Bands 'urged to cut album tracks'

bbchris · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2003 4:21 pm Post subject: Bands 'urged to cut album tracks'

Record labels are urging artists to put fewer tracks on albums because fans are put off by too many average songs, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

"There's been a tendency to overload CDs because the technology permits it," Sony US president Don Ienner said.

CD sales are competing with websites that give fans songs cheaply or free.

On Monday, Microsoft unveiled its online music service plans while free site Kazaa launched a campaign to fight the music industry's anti-piracy drive.

Record labels are urging the clampdown on album tracks as a way of reversing a three-year-long slump in album sales.

"The final choice will always be the artist's, but I feel - and consumer research bears it out - that the public thinks albums have too much filler," Mr Ienner told the paper.

"We all should be concerned about giving music buyers good value, whether they're getting eight, 10 or 20 songs."

Digital technology mean CDs can fit twice as much music - 80 minutes - as vinyl albums..

The LA Times said changes would mean a "shake-up" in the music industry, which was structured around albums of up to 16 tracks selling for $12 (£7.50).

The article compared Bruce Springsteen's 1975 album Born to Run - which had only eight tracks - against the recent chart-topping album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, which had 34 songs.

Online Rival

Some record company executives are now saying album albums should have 10 or fewer songs, the paper reported.

Meanwhile, Microsoft unveiled plans to launch a downloadable music service to rival legal online music sources such as Apple's iTunes and Napster, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Analysts said the company's Windows operating system - installed on millions of PCs - could give it an advantage.

The service could also be adapted to run through Microsoft's Windows Media player, which allows people to play music and video files, which is loaded on many computers.

'Call to action'

The service will be run through Microsoft's MSN website, but further details were not provided.

And free file-sharing network Kazaa launched a campaign urging its 60 million users to help it "fight back" against efforts to stop "piracy" on popular networks.

Kazaa, which allows people to swap songs through their computers, has been one of the services accused of letting fans make unauthorised copies of songs.

Nikki Hemming, chief executive of Sharman Networks, which owns Kazaa, said: "It's a call to action. We want to pump up the volume."

The $1m (£640,000) campaign, which features on the internet and in magazines, includes an ad that argues music executives are "missing the opportunity to capture an enormous market".

"The world of entertainment is changing," it said.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/enter...280429.stm

Sterling30sg · Joined: 03 Sep 2002 Posts: 186

Very few acts have total artistic control over what is released.., you'd thing the lables just decide themselves to limit the # od avaible tracks..

Normal LP size has always been 10-12 songs.., seems to be enough but so many only have 1-2 good songs, and that's from the better artists..

Ever hear of "Tapestry" Chris??? It originally was a set of demos bu Carole King that was released as an album and became one of the biggest seling albums in history.., I highly reccommend it..

HatefulMusic · Ears bleeding yet? Joined: 08 Jun 2003 Posts: 793

Maybe they should just write better songs? They Audioslave CD is a perfect example. One lame song on the whole disc and it's the last track. The rest of the tunes are damn good.

Theo

HatefulMusic.com

MIKE BURN

Quote:
"The final choice will always be the artist's"

That's a lie.

Even Robbie Williams, the highest paid artist ever, has NO control, even no control about the songs themselves and their producers.

He's been told what to sing, but not on his own songs.

MIKE

10 free song uploads||1 free video upload

JPzBeenjamin · Joined: 06 Nov 2003 Posts: 126

I have to agree about the number of tunes a band provides. To many and you are just hitting the skip button....A lot are just fillers and best left for a Lost Tapes album or sumthin like that.

:dang

questionnaire · Joined: 29 May 2003 Posts: 640

Stop signing acts that can't write decent tunes.

bbchris

Gregg! Yes! Yes! Yes! I've heard Tapestry by Carole King (I'm just delighted that I finally know some old music that you guys all know! :rollin

) At school during one term, our music teacher thought we ought to study Tapestry - at the time I remember liking it but pretending I didn't cause it was old-fashioned music :rollin

Theo? Audioslave? Really? I must check out a few songs. Who else do you like to listen to?

Absolutely right Mike. I still don't understand why Robbie Williams is so popular myself......

Jay. It depends how good the band (or artist) is really - I know every song on Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory by heart and could have learnt more - hahahahahaha But on some CDs - the rest of the album is NOTHING like the single - they are the most disappointing....

HatefulMusic · Ears bleeding yet? Joined: 08 Jun 2003 Posts: 793

Chris - Audioslave = Rage Against the Machine - singer + Chris Cornell. Their CD is EXCELLENT!

I also like Monster Magnet, Rage... & Disturbed. And of course the classics: Ozzy, Zep, Deep Purple, BOC, Talking Heads, etc.

Theo

HatefulMusic.com

bbchris

WOW! I love Chris's vocals in Soundgarden - I MUST get AUDIOSLAVE! Thanks for the recommendation Theo :banana

xsmackx · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 24

let's see...

our artists can't write 20 good songs, so we'll just put 10 not-so-good songs on a cd, and charge the same price, and then we can release the other 10 crappy songs that we left off of the first cd, on another cd, and charge the same price for that, and the consumer will be much more happy! :toc

.there.are.flies.in.here.

bbchris

Smack! Are you a record company executive? :rollin

HatefulMusic · Ears bleeding yet? Joined: 08 Jun 2003 Posts: 793

Chris - I'm actually on my 2nd copy of Audioslave. My son liked it so much I gave him my 1st copy.

Theo

HatefulMusic.com

JPzBeenjamin · Joined: 06 Nov 2003 Posts: 126

Along with the Guano Apes...Kings X...Lincoln Park is among my favs....But I was kind of disappointed that they redid the tunes on Reanimator? I think it was....They could have waited a while and released it later. Do you think that perhaps they ran out of material and created a filler album?

xsmackx · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 24

chris, you'll know i'm a record exec when britney spears is forced to wear a potato sack and sing tom jones songs in an african click-language. :banana

.there.are.flies.in.here.

bbchris · Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2003 8:05 am Post subject: Re: Hybrid Theory

Yeah Jay - I know exactly what you mean! That often happens with a band who have been around for awhile - they put all their greatest songs on the first album (songs they've probably been playing for over 2 years) and then comes the second album and they're putting on songs that are new (not honed thru playing) and often they'll play it safe.... I think unfortunately Linkin Park fell into that trap...

SMACK! hahahahahaha Now this is something I wanna see and hear - can you let me know when you get the job? :banana