The End is the Beginning is the End
In response to this.
I'm not sure how I feel about this whole thing. What about the large-scale marketing power and industry connections that a record company can bring to the table? After all NIN have access to the best recording studios etc., but no one wants to listen to some indie band's demo that they recorded in their da's garage. And what if you want a really good producer? Are you gonna cold-call them?
So record labels will still record albums, but they don't get to market or sell them? So how the hell will they make any money? But do you really want them to all go bankrupt...
Also I'm not enamoured with this idea (like what Ash have been saying) where they're not going to release albums anymore, just one-off singles for download all the time. The album is so much more than just a collection of songs, it's a suite that, due to being written all at the same time, have a common thread and feel - reflecting the songwriter's mood at the time. There should be an intro, a coasting middle section, with climaxes, followed by a closer. If you just put out rando singles all the time, listening to them all back-to-back will have a disjointed, ununified feel - it wouldn't feel like a three course meal, just a buffet.
I think you need to be careful about what you're sacrificing here.
I'm not sure how I feel about this whole thing. What about the large-scale marketing power and industry connections that a record company can bring to the table? After all NIN have access to the best recording studios etc., but no one wants to listen to some indie band's demo that they recorded in their da's garage. And what if you want a really good producer? Are you gonna cold-call them?
So record labels will still record albums, but they don't get to market or sell them? So how the hell will they make any money? But do you really want them to all go bankrupt...
Also I'm not enamoured with this idea (like what Ash have been saying) where they're not going to release albums anymore, just one-off singles for download all the time. The album is so much more than just a collection of songs, it's a suite that, due to being written all at the same time, have a common thread and feel - reflecting the songwriter's mood at the time. There should be an intro, a coasting middle section, with climaxes, followed by a closer. If you just put out rando singles all the time, listening to them all back-to-back will have a disjointed, ununified feel - it wouldn't feel like a three course meal, just a buffet.
I think you need to be careful about what you're sacrificing here.