First, a brief history. Let's start back in the late '90s. With album sales already on the decline, record labels began releasing less and less album singles, hoping that by cutting out that market fans would--by sheer lack of an alternative--buy more full albums, which would increase the labels profit margins dramatically. But they didn't. Of course. Instead, fans turned to the internet, where these crafty little things called "mp3's" were beginning to pop up. With the advent of these puppies, music was now instantly available and super easy to get, without having to leave your comfy little desk chair! Record labels, recognizing the oncoming shift in the way music was being acquired, snatched up the rights to the then most popular mp3 website, aptly named www.mp3.com, and shut it down, forcing the consumers once again to relegate to the purchasing of physical albums. What they didn't foresee was the demon spawn known as file sharing. Along came Napster, the record industry's Godzilla, and tore through their pretty little market, destroying it like so many screaming Japanese women and children. And then... Oh yeah, Metallica happened.
For a minute there, it seemed like the digital form of music had died before it was even truly born. But not for long. In flew Apple and their nifty new inventions called the iPod and iTunes. Finally there was a convenient, plentiful, and (most importantly!) legal way to buy music online and carry your entire library around with you in your pocket! But again, file sharing reared its ugly head, and now you can download anything for free via BitTorrent or file sharing sites such as MediaFire and RapidShare. The suits just can't seem to find a way to stop us. Which is why it's time for the record labels to relent and realize their purpose is dwindling in this digital world. Getting your music out to your fans independently has never been easier, and it will only become easier as time goes on.
Singles have always been a lucrative market among labels and bands alike. But full albums were always their bread and butter. However, with the advent of iTunes, people began to realize that they didn't need to spend $15 on an entire CD when they only wanted to hear one song. This isn't necessarily a bad thing--there are plenty of albums I've purchased over the years for one or two songs only to find out the rest of the album was a pile of dog shit--but it's completely taken the risk and some of the fun out of buying music and discovering new bands. For every album I bought that turned out to suck, there were at least five that turned out to be ear-shatteringly awesome. I would've never heard of or listened to a lot of the bands I like today without giving their albums a shot.
Albums have always been what's kept me going in my undying discovery of new music and artists. It's great when I discover one song that blows my mind, but when the rest of the album is either carbon copies of that same song, or too disjointed to even be considered the same band, I am immediately turned off. To me it's like watching a movie and finding only one scene that's worth watching while the rest of it may as well have been left on the cutting room floor. Anyone can write a catchy song, maybe even two or three, but the ability to write a string of songs with a cohesive flow that can keep listeners' attention and continuously wow them for the better part of an hour is a gift only bestowed upon the few. I'm not just talking about concept albums either--though a well-executed one is a guaranteed way to get me hard quicker than good whiskey and bottle of Viagra--but albums in general. Even a genre as unrelenting and esoteric as grindcore has its share of album-length gems (most notably from bands like Pig Destroyer and Rotten Sound), that keep you on your toes for their entire ride.
Ultimately I think it should be up to the artist whether or not they want to record a full album or just release individual songs/EPs. Nowadays, there really is no financial or ergonomic reason to feel obligated to release full albums; you can just as easily release a song online by itself. It's the fans, critics, bloggers, etc. who so adamantly believe that band's should no longer release albums that get my goat. If an artist/band decides they want to release a full album, concept or otherwise, they should be able to do it, and if not, so be it. This is the age of the artist, where you can have full creative control over your output and still make it available to your fans in any form you like. It's like I said before, record labels are (almost) useless in 2011 and only serve to complicate and bankrupt the artists they claim to represent in this growing DIY market.
On the flip side of that, there do happen to be a few record labels who are morphing their business plans to keep up with the latest trends in purchasing/accessing music. After realizing that the new Wormrot CD had leaked online a month before its release, Earache Records decided to upload the album themselves and offer it up digitally FOR FREE! They gave the fans what they wanted and right now that is the most important thing. If you cater to your fans, and get them on your side, they're more likely to be loyal to you and maybe even purchase the album when it's officially released. I know I will. Even if not, there's always merch and tours to keep the money flowing, and the more people who hear the music you're representing, the more people there are to buy said merch and concert tickets.
The other big stunner propagating free music is (oddly enough) Scion. Yeah, the car company. Each year they put on dozens of free metal shows (and one giant festival, also free) geared towards spreading the word about up and coming bands (and of course their cars). Lately they've even begun putting out EP's for lesser known bands, namely the grind outfit Magrudergrind. Yes, it is one giant marketing campaign, but I must say, amidst a sea of brand inundation, I'll take free metal shows over annoying commercials prefacing my YouTube videos any day.
Bottom line, if you're in it for the music there's no reason why you shouldn't be allowed the option to release your music the way you deem it the most appropriate, free or not. The industry is rapidly changing and it's the people at the forefront that will continue to prosper and still be around five/ten years from now. So write an album, or just a song, and get it out there, whatever it takes! Fuck everything else.
