Albums Aren’t Dead: Why Artists Are Ditching the Short-Form
Why are music albums becoming longer?
Over the past few years, I’ve listened to countless extended plays (EPs) and albums ranging from jazz to R&B, hip-hop to pop, and so on. I noticed the length of the tracks was silently changing. It’s almost unheard of, like a ghost note played on the grand piano, but it’s a notable change of events.
From Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy” to Future’s “I Never Liked You” to Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday 2” to Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” to Weekend’s Latest “The Highlights (Deluxe)” to Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, music albums are beginning to see an unusual number of tracks.
As someone who cherishes albums and regards albums as a notion that should be preserved, I love the new direction. Recording a 29-track album is an incredible achievement in a world where extended plays (EPs) are becoming more prevalent.
But hold on, is the lengthy form a recent development, or have artists been using it for a while and I have just been missing out? And if it’s a new development, then why is it happening?
Music albums have long been used to express musicians’ thoughts, as we may discover by turning through the pages of music history.
The term “album” was infrequently used in the titles of several classical music sets in the early nineteenth century. Examples of these sets are Tchaikovsky’s Album for the Young, a collection of 24 short pieces composed for children, and Robert Schumann’s Album for the Young, Opus 68, a set of 43 small pieces.
Since the beginning of the jazz scene, albums have also been significant. Composers such as Oscar Peterson, Miles Davis, and Louis Armstrong wrote music for several albums.
Numerous excellent albums have also been released in the pop realm. However, long railroads include a few exceptional exceptions. There are just nine tracks on Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, which is among the best albums ever recorded.
It’s known that albums have always been an integral part of music. Albums make us see through the musician's mind and conceptualize his expression and thought process. But how long should an album be? Does length matter? Why are popular artists increasing their track lengths?
The Length of an Album
An album may contain any number of tracks. In the United States, The Recording Academy’s rules for Grammy Awards state that an album must comprise a minimum total playing time of 15 minutes with at least five distinct tracks or a minimum total playing time of 30 minutes with no minimum track requirement. In the United Kingdom, the criteria for the UK Albums Chart is that a recording counts as an “album” if it either has more than four tracks or lasts more than 25 minutes. Source: Wikipedia
The length of an album should be an important entrance into music analysis and criticism. Most times, it makes us see the artist as they are—their idea is laid bare, and we get to see not just a glimpse of what they are trying to say but hear it in its full entirety. Even though it is stated that an album can be as short as five tracks (according to the Grammy Awards Recording Academy), the length should be one of the music analysis points.
But if we look at some of the greatest albums like “What’s Going On?” by Mavin Gaye and “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” by Nas, we find out that they have a shorter number of tracks, with unforgettable melodies, impeccable use of sound elements, and near-perfect productions. The number of tracks does not matter. What matters is the professionalism behind the album and how well an artist can deliver—this is already established.
But is the increasing length of albums motivated by musicians' love for lengthy releases of expression, or are there other reasons?
Streaming and Billboard Metrics
Long before the advent of audio streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal, music used to be recorded on CDs and Vinyls. The sales of these mediums used to be the judging factor for music charts, but not until charting companies finally included streams in their weekly rankings of songs and albums.
This decision was indeed controversial, but streaming has almost become the only way we access music. Not including it in the weekly rankings would only sound unfair.
Ever since, musicians have sought means to tilt the system to work in their favor. This has helped them stay longer on the billboard and, in turn, given them the relevance they so much desire. This is because the longer the album, the more streams it will garner, and the longer the musician stays on Billboard. Truly, it’s a win for the artist.
According to Billboard, an artist can now earn one album “sale,” either by selling an album in any form (CD, digital, or vinyl), selling 10 digital tracks from the album (which might be from different fans, so far it’s ten; it works), or for every 1,500 streams, the artist gets one album sale.
So, the longer the album, the higher the chances of getting more streams, which will quickly add up to one album sale. If sixty listeners stick to a 25-track album from start to finish, the artist gets one album sale. Reaching one album sale would have taken longer for the artist if he had a 10-track album, for example.
This doesn’t negate the fact that these musicians are talented, and climbing to the top of the charts would’ve still happened for them anyway. But the length of the albums is an unignorable factor.
Another good part is that streaming goes on for a longer time. An artist can keep their spot on the chart for a longer period.
Artistic Expression
But let’s look at the good side. Longer albums are a win-win for the artist and for the fan. With longer albums, we get to enjoy the artist more. If an album is long and it's of high quality in terms of musical delivery, I want to stick around longer. Yeah, I’ve listened to Cory Henry’s “Church” over twelve times.
Many artists now view longer albums as an opportunity for more expansive artistic expression. A longer format can allow the artists to go deeper into thematic concepts, experiment with different sonic textures, and showcase a broader range of musical styles. For example, we can see how Beyonce was able to play with different styles and sonic textures in her latest album, “Cowboy Carter,” due to the length of the album.
Speaking as a listener, longer albums can provide a satisfying and immersive listening experience. If the music takes me through different planes of sonic expression, I’m bound to dive deeper into the album.
I’d say if an artist can release a longer album that is packed with interesting tracks, it’s a win for them and for me, the listener. This doesn't mean artists should always race to pass the 9-track threshold (as this can quickly spiral into listener fatigue, and artists including filler tracks to pad the length if not well managed), but feeling the artist more on a long railroad is becoming more important.
