There is more than one way to skin a cat…and put out your music
The idea that the traditional “album” or LP is dead is being talked about more and more throughout the blog-o-sphere.
Is the album REALLY the best way to be putting out music to your fans? I guess what we are really trying to say is that you shouldn’t believe that putting out one or two EPs, then releasing an LP (Long-player) and releasing singles from each is the ONLY way to go. It works well for some, not for others. You really need to look at what works best for your band, your reasons for touring and for your style of music.
What works best for a bubblegum-pop band is not going to work for a progressive instrumental rock act - 1. The audience is different, and 2. The nature of the tracks are different, the progressive band is going to have longer tracks and perhaps the album’s construction of tracks is purposely built to tell a longer story, whereas the pop band’s tracks are more than likely insulated, stand-alone tracks, perhaps leaning more towards single releases and remixes.
Here are some examples of different releases:
Thrice: Alchemy Index - a 4 EP release, staggered over one year (spanning 2007 and 2008), following two LP albums. The EPs were themed around the four elements - earth, fire, air and water. The first two releases sold 28000 physical copies in their first week and peaked at number 5 in the iTunes charts.
Dead Letter Circus: Self-Titled, Reaction + Next in Line Single - Dead Letter Circus are a Brisbane alternative rock band whose first EP captured a lot of fans through their constant touring. Their first EP was a great first taste for fans and then they capitalised on this by releasing their single Reaction for free in exchange for an e-mail address and now send out fantastic e-mail marketing campaigns. Their latest 3 track EP was available digitally and physically, with the digital copy including a remix from Melbourne band, Mammal.
Mammal: Vol 1 - The Aural Underground - Not so much not an album, but it is a live recording album release for their first LP. This worked for Mammal, being the type of band they are - the point being to show that the energy of their live show could translate to the recording. They also do not use record labels, instead striking their own distribution deal with MGM.
Re:Enactment: Regicide - Their August 2008 EP release, Regicide, was put out on customised USB sticks, containing Regicide, their previous EP, Kittens, and also ProTools source files to encourage people to remix their tracks.
If you can think of other bands who have had an “irregular” release schedule, not using LP albums or using the idea of the LP album in a different way, comment here!
With Digital ramping up the way it is, and consumers’ propensity towards listening to numerous artists in any one listening session - an easily bored generation - should bands be releasing less, more often?
In my mind, it certainly would help with your fans’ familiarity of the tracks. A smaller release, with stronger tracks, with B-Sides/Remixes that didn’t make the cut, available as free promo downloads seems a more attractive route.
Perhaps think of it like this - you are still feeding your fans, who are hungry for new material, but it’s more like you are providing them with snacks, rather than filling up their plate and having some waste after the meal.
Perhaps 2 of these releases per year or one per quarter, recorded in one session/between touring legs and released separately, with strategic release times and touring in support of each release, reaching further and different regions as you are doing it, might be a way of achieving this.
But then again, I could be totally wrong. There is an art to constructing an album, the ebbs, the flows, the highs, the lows. It certainly works for certain genres. What genres do you think work as LP albums and which don’t??
