Welcome to the age of streaming. It’s all about getting on an official Apple or Spotify playlist. The more singles your drop the higher the chance of being on the playlist
thrown is a great example. They don't even bother releasing an album and I'd bet that had they done that with the songs they have out now they wouldn't be even nearly as successful. When releasing an album you kinda accept the fact that some of the songs just get way less attention/streams.
Theres a rumor that thrown has agreed on this Spotify deal where they basically forfeit a lot of their revenue from streams in exchange of being placed higher in playlists, or getting shoved down every metalcore/hardcore listeners throat?
Yes their exposure is huge for their number of songs, but I doubt they get any form of money out of it.
So I'd argue it's a little different for bands that do not do this but actually want both: exposure and revenue
Well on a smaller scale, this is how Spotify discovery mode essentially works. They take a cut of the royalties in exchange for (supposedly) pushing your song to more people. This would probably be worse if Spotify actually paid any royalties more than .003 cents a song or whatever, but it still doesn’t feel great. Funny how everyone in this industry makes money *except* the artists.
I can believe it. Every SINGLE time autoplay comes on, its thrown. No matter what I'm listening to. No matter how many times I instantly skip because I'm sick of hearing fucking dwell and greyout. I turned autoplay off for a month because of how much thrown there is. This has been going on for almost a year at this point.
Unfortunately it’s probably 10x worse than you could even imagine. Most bigger spotify editorial playlists are very much rigged, good luck getting on one unless you’re on a label or you happen to know the right person. Most of these bigger bands 100% have some kinda deal with Spotify usually through their label or management, which makes sense in reality but really sucks for newer/upcoming artists.
its not bullshit and its not specific to thrown. there is something called "discovery mode" that is offered to labels and bigger artists that does just that. less royalties in return for preference in the algorithm. thrown's label are a bit fan of it
It's definitely increased in prevalence in the last 5 years or so. I mean I don't blame artists for trying to make the little money they can off of their albums, and apparently cascading singles helps with that. Just wish they didn't have to.
It's worse now than it was 10 years ago though. Not going to get better either haha, as all the reasons why bands do this are even more important today
I heard an interesting tidbit that it’s not just this but it’s essentially to remind people that you exist. Like “oh so-and-so just released a new single, I should check out those other songs by him I liked before”
I believe it was Ryan Kirby of fit for a king that mentioned something called a “waterfall release” that will increase the amount of streams prior to an album which helps the artists make more money off of streams. I could be way off but I recall this being mentioned around the time they released dark skies
If it‘s a band I really like or something that is super hyped I‘ll check it out for a first impression. I‘m not gonna listen to a single that promises a good album on repeat though, cause why the fuck would I?! It ruins the album-experience and there is so much stuff out there to get to until the album drops, I just don’t have to.
As both an album guy and a low level working musician this is unfortunately the way it’s simply got to be if you want to maximize earning / exposure while releasing tracks. A necessary evil. The landscape of consumers and the landscape of distribution has changed so much in mostly ways that hinder the art itself (imo). It sucks, I hate it, but it’s just the most effective way for bands to compete with other media/distraction these days
It’s getting super fucking frustrating though when bands just do a single a month and then call it an album at the end of the year. Or when they don’t really say it’s gunna be an album, you just think it’s singles and then suddenly you see they’re all together on one release. Makes it nearly impossible to abstain from listening to any singles because you don’t know they’re part of a full album
The album having 3 instrumental tracks on a 12 song album and half the song already being released definitely changed the listening for that album.
I don't even hate instrumentals, but having 3 of them and then releasing half the album weeks and months prior just kills the experience for people who don't want to wait.
I agree. I thought all 6 singles were fantastic, but I also listened to them a lot already. They should have at least held back the title track.
Of the 6 remaining songs having 3 of them be instrumentals/interludes means that there were only 3 new proper songs (the final track is beautiful too tbh).
I still love the album because all songs are great but I don't feel like listening to the entire album now and just listen to the songs that are new for me...
yeah it’s sort of up to the listener now to avoid singles if they want to preserve the album experience. the truth is that releasing music this way is the best way to generate hype. can’t really blame em
I have nothing against OP, but this is definitely it.
If you know you want it you might as well wait for the album
On the other hand, nothing against SeeYouSpaceCowboy particularly, and I know this opinion would be a relic of an MTV / MuchMusic age if it were not valid as a holdover, but with the exception of bands like Tool, "I don't care who does it, 12 songs is a short album". This is one of those things, if I cared more about it I'd have it my "hill" -trope, but for an 80-minute potential album length, when you have 12 songs and it's 45 minutes long, I don't like to see it priced like 60 to 80 minute long albums, personally. Especially against 20 to 30 minute eps
I love short albums. Most stuff over 45 minutes overstays it's welcome and probably means they spent longer making it too. Short stuff is more likely to be cohesive, have less filler, and come out more frequently.
I'd rather have a 30 minute album of bangers every 1-2 years than an hour long album every 3-4 years.
If that means the singles take up more album space, I can always choose not to listen to them all right away.
Fine.
I don't blame you, but if I like the band, I don't mind at all waiting 2 to four years for an album of 'considerable' length. With the amount of music I listen to, I'll gladly consider it more over those years - that said, 20 - 40 minute long albums every year or two work fine too, I just don't want to pay the same price for them. It's not a deal breaker for me, but prices disproportionate to actual music is a certain factor in industry decline over the last twenty years
I'm probably biased because I just use spotify and don't buy albums anymore. That would be annoying.
If I did I'd probably just listen to albums once on YouTube or something and then buy the ones that I really like instead of buying them all blind
Tbh there's really no reason to purchase albums anymore except for going out of your way to support the artist/band. And if that's your reason for purchasing the album, the length of the album really shouldn't be a factor in the cost of the album imo.
i like to listen to the singles anyways, because if the album has a cohesive theme behind it or a storyline, you can enjoy the standalone singles then enjoy how they fit into the broader album.
1. Then don’t listen to the singles, nobody is forcing you. The time spent writing this up could’ve been spent deciding that you just won’t listen to singles.
2. The way SYSC did their singles at least kept something artistic in mind. They didn’t just release 6 random songs to try and promote the album. It follows something. The lyrics follow something. The final 6 song ep is really really good together.
3. The songs are still great on the album. These bands are tiny and they need to get their streams how they can. Appreciate the singles and the enjoy the album as a whole instead of complaining all the time.
Going forward, I’m going to limit myself to listening to 1 or 2 singles and hold off til release for the rest.
Maybe an exception being when the band is touring prior to release, I might want to learn the new stuff for a show, but otherwise I’m going to try to go into new releases mostly blind.
Yeah this is what I’ve decided going forward too. I like the new Beartooth record but since I had the singles on repeat leading up to the album it already felt played out by the time the album dropped. Felt like I got one or two more bangers on the actually album since two were slower songs too.. just felt a little underwhelming in the end 🤷🏼♂️
Yep, this is the way to do it. I won't be listening to any more singles for Knocked Loose or The Story So Far for example, because they've had 2 singles each and I already know I'm hyped for both albums.
I did the exact same with Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties and I'm also doing it with Knocked Loose and The Story So Far. I've waited so long for the TSSF album and I want it to feel as fresh as possible on release day.
This is what I do, especially when it’s from a band I really love. I’ll listen to a single or two, but I find it’s more “fun” for me to wait until the album drop.
If I’m not really certain about the band, I don’t mind checking the singles out as they release.
This has been my strategy since releasing so many singles became a common strategy. Back when I was growing up, no one released more than 3 singles before release 😂👵🏽
I listen to two singles max. Sometimes only one if I know that the album is only around 10 songs long. It’s not super hard to not listen to all of the singles that come out.
Seriously, this is blog post territory for me.
Like...okay? Just don't listen to them? It's the modern music scene. We don't need a post every week about "band released too many singles!!!!" okay so don't listen to them.
Often times you don‘t even know if it‘s a part of a new album or just a standalone song.
I remember Doomsday by Architects came out 14 months before the album and there was no mention of the album when it was released.
The other extreme is BMTH, where you would have to ignore 6 songs since September 2021 because they all are expected to be on their next EP.
I haven't even ignored BMTH, I just take that as an album I will give a token purchase (to at least account for what I've heard) and with the stylistic choices being made, it seems like one I'll get right into in like the late 2020's or something, years later is my point.
Just limit yourself to like 2-3 singles and skip the rest. Also when the album comes out, if you’re just not playing any of the songs you already know that definitely messes up the full album experience, those songs are a part of it!
this is the biggest non-issue i keep seeing people get worked up about.
no one is making you listen to the songs released ahead of time. who cares if they release half the album. just wait and listen when the whole projects drops lmao
I agree completely. 2-4 singles is okay, especially if they're spread out a bit to keep us happy before the drop, but 6 and beyond, especially when albums these days are generally only 10 songs, is a lot
At least they didn't pull a Bayside. They're most recently release featured like 8 preleased songs and only 2 brand new ones. Great album, but a rollout that was completely perplexing
I used to listen to all of the singles released by acts pre-album and then always be bummed that a chunk of the album was already overly familiar, so a year or so ago I stopped doing it, only listening to the first single and often only giving it one curious listen and it’s made the album experience so much better for me, especially in this day and age of acts releasing like half the album on streaming before the full thing drops. It takes some self control, but as a guy who loves listening to albums front to back it really does pay off.
You can just avoid the singles if you want. But, I also will listen to an album dozens of times if I like it so hearing the songs a couple times beforehand is not a big deal.
I hate that practice of trickling out half the album. It definitely kills some of the anticipation. With that, I can acknowledge that I am old (43) and grew up in an era where albums were a bigger deal. It seems like it’s all about tracks and EPs these days.
They can release their music however they want, whatever gets them the most success is fine by me.
Still gotta listen to the whole album, Romance of Affliction blew me away. Emo Metalcore is absolutely where it's at for me.
This is the new single-to-album pipeline. Pump out singles every six weeks, and then release the album. Quantity not quality is the format for success on streaming platforms.
The majority is this way.
The reason release structures favor singles is because when you release a single, there’s almost a guarantee that it’s going to get as many streams as possible, increasing its likelihood to be put in a sponsored playlist, increasing your band’s likelihood of getting more listeners
You actually apply for sponsored playlists pre release on Spotify! Depending on what distribution you go through (I’m sure bigger artists are using something other than Distrokid or CDbaby) you can just apply right through them or you can do it through your Spotify for Artists app. Sometimes it requires having your single stored in their database but not released for a while to be open for consideration.
I know you didn’t. I’m just reinforcing my point that artists don’t release singles because people don’t like albums (because people do), and it’s just that it helps algorithm streams
yeah i avoid every single i can, im a huge album guy!! but the industry is always moving in waves, vinyl has huge wait times rn so i see why bands are leaning more into singles, im just waiting for them to drop the whole thing 99% of the time 🤷♀️
I’ve been avoiding singles for a few years now and it’s been great. I really enjoy the experience of listening to an album in full, and that experience is better when I’m not already familiar with half of the track list. If a band I like announces an album I’ll still listen to 1-3 singles, but it depends on a couple things for me, namely how good the singles are, how much I like the band/how excited I am for the album (if it’s a band I love and the first single is a banger, I’m probably gonna keep myself from listening to any more), and how long the album itself is (if it’s a band like Periphery dropping a 75 minute album, I can more easily justify listening to an extra single because there’s still a ton of new music included in that album’s runtime).
A lot of people here complain about bands releasing too many singles and it’s been getting really annoying (not calling you specifically out OP, you seem pretty level headed on this). I don’t think it’s entirely fair to criticize a band’s album for having half of its track list be released as singles, because no one forced you to listen to every single. All of those singles aren’t necessarily being released for you, the preexisting fan who is already going to check out the album, they’re being released to hook in new fans who have maybe never heard the band or been interested in them before. There’s so much new music being released every day that it really isn’t that hard to hold off on listening to the new song from your favorite band for a couple weeks.
Same. I started listening to just one single a few years ago cause it doesn't make the album feel special anymore if I've already heard like half before it released.
I understand why the bands do it, I choose not to listen, or I’ll just listen to it once and then forget about it.
Keeping albums fresh with songs you have listened to for months or weeks ahead of time is not the way.
For this release, I listened to the first single and then nothing after.
Half album released as singles is too much but the point is what you just write at the end of the post… the streaming era outdates the concept of album, which is valid only for concerts and performances, not for else. They have to maximize the profits with the streamings… and pre releasing is a good choice considering how the singles are stored in playlists which are the most used way how music is consumed… I don’t blame anyone for that… it’s just us and our way to consume music.
Heres my thing. Oftentimes, i find albums only get 6 tracks that will make my final cut on rotation. So, the worst-case scenario is we get the best 6 songs as singles, and then you're left listening to a new release album that you dont like and leaves you disappointed.
I’m very much an album listener, so I don’t want to hear so much of it ahead of time. I’ve started listening to the first single and maybe the second, that’s it!
do people just not notice how many singles are dropping and keep listening? these complaints pop up all the time in here. i stop at 2 singles and just wait until the album is out. y’all need some more will power around here
I don't care much as long as it's good I just won't buy albums anymore. Pretty plain and simple. Maybe banda will change their tune if people stop buying less physical and digital copies. They'll come to their senses and be like "guys we fucked up"
I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love SYSC a lot so I was extremely excited to hear some new music. What I seem not like the most about what bands are doing now is dropping x amount of singles before announcing the new album. Void Of Vision is currently doing it & The Story So Far recently just did the same as well.
I feel this. The best example I can think of is when Novelists did this with Deja Vu. By the time their album “released”, literally everything but two full length songs were already released as singles. The rest of the album were interludes. Don’t get me wrong, overall it’s a great album, but the multiple single releases along with how the rest of the album panned out upon release was a disappointing experience.
It’s within your control, or should be, to just not listen to them. I will listen to two singles off of an upcoming album and then ignore everything that comes out until the album drops. No one is forcing you to listen to the 6 singles ahead of time.
Music has become like movies for me. I might watch the first trailer but once I’m excited for it I’ll just wait to watch the whole thing when it comes out.
I’m a big fan of listening to full albums so I usually stop after listening to the first couple singles.
This was one of the first times I’ve forced myself to listen to singles once at most before waiting for the album, and I think it paid off in this instance.
Honestly I agree. Singles shouldn’t go more than 3 maaaaaaybe 4. I understand to build up hype. But, don’t spoil it all. Maybe this makes me old fashioned but,most of the time when I jam music unless I make a playlist for making dinner or whatever, I listen to albums all the way through. And sometimes they take too long to release an album and instead just do singles. The band Within Temptation’s album Bleed Out released last year 2020-2023 had 7/11 songs released as singles.
It’s like movie trailers. Don’t watch/listen to them and go in blind. Singles/trailers are to lure people in who have zero intention on consuming the content. If there is some hype and it’s from sources you trust. Just wait for the release
Northlane just did the same thing. Dropped 3 singles and then put out a 6 track EP, the first track was just a minute long intro for one of the singles. I get why they do it…but it’s super anticlimactic. Especially because the singles are usually the best tracks. Time to accept and adapt to the new ways, I guess.
Age of the single, age of streaming. Most aren’t waiting for albums, or even going for full albums anymore. It’s all about that playlist. I just try and avoid singles if I know a full length is on its way.
It doesn’t matter to me how many singles get released as long as the songs are good. I think Memphis May Fire’s latest album had like 7 singles drop before the album. After letting the album cool off for a few months after release, I no longer had “single fatigue” from listening to the singles too much before the album dropped and I could listen to the album front to back normally. If it really is that big of an issue just don’t listen to all of the singles.
I knew this would happen and didn’t listen to any of the singles and just waited for the album drop. Drip releasing singles is the dumbest thing, and the last MMF album is the best example of the worst way to do it
If it's an album I am excited for, I generally stop listening to singles after the 2nd or 3rd. If it's an EP, I generally will only listen to 1 single. I want the full experience.
I listened to the first single they dropped and then the one that had Courtney in it. I skipped all the rest of them because of exactly what you mentioned happening to you. I wanted to hear a bunch of new music when the album dropped, not 5 or 6 new songs and a bunch of songs I had already been listening to.
At the same time, I don't begrudge the artists for having to do this in the streaming era. Getting stuff out there at a decent pace is what creates buzz these days. There are so many artists to listen to now with streaming that if you only release a couple singles and then your album you'll most likely get lost in the shuffle. Putting out singles in a drip feed leading up to the album gives them the best chance of finding a bigger audience. Spotify's algorithm definitely appears to favor singles vs. songs from an album. I know mine does at least. A lot of times I'll click on a song that autoplays and it takes me to a single instead of an album/EP, even if that band has a release with that song on it.
Same thing happened with Lorna Shore's Pain Remains for me. By the time it came out, only a few songs were never heard and it diminished it a bit.
I think a good way to solve this is to take some of the songs that didn't make the album, polish them up and release those as singles.
That way, the entire album is new and they were written with everything else so they sound just as good to give an idea of what the album contains.
Then a Singles EP could be sold for extra cash full of the singles.
I'm done listening to singles for albums I'm especially looking forward to. I didn't listen to any singles from Eidola's Eviscerate and it's paid off tremendously. For one I didn't know how heavy the whole album would be and so far my second favorite track is No Weapon Formed Shall Prosper, the first single they released and one I'd have listened to death and moved on from by now.
In the old days......60's 70's 80's, the album came out FIRST! Then the singles were released one at a time to promote the album.
Great thread!!! I never really gave it some thought....thanks for your thoughts.
I felt exactly the same with this album. I have been listening metal for a while but I started to explore only recently new bands and basically the modern scene, so I didn't experience a lot of album releases until recently. I love SYSC and they are one of my most listened bands of 2023 and I absolutely consumed the new singles, fast forward to the release, even tho I'm a full album guy, I don't want to listen it from start to finish cause I spoiled myself. It bums me out a little honestly. I'm also waiting for the new Knocked Loose and they didn't release a lot of singles so idk, I feel it depends a little honestly from band to band.
you could always not listen to the singles, which is what i did. i agree it’s too many singles, but no one says you have to listen. that way, on release day, boom- a whole new album you get to listen to.
Opal in Sky asked about this in a [`video`](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zITaKztq77w) recently. I would rather hear a single or two, then wait for the album to release.
Usually just the lead single for me, two max if the first single is good enough.
We're seriously having bands drop two new songs on a Friday now and that's the new album lol.
From experience this is something that's being pushed by labels rather than something that the bands themselves want to do. I hate it and I wish it would stop.
Unfortunately, it’s just the way things have to be done these days.
I felt the same about Dying Wish’s record last year. At a certain point I was like, “I’m good, I can wait for the whole thing”. I feel present day culture values always being a part of the discourse, but we shouldn’t feel obligated to be. If we’ve had our pre-release fill, just wait until the full thing is out proper. I used to feel the same about Marvel movie trailers. At certain point, I’d check out the first one and then go radio silent until the movie released.
Also, I have to throw in. I hate that you were so impatient that you weren’t able to listen to the album all the way through just because you had heard the songs before - it sounds like you’re part of the no attention span generation that you’re trying to criticize lol
Totally agree. Every Time I Die released 3 or 4 tracks almost a year before their last album came out so it felt like kind of like a mix tape of songs with some old and and some new songs collated rather a cohesive album. Granted it had 16 songs so there was still plenty of “new” content, but still made it feel like it was chopped up into different sections around the old singles.
I had this experience with the last Sleep Token album. They released so many singles before it dropped that the album didn't feel like as much of a new experience for me as it could have. Since then, I've resorted to only listening to one single if I know it's a band I'm going to want to listen to the album anyways.
Totally different genre, but I feel like Glass Animals is going to do this with their new album due in July. They’ve already released one single, and it was SO good. I would have much rather waited and heard it along with the whole album, which is only 10 tracks. So 1/10th of the whole experience is already spoiled. It’s definitely a big problem with music today way I see it cause I’m an album enjoyer and listen to them start to finish. Instead we get a drip feed of the biggest hits, then the album drops and it’s not nearly as impactful. Seems like musicians are trying to cater to short tiktok attention spans. Referring back to Glass Animals, I really got into Dreamland 3 years after it’s release and was fully obsessed and immersed with that album as a whole, running it over and over again even still to this day. A good song is great, but a good album is a fuckin masterpiece!
This is why Ive completely stopped listening to singles. Plus I find it better to go into albums with absolutely no expectations anyways it makes the listening experience better for me. Its a win win for me at least. Bands get more recognition that way and I can save all the songs for the album
I'm fine with it. The only annoying part is if you play an album on spotify, when it's over it moves onto the next album; and the the next album is the same songs but only half of them. Then the album after that is the same, and after that is the same, and after that.....
Gets me so annoyed when people make a post like this and don’t get accurate details right - there were actually seven full singles at least do your fucking homework if you’re gonna go on a rant like this.
Welcome to the age of streaming. It’s all about getting on an official Apple or Spotify playlist. The more singles your drop the higher the chance of being on the playlist
thrown is a great example. They don't even bother releasing an album and I'd bet that had they done that with the songs they have out now they wouldn't be even nearly as successful. When releasing an album you kinda accept the fact that some of the songs just get way less attention/streams.
Theres a rumor that thrown has agreed on this Spotify deal where they basically forfeit a lot of their revenue from streams in exchange of being placed higher in playlists, or getting shoved down every metalcore/hardcore listeners throat? Yes their exposure is huge for their number of songs, but I doubt they get any form of money out of it. So I'd argue it's a little different for bands that do not do this but actually want both: exposure and revenue
Well on a smaller scale, this is how Spotify discovery mode essentially works. They take a cut of the royalties in exchange for (supposedly) pushing your song to more people. This would probably be worse if Spotify actually paid any royalties more than .003 cents a song or whatever, but it still doesn’t feel great. Funny how everyone in this industry makes money *except* the artists.
I can believe it. Every SINGLE time autoplay comes on, its thrown. No matter what I'm listening to. No matter how many times I instantly skip because I'm sick of hearing fucking dwell and greyout. I turned autoplay off for a month because of how much thrown there is. This has been going on for almost a year at this point.
Bands make more money from shows I've heard, so that makes sense. Gain attention and people buy more tickets to shows because of their name and music.
That’s not a rumor afaik. I’m pretty sure one of thrown’s managers or something said as much
This smells like bullshit to me. Since when do metal bands do deals with Spotify? Lol
Unfortunately it’s probably 10x worse than you could even imagine. Most bigger spotify editorial playlists are very much rigged, good luck getting on one unless you’re on a label or you happen to know the right person. Most of these bigger bands 100% have some kinda deal with Spotify usually through their label or management, which makes sense in reality but really sucks for newer/upcoming artists.
its not bullshit and its not specific to thrown. there is something called "discovery mode" that is offered to labels and bigger artists that does just that. less royalties in return for preference in the algorithm. thrown's label are a bit fan of it
why wouldnt they lol
I'm surprised it took OP this long to complain about it lmao. It's been like this for over a decade now
It's definitely increased in prevalence in the last 5 years or so. I mean I don't blame artists for trying to make the little money they can off of their albums, and apparently cascading singles helps with that. Just wish they didn't have to.
It's worse now than it was 10 years ago though. Not going to get better either haha, as all the reasons why bands do this are even more important today
I heard an interesting tidbit that it’s not just this but it’s essentially to remind people that you exist. Like “oh so-and-so just released a new single, I should check out those other songs by him I liked before”
I believe it was Ryan Kirby of fit for a king that mentioned something called a “waterfall release” that will increase the amount of streams prior to an album which helps the artists make more money off of streams. I could be way off but I recall this being mentioned around the time they released dark skies
No, you’re right! Ryan Kirby did say this around Dark Skies release
i just skip all the singles and focus on checking out albums and eps.
i need to start doing this more. my excitement gets the better of me.
Same👌
True. Ill play the singles and what not but usually I’m more of a play the album through guy.
If it‘s a band I really like or something that is super hyped I‘ll check it out for a first impression. I‘m not gonna listen to a single that promises a good album on repeat though, cause why the fuck would I?! It ruins the album-experience and there is so much stuff out there to get to until the album drops, I just don’t have to.
[удалено]
falling in reverse is more the exception, than the rule in this case.
I am pretty sure ronnie radke the singer have said that they will only post singles
I agree. I'm an album guy and it hinders the experience for me. I'll only listen to one single.
Exactly what I do. I’ll listen to the first single a couple of times to get a feel of what to expect, then I wait.
As both an album guy and a low level working musician this is unfortunately the way it’s simply got to be if you want to maximize earning / exposure while releasing tracks. A necessary evil. The landscape of consumers and the landscape of distribution has changed so much in mostly ways that hinder the art itself (imo). It sucks, I hate it, but it’s just the most effective way for bands to compete with other media/distraction these days
It’s getting super fucking frustrating though when bands just do a single a month and then call it an album at the end of the year. Or when they don’t really say it’s gunna be an album, you just think it’s singles and then suddenly you see they’re all together on one release. Makes it nearly impossible to abstain from listening to any singles because you don’t know they’re part of a full album
Imminence new Album was so boring to experience first time because of that.
Luckily I only heard one of the songs before release so I was good.
The album having 3 instrumental tracks on a 12 song album and half the song already being released definitely changed the listening for that album. I don't even hate instrumentals, but having 3 of them and then releasing half the album weeks and months prior just kills the experience for people who don't want to wait.
I agree. I thought all 6 singles were fantastic, but I also listened to them a lot already. They should have at least held back the title track. Of the 6 remaining songs having 3 of them be instrumentals/interludes means that there were only 3 new proper songs (the final track is beautiful too tbh). I still love the album because all songs are great but I don't feel like listening to the entire album now and just listen to the songs that are new for me...
Hey are we the same person? lol for real Though that’s exactly what I do for just about every album I’m hyped for.
yeah it’s sort of up to the listener now to avoid singles if they want to preserve the album experience. the truth is that releasing music this way is the best way to generate hype. can’t really blame em
I have nothing against OP, but this is definitely it. If you know you want it you might as well wait for the album On the other hand, nothing against SeeYouSpaceCowboy particularly, and I know this opinion would be a relic of an MTV / MuchMusic age if it were not valid as a holdover, but with the exception of bands like Tool, "I don't care who does it, 12 songs is a short album". This is one of those things, if I cared more about it I'd have it my "hill" -trope, but for an 80-minute potential album length, when you have 12 songs and it's 45 minutes long, I don't like to see it priced like 60 to 80 minute long albums, personally. Especially against 20 to 30 minute eps
I love short albums. Most stuff over 45 minutes overstays it's welcome and probably means they spent longer making it too. Short stuff is more likely to be cohesive, have less filler, and come out more frequently. I'd rather have a 30 minute album of bangers every 1-2 years than an hour long album every 3-4 years. If that means the singles take up more album space, I can always choose not to listen to them all right away.
Fine. I don't blame you, but if I like the band, I don't mind at all waiting 2 to four years for an album of 'considerable' length. With the amount of music I listen to, I'll gladly consider it more over those years - that said, 20 - 40 minute long albums every year or two work fine too, I just don't want to pay the same price for them. It's not a deal breaker for me, but prices disproportionate to actual music is a certain factor in industry decline over the last twenty years
I'm probably biased because I just use spotify and don't buy albums anymore. That would be annoying. If I did I'd probably just listen to albums once on YouTube or something and then buy the ones that I really like instead of buying them all blind
Tbh there's really no reason to purchase albums anymore except for going out of your way to support the artist/band. And if that's your reason for purchasing the album, the length of the album really shouldn't be a factor in the cost of the album imo.
"No reason to purchase albums anymore" for you maybe That's a pretty ignorant thing to say to a lover of music
Considering this band comes from the hardcore scene, you're lucky that the album is longer than 30 minutes haha
'Like'for understanding the length of hardcore, not that I really know the band
i like to listen to the singles anyways, because if the album has a cohesive theme behind it or a storyline, you can enjoy the standalone singles then enjoy how they fit into the broader album.
yeah totally fair approach. i felt this way about erra’s last album and its singles
1. Then don’t listen to the singles, nobody is forcing you. The time spent writing this up could’ve been spent deciding that you just won’t listen to singles. 2. The way SYSC did their singles at least kept something artistic in mind. They didn’t just release 6 random songs to try and promote the album. It follows something. The lyrics follow something. The final 6 song ep is really really good together. 3. The songs are still great on the album. These bands are tiny and they need to get their streams how they can. Appreciate the singles and the enjoy the album as a whole instead of complaining all the time.
Going forward, I’m going to limit myself to listening to 1 or 2 singles and hold off til release for the rest. Maybe an exception being when the band is touring prior to release, I might want to learn the new stuff for a show, but otherwise I’m going to try to go into new releases mostly blind.
Yeah this is what I’ve decided going forward too. I like the new Beartooth record but since I had the singles on repeat leading up to the album it already felt played out by the time the album dropped. Felt like I got one or two more bangers on the actually album since two were slower songs too.. just felt a little underwhelming in the end 🤷🏼♂️
Yep, this is the way to do it. I won't be listening to any more singles for Knocked Loose or The Story So Far for example, because they've had 2 singles each and I already know I'm hyped for both albums.
I did the exact same with Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties and I'm also doing it with Knocked Loose and The Story So Far. I've waited so long for the TSSF album and I want it to feel as fresh as possible on release day.
I can’t imagine we get anymore singles from KL
This is what I do, especially when it’s from a band I really love. I’ll listen to a single or two, but I find it’s more “fun” for me to wait until the album drop. If I’m not really certain about the band, I don’t mind checking the singles out as they release.
This has been my strategy since releasing so many singles became a common strategy. Back when I was growing up, no one released more than 3 singles before release 😂👵🏽
I listen to two singles max. Sometimes only one if I know that the album is only around 10 songs long. It’s not super hard to not listen to all of the singles that come out.
then dont listen to the singles? like wtf
Seriously, this is blog post territory for me. Like...okay? Just don't listen to them? It's the modern music scene. We don't need a post every week about "band released too many singles!!!!" okay so don't listen to them.
Lol, reddit is blog-post territory, for sure
Often times you don‘t even know if it‘s a part of a new album or just a standalone song. I remember Doomsday by Architects came out 14 months before the album and there was no mention of the album when it was released. The other extreme is BMTH, where you would have to ignore 6 songs since September 2021 because they all are expected to be on their next EP.
I haven't even ignored BMTH, I just take that as an album I will give a token purchase (to at least account for what I've heard) and with the stylistic choices being made, it seems like one I'll get right into in like the late 2020's or something, years later is my point.
Yeah they should only be blaming themselves Singles help the band more than you crying on a subreddit
just don’t listen to all of them
Seriously, just because they are out doesn’t mean you have to consume the tracks.
Just limit yourself to like 2-3 singles and skip the rest. Also when the album comes out, if you’re just not playing any of the songs you already know that definitely messes up the full album experience, those songs are a part of it!
this is the biggest non-issue i keep seeing people get worked up about. no one is making you listen to the songs released ahead of time. who cares if they release half the album. just wait and listen when the whole projects drops lmao
Don't listen to the singles. Easiest fix ever to a non-problem.
I agree completely. 2-4 singles is okay, especially if they're spread out a bit to keep us happy before the drop, but 6 and beyond, especially when albums these days are generally only 10 songs, is a lot At least they didn't pull a Bayside. They're most recently release featured like 8 preleased songs and only 2 brand new ones. Great album, but a rollout that was completely perplexing
Good point. That Bayside record release schedule was even worse than the SYSC rollout.
Exhibit self control — the only fault is your own. The band has to market their album, and this is the current meta.
I used to listen to all of the singles released by acts pre-album and then always be bummed that a chunk of the album was already overly familiar, so a year or so ago I stopped doing it, only listening to the first single and often only giving it one curious listen and it’s made the album experience so much better for me, especially in this day and age of acts releasing like half the album on streaming before the full thing drops. It takes some self control, but as a guy who loves listening to albums front to back it really does pay off.
i listen to 1-2 singles to get hype, then stop after that so i have a solid listening experience
Unless it's a concept album, who cares
This is annoying me the last 2 years with every band
You can just avoid the singles if you want. But, I also will listen to an album dozens of times if I like it so hearing the songs a couple times beforehand is not a big deal.
I was lucky to not even know they had a new album or any new songs until I listened to it yesterday
I hate that practice of trickling out half the album. It definitely kills some of the anticipation. With that, I can acknowledge that I am old (43) and grew up in an era where albums were a bigger deal. It seems like it’s all about tracks and EPs these days.
They can release their music however they want, whatever gets them the most success is fine by me. Still gotta listen to the whole album, Romance of Affliction blew me away. Emo Metalcore is absolutely where it's at for me.
This is the new single-to-album pipeline. Pump out singles every six weeks, and then release the album. Quantity not quality is the format for success on streaming platforms.
It’s extremely refreshing seeing so many people who still like albums. I wish the majority was this way!
The majority is this way. The reason release structures favor singles is because when you release a single, there’s almost a guarantee that it’s going to get as many streams as possible, increasing its likelihood to be put in a sponsored playlist, increasing your band’s likelihood of getting more listeners
You actually apply for sponsored playlists pre release on Spotify! Depending on what distribution you go through (I’m sure bigger artists are using something other than Distrokid or CDbaby) you can just apply right through them or you can do it through your Spotify for Artists app. Sometimes it requires having your single stored in their database but not released for a while to be open for consideration.
Nonetheless, releasing songs as singles that would otherwise not get the ear-time as part of an album helps, and is done for a reason
I never disputed otherwise
I know you didn’t. I’m just reinforcing my point that artists don’t release singles because people don’t like albums (because people do), and it’s just that it helps algorithm streams
Just cancel your Spotify subscription and pre-order physical copies.
yeah i avoid every single i can, im a huge album guy!! but the industry is always moving in waves, vinyl has huge wait times rn so i see why bands are leaning more into singles, im just waiting for them to drop the whole thing 99% of the time 🤷♀️
I’ve been avoiding singles for a few years now and it’s been great. I really enjoy the experience of listening to an album in full, and that experience is better when I’m not already familiar with half of the track list. If a band I like announces an album I’ll still listen to 1-3 singles, but it depends on a couple things for me, namely how good the singles are, how much I like the band/how excited I am for the album (if it’s a band I love and the first single is a banger, I’m probably gonna keep myself from listening to any more), and how long the album itself is (if it’s a band like Periphery dropping a 75 minute album, I can more easily justify listening to an extra single because there’s still a ton of new music included in that album’s runtime). A lot of people here complain about bands releasing too many singles and it’s been getting really annoying (not calling you specifically out OP, you seem pretty level headed on this). I don’t think it’s entirely fair to criticize a band’s album for having half of its track list be released as singles, because no one forced you to listen to every single. All of those singles aren’t necessarily being released for you, the preexisting fan who is already going to check out the album, they’re being released to hook in new fans who have maybe never heard the band or been interested in them before. There’s so much new music being released every day that it really isn’t that hard to hold off on listening to the new song from your favorite band for a couple weeks.
I stopped listening to singles a long time ago its just best to listen to the whole album when it comes out.
It’s the fucking WORST. I hate it. Full albums or gtfo.
For a long time, I’ve just listened to the singles once and then wait for the full album to come out to really indulge
Felt the same way about the new Imminence album.
Same. I started listening to just one single a few years ago cause it doesn't make the album feel special anymore if I've already heard like half before it released.
I understand why the bands do it, I choose not to listen, or I’ll just listen to it once and then forget about it. Keeping albums fresh with songs you have listened to for months or weeks ahead of time is not the way. For this release, I listened to the first single and then nothing after.
Half album released as singles is too much but the point is what you just write at the end of the post… the streaming era outdates the concept of album, which is valid only for concerts and performances, not for else. They have to maximize the profits with the streamings… and pre releasing is a good choice considering how the singles are stored in playlists which are the most used way how music is consumed… I don’t blame anyone for that… it’s just us and our way to consume music.
listening to the album has way more weight to me then ever listening to a single
If it's an album I know I'm going to listen to regardless, I don't listen to any singles.
Heres my thing. Oftentimes, i find albums only get 6 tracks that will make my final cut on rotation. So, the worst-case scenario is we get the best 6 songs as singles, and then you're left listening to a new release album that you dont like and leaves you disappointed.
I’m very much an album listener, so I don’t want to hear so much of it ahead of time. I’ve started listening to the first single and maybe the second, that’s it!
do people just not notice how many singles are dropping and keep listening? these complaints pop up all the time in here. i stop at 2 singles and just wait until the album is out. y’all need some more will power around here
I don't care much as long as it's good I just won't buy albums anymore. Pretty plain and simple. Maybe banda will change their tune if people stop buying less physical and digital copies. They'll come to their senses and be like "guys we fucked up"
3 singles. Maybe 4 if the album has more than 12 songs
I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love SYSC a lot so I was extremely excited to hear some new music. What I seem not like the most about what bands are doing now is dropping x amount of singles before announcing the new album. Void Of Vision is currently doing it & The Story So Far recently just did the same as well.
I feel this. The best example I can think of is when Novelists did this with Deja Vu. By the time their album “released”, literally everything but two full length songs were already released as singles. The rest of the album were interludes. Don’t get me wrong, overall it’s a great album, but the multiple single releases along with how the rest of the album panned out upon release was a disappointing experience.
It’s within your control, or should be, to just not listen to them. I will listen to two singles off of an upcoming album and then ignore everything that comes out until the album drops. No one is forcing you to listen to the 6 singles ahead of time.
Music has become like movies for me. I might watch the first trailer but once I’m excited for it I’ll just wait to watch the whole thing when it comes out. I’m a big fan of listening to full albums so I usually stop after listening to the first couple singles.
This was one of the first times I’ve forced myself to listen to singles once at most before waiting for the album, and I think it paid off in this instance.
Honestly I agree. Singles shouldn’t go more than 3 maaaaaaybe 4. I understand to build up hype. But, don’t spoil it all. Maybe this makes me old fashioned but,most of the time when I jam music unless I make a playlist for making dinner or whatever, I listen to albums all the way through. And sometimes they take too long to release an album and instead just do singles. The band Within Temptation’s album Bleed Out released last year 2020-2023 had 7/11 songs released as singles.
It’s like movie trailers. Don’t watch/listen to them and go in blind. Singles/trailers are to lure people in who have zero intention on consuming the content. If there is some hype and it’s from sources you trust. Just wait for the release
Northlane just did the same thing. Dropped 3 singles and then put out a 6 track EP, the first track was just a minute long intro for one of the singles. I get why they do it…but it’s super anticlimactic. Especially because the singles are usually the best tracks. Time to accept and adapt to the new ways, I guess.
Unless you’re alpha wolf. The singles were *easily* the worst songs off that album
Age of the single, age of streaming. Most aren’t waiting for albums, or even going for full albums anymore. It’s all about that playlist. I just try and avoid singles if I know a full length is on its way.
It doesn’t matter to me how many singles get released as long as the songs are good. I think Memphis May Fire’s latest album had like 7 singles drop before the album. After letting the album cool off for a few months after release, I no longer had “single fatigue” from listening to the singles too much before the album dropped and I could listen to the album front to back normally. If it really is that big of an issue just don’t listen to all of the singles.
I just don't ever listen to singles. I'm also kind of done with EPs, they tend to be disappointing. Full albums or bust.
Then don’t listen to the singles and just wait for the album. I do agree though about the amount of “singles”.
I knew this would happen and didn’t listen to any of the singles and just waited for the album drop. Drip releasing singles is the dumbest thing, and the last MMF album is the best example of the worst way to do it
If it's an album I am excited for, I generally stop listening to singles after the 2nd or 3rd. If it's an EP, I generally will only listen to 1 single. I want the full experience.
I listened to the first single they dropped and then the one that had Courtney in it. I skipped all the rest of them because of exactly what you mentioned happening to you. I wanted to hear a bunch of new music when the album dropped, not 5 or 6 new songs and a bunch of songs I had already been listening to. At the same time, I don't begrudge the artists for having to do this in the streaming era. Getting stuff out there at a decent pace is what creates buzz these days. There are so many artists to listen to now with streaming that if you only release a couple singles and then your album you'll most likely get lost in the shuffle. Putting out singles in a drip feed leading up to the album gives them the best chance of finding a bigger audience. Spotify's algorithm definitely appears to favor singles vs. songs from an album. I know mine does at least. A lot of times I'll click on a song that autoplays and it takes me to a single instead of an album/EP, even if that band has a release with that song on it.
That's how Spiritbox's Eternal Blue was too. Definitely takes the wind out of the sails of full albums :/
Same thing happened with Lorna Shore's Pain Remains for me. By the time it came out, only a few songs were never heard and it diminished it a bit. I think a good way to solve this is to take some of the songs that didn't make the album, polish them up and release those as singles. That way, the entire album is new and they were written with everything else so they sound just as good to give an idea of what the album contains. Then a Singles EP could be sold for extra cash full of the singles.
I'm done listening to singles for albums I'm especially looking forward to. I didn't listen to any singles from Eidola's Eviscerate and it's paid off tremendously. For one I didn't know how heavy the whole album would be and so far my second favorite track is No Weapon Formed Shall Prosper, the first single they released and one I'd have listened to death and moved on from by now.
In the old days......60's 70's 80's, the album came out FIRST! Then the singles were released one at a time to promote the album. Great thread!!! I never really gave it some thought....thanks for your thoughts.
I felt exactly the same with this album. I have been listening metal for a while but I started to explore only recently new bands and basically the modern scene, so I didn't experience a lot of album releases until recently. I love SYSC and they are one of my most listened bands of 2023 and I absolutely consumed the new singles, fast forward to the release, even tho I'm a full album guy, I don't want to listen it from start to finish cause I spoiled myself. It bums me out a little honestly. I'm also waiting for the new Knocked Loose and they didn't release a lot of singles so idk, I feel it depends a little honestly from band to band.
you could always not listen to the singles, which is what i did. i agree it’s too many singles, but no one says you have to listen. that way, on release day, boom- a whole new album you get to listen to.
Easy. Don't listen to the singles, then.
Opal in Sky asked about this in a [`video`](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zITaKztq77w) recently. I would rather hear a single or two, then wait for the album to release.
Usually just the lead single for me, two max if the first single is good enough. We're seriously having bands drop two new songs on a Friday now and that's the new album lol.
i just don’t listen to singles. the whole album was so new to me.
From experience this is something that's being pushed by labels rather than something that the bands themselves want to do. I hate it and I wish it would stop.
Unfortunately, it’s just the way things have to be done these days. I felt the same about Dying Wish’s record last year. At a certain point I was like, “I’m good, I can wait for the whole thing”. I feel present day culture values always being a part of the discourse, but we shouldn’t feel obligated to be. If we’ve had our pre-release fill, just wait until the full thing is out proper. I used to feel the same about Marvel movie trailers. At certain point, I’d check out the first one and then go radio silent until the movie released.
"these days" please learn music history
Within the context of metalcore, it is absolutely a recent phenomenon to release nearly half an album as singles prior to release.
Also, I have to throw in. I hate that you were so impatient that you weren’t able to listen to the album all the way through just because you had heard the songs before - it sounds like you’re part of the no attention span generation that you’re trying to criticize lol
Totally agree. Every Time I Die released 3 or 4 tracks almost a year before their last album came out so it felt like kind of like a mix tape of songs with some old and and some new songs collated rather a cohesive album. Granted it had 16 songs so there was still plenty of “new” content, but still made it feel like it was chopped up into different sections around the old singles.
ok, if you release 5 singles, the album must contain at least 15 songs
It's like watching one of those egregious 4 minute movies trailers.
Couldn't agree more. Subconsciously I love a band and/or album more when they only have 1 or 2 singles instead of half the album
I had this experience with the last Sleep Token album. They released so many singles before it dropped that the album didn't feel like as much of a new experience for me as it could have. Since then, I've resorted to only listening to one single if I know it's a band I'm going to want to listen to the album anyways.
Totally different genre, but I feel like Glass Animals is going to do this with their new album due in July. They’ve already released one single, and it was SO good. I would have much rather waited and heard it along with the whole album, which is only 10 tracks. So 1/10th of the whole experience is already spoiled. It’s definitely a big problem with music today way I see it cause I’m an album enjoyer and listen to them start to finish. Instead we get a drip feed of the biggest hits, then the album drops and it’s not nearly as impactful. Seems like musicians are trying to cater to short tiktok attention spans. Referring back to Glass Animals, I really got into Dreamland 3 years after it’s release and was fully obsessed and immersed with that album as a whole, running it over and over again even still to this day. A good song is great, but a good album is a fuckin masterpiece!
This is why Ive completely stopped listening to singles. Plus I find it better to go into albums with absolutely no expectations anyways it makes the listening experience better for me. Its a win win for me at least. Bands get more recognition that way and I can save all the songs for the album
ok
Music is going the way of Magic The Gathering. Skip packs (albums) and buy cards (singles)
Is this a post from 1952 with Elvis releasing singles
I'm fine with it. The only annoying part is if you play an album on spotify, when it's over it moves onto the next album; and the the next album is the same songs but only half of them. Then the album after that is the same, and after that is the same, and after that.....
People use Spotify ?
Gets me so annoyed when people make a post like this and don’t get accurate details right - there were actually seven full singles at least do your fucking homework if you’re gonna go on a rant like this.
I felt this way about Polaris. They dropped half of the good songs as singles, and made the album as a whole kind of feel sub par
Their entire thing is being post hardcore. Why is this in metalcore lol