded to be a vehicle to discovery. This is why looks are so important. Now that the accountants have started running things, you can’t just make and sell music. Now you have to sell fashions, videos, games, lunchboxes, makeup, cars, etc…. the music is just a background. If the album is dead, so is art.