Do you think the album format helped or hurt music?

>>73659154
this is actually a good question, i think it made music more listenable and easily digestible by basically making it into a aural book. I dont think it hurt it but it did make music more organized

>>73659154
Well a symphony is about double the length of a typical album with an intermission so you could call those albums basically.

>>73660553
Double? Maybe if it's Mahler. Symphonies are usually LP length.

The pop album is just a natural result of musicians wanting to emulate the structuring and composition of a classical symphony, to gain legitimacy. If more pop musicians adopted that thinking these days, that would help pop music I guess.

I agree with the anon that said it packaged music tracks into a more digestible format. However, I feel like the switch to CD storage and thus the extension of Lp length from 45ish minutes to 90 has severely affected the quality of works put out by lesser artists.

Generally, artists who don't make jazz, experimental or symphonic music won't have the skills nor inspiration to fill out 90 minutes of run time with decent music. For other genres (for example disco and hardcore punk), a 90 minute long album wouldn't fit the musics aesthetics.

Artists try to fill up that 90 minutes regardless since they want people to get their 'money's worth'. This usually results in a fuck ton of filler tracks (as if this problem wasn't bad enough already in mainstream music) that ends up being hugely detrimental to the album as a whole.

This is too bloated a question to answer really. Remember, when albums were first put on the market they were literal albums of singles with about 2 minutes on each side and eventually they blossomed into what we know them as today.

>>73662285
I never heard of a 90 minute album
Name some 90 minute albums

File: haveoneonme.jpg (381KB, 1000x1000px) Image search: [Google]

381KB, 1000x1000px

>>73662298
124 minutes

>>73662334
That's not 90 minutes

File: 220px-Singtgod.jpg (13KB, 220x220px) Image search: [Google]

13KB, 220x220px

>>73662298

File: youaremyeverlovin.png (484KB, 1000x1000px) Image search: [Google]

484KB, 1000x1000px

>>73662347
88 minutes

>>73662376
Close, but no cigar

>>73662298
My bad, 90 minutes the maximum playtime of a CD these days. I was exaggerating a little and many albums are closer to 60/50 minutes such as this years Moon Shaped Pool, We got it form Here, Blond etc.

Either way, this isn't going to distract me from my main point: The ability to make a 90 minute long album without needing to double album a release is going to pressure many artists into making a +40 minute album, even if it means forcing themselves to make filler. Looking at even the respected Porcupine Tree's 70 minute In Absentia, while the first half had great moments, the second was all directionless filler! One can imagine that lessor bands would only face even greater difficulty if they were to make an album this long!

>>73662396
CDs are 80 minutes, bruh

>>73662405
Ok but even if I got that wrong, that doesn't really affect my main argument that the ability to make significantly longer albums has forced many artists to put more filler in their albums.

>>73662396
>the second half of in Absentia is directionless filler
Prodigal, Strip the Soul and Collapse the Light into Earth are fantastic tracks

>>73662435
It's not true though
Albums still get a vinyl release, meaning <22 mins per side, and if you exceed that you need more vinyl (higher cost)
It's not like people with long albums only release a CD
There's a risk element involved
And if you go over 80 mins then you need a second CD, even more cost

Hurt music in what way?

When full length albums started happening they were a cynical excuse for the music industry to charge kids more for a hit single + 11 fluff songs.

Occasionally artists make great albums. I don't know how it could have hurt music or even helped it. Too hard to say.

I definitely think the idea of having to put out scheduled releases of specific sizes has hurt creativity, but there's also something to be said for encouraging artists to put together a cohesive package. It definitely opened new doors for storytelling.

>>73662460
Sorry bby I just don't usually like super polished prog.

>>73662465
Woah dude Cds are a lot cheaper to make than vinvyls.

With that out of the way, yes sure more capacity is a great thing for those actually talented enough to take advantage of it (even then its very hit or miss). It certainly hurts the output of lesser musicians if they ever try making something so ambitious.

Or maybe I'm just biased cause modern prog and metal seem to have so much more filler with their longer run times compared to their classic counterparts.

>>73659154
Helped for sure

>>73659154
The album format helped popular music. Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde and The Mothers Of Invention's Freak Out, both in 1966 and both the first two rock double LP's, basically gave rock music more artistic credibility by using the album format.

Though like >>73662285 said, the CD format definitely damaged the music industry due to a change to a format that is easier to produce and holds more music.