In the future.....albums, singles, or EPs

So many artists now are releasing singles and then grouping them as albums later if at all.

In the future, should artists continue to focus on albums, singles, or EPs?  Is there really a need for physical product if you cannot tour?  Is it really about music, or is it now about making content?

There is a band I follow in the Seattle area who seems to record a new song a few times a year and releases them as singles.  Then about every three years (or so) they collect them into a 6-9 song album that they release as a complete album CD and digitally.  
I still prefer bands to release full albums (or even EPs) myself.  But only because it's a pain for me to try to rotate single songs into my listening habits.

I know Warpriest does both (albums and singles) and the majority of the singles are not released on the full albums.  So if a band has at least 4 to 6 singles that are not on an album I'll sometimes purchase downloads of those singles and group them into an EP for building a playlist.  But that is probably less than 3% of my regular listening.

I prefer full albums. Maybe it's just because I'm archaic, but that's the way I roll

There's something nice about receiving a new CD, opening it up, reading the lyrics, the thank yous and looking at the artwork... whilst listening to the music.

Downloads aren't the same.  Yes, it may be the way forward, but it's more superficial.

Oh, I wasn't even thinking on the wave link of CDs vs. downloads.  Most people don't buy downloads either.  They simply stream.  In today's market, people wanting physical product is getting less and less.  That's why I was wondering about should artists really do albums or just singles.

It's to the point of release what you want to release the way you want to release it.  If people don't like it, so what?  I heard a guy say that with any kind of art, the artist is really just the delivery person with the art being the package.  It's up to the person receiving it to do with it as they will.

I think it depends on the style of music (and therefore the type of fans/listeners).  IMO it's pretty reasonable for a pop band to only ever release singles on Spotify or whatever, since that's where probably 95% of their listeners choose to play their tunes.  But for us metalheads and rockers who want to be more immersed in the music and appreciate the liner notes and all that, a metal band would be shooting themselves in the foot if they only released singles digitally.  The rock/metal fans will generally prefer full-lengths - ideally physically released and not just digitally I think.  EPs are fine to serve as a more official demo or whet the taste for an upcoming full-length, but there's always going to be the folks who skip out on the EP and only pick up full-lengths.

kerrick wrote:

I think it depends on the style of music (and therefore the type of fans/listeners).  IMO it's pretty reasonable for a pop band to only ever release singles on Spotify or whatever, since that's where probably 95% of their listeners choose to play their tunes.  But for us metalheads and rockers who want to be more immersed in the music and appreciate the liner notes and all that, a metal band would be shooting themselves in the foot if they only released singles digitally.  The rock/metal fans will generally prefer full-lengths - ideally physically released and not just digitally I think.  EPs are fine to serve as a more official demo or whet the taste for an upcoming full-length, but there's always going to be the folks who skip out on the EP and only pick up full-lengths.

As an old school rock and metal fan, I hear you on this.  I far prefer the physical releases.  However, do younger people's music collecting/listening reflect this?  Had I not gone through Tunaki for CDs with my most recent Mission of One CD, I could not have paid for printing CDs with the few I have sold.  I have done far better with downloads.  Granted, I could probably do more if I spammed every music page on social media constantly which I don't like doing or seeing other artists do it, too.

For us older fans who have always had physical releases, I see that we like reading the notes, having the actual album, etc.  But is this the market as a whole?  

I am thinking that physical product will soon become a thing of the past because younger generations do not buy music at all.  They stream it.  Owning a song doesn't even relate to teens and young adults.   Music has always been free.  Do we need to think more on those lines since the younger generations think this way?  I guess I am wanting a bigger picture of the music market than most of us can really gauge.

Most artists nowadays will tell you that they don't make music to make a living.  They do music to get likes and plays of their social media content which supposedly pays more.  Touring pays well if they aren't tethered to a record company.  Their social media creations get people to check out the music and pay to come to shows.  They know that putting songs on streaming isn't going to pay a ton unless they get millions of plays, so they are essentially giving it away.  They get paid from people watching video content on social media and for people attending shows and buying merch.  The merch used to help advertise the music and sell it.  Now, the music is the advertisement for the merch and social media content.

^Yeah that's a good question.  I don't know...  I think metalheads in general have a higher appreciation for physical releases than fans of most other genres, so at least for now there is still a moderate amount of demand for CDs, vinyl, etc.  Sub-genres that typically cater to the younger crowd like black metal and whatnot are putting out physical releases too, though I have seen quite a bit that's digital-only.  You make a good point though of newer generations that never paid for music to begin with.  Time will tell I suppose!

After this next album coming out, I will be going the route of singles. It's just too much work to get a whole album together and put it out.

You just earned yerself a "dislike" Robert!  

kerrick wrote:

You just earned yerself a "dislike" Robert!  

Make that two dislikes!!!!

I have to say that I don't blame ya though.  Maybe Warpriest could release a few singles each year and when you have 7 or 8 you can add one or two unreleased tracks and put it out as a whole album.  Then you could release the "bonus" tracks on bandcamp a few months or so later.  Just a thought.

We'll see. This will be my last physical CD that I put out. But like I said, it's just too much work to invest in putting out an albums worth of songs. Especially when it just sits there collecting dust.