Does anticipation make the reward better, or is it all about getting the reward as quickly as possible?
It's a question worth considering with the absolute avalance of surprise album releases in the past month.
Consider this --; since April we've heard new albums from Beyonc , Radiohead, Drake, James Blake and Chance The Rapper, all released with about a week's notice. Some, like Blake, dropped hours after being announced.
The idea of surprise-releasing an album is a relatively new marketing strategy, and almost entirely a result of the digital market's dominance of the music industry.
Beyonc gets the much-deserved credit for pioneering the approach with her self-titled release in 2013, which arrived completely out of the blue in mid-December. In the 2 1/2 years since, artists from Eric Church to My Bloody Valentine have embraced surprise releases as a way to avoid leaks that could hurt sales or streams. It's also a way for artists to release their work on their terms, when they're ready for audiences to hear the music.
As a listener and music collector, I'm not entirely sold on the idea.
An artist who approached the wait for an album release with panache and artistry was Kanye West, in the lead up to his 2010 album "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy." Every Friday he released a new song from the album's recording sessions, and it was a fantastic way to stoke excitement.
I remember rushing home from work every Friday to download the new song, and engage with other fans online about whether the track would make the album and, if not, why. This led to heated discussions and debate, and by the end I positively couldn't wait for the release.
I also worked at a record store for more than five years, and I remember the excitement when a favorite artist announced a new album. The announcement typically came at least two months before the release (sometimes longer) and allowed plenty of time to savor it. Usually, the announcement was accompanied by a single to give listeners a taste of what was to come, along with the album art. This allowed fans to pour over the images and decipher what the art hinted about the album's sound and theme.
Some of this still happens with surprise releases, but it's difficult to scrutinize the album art while you're simultaneously digesting the music for the first time.
There is some nice democratization that comes with the surprise-release approach, and I understand why it appeals to artists. Instead of having a record label decide their single, they let listeners hear the whole album and select a single based on response.
Releasing music this way also provides some room to breathe for artists, since it removes the looming specter of a deadline and allows them the freedom to breathe and create on their own schedule.
Looking at the aforementioned albums, as well as surprise releases this year from Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Rihanna, there certainly seems to be something to the approach: almost all these artists delivered some of the best and most interesting albums of their careers.
Appreciation of the music-release strategy is one of those things that probably changes with age, just like your approach to Christmas and birthdays will.
When we're young, we all want Christmas and birthdays to happen as quickly as possible to get our presents. Yet, as I've aged I have far more appreciation for the lead-up to these events. The joy lessens from just tearing into the gifts. Instead, I take delight in the countdown, the slow unwrapping and appreciation.
I will never complain about new, great music, regardless of the delivery. I just miss the anticipation. It is, after all, half the fun.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/The-waiting-is-the-sweetest-part,213904?branding=15
No comments:
Post a Comment