Is the EP overtaking the album?

I'm reading a book right now that points to the Beatles Sgt. Pepper as the first BIG album that was sold/promoted as a whole album, not just a collection of singles. Other bands starting picking up on that and the trend continued into the 70's with bands like Zep & Floyd that avoided the singles market as best they could.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm reading a book right now that points to the Beatles Sgt. Pepper as the first BIG album that was sold/promoted as a whole album, not just a collection of singles. Other bands starting picking up on that and the trend continued into the 70's with bands like Zep & Floyd that avoided the singles market as best they could.

That's the album I would have pointed to as well...The Beatles did everything first.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm reading a book right now that points to the Beatles Sgt. Pepper as the first BIG album that was sold/promoted as a whole album, not just a collection of singles. Other bands starting picking up on that and the trend continued into the 70's with bands like Zep & Floyd that avoided the singles market as best they could.

That's the album I would have pointed to as well...The Beatles did everything first.

I would too I would give that honor to 'Rubber Soul' which inspired artist as diverse as The Doors, Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and even their old rivals The Rolling Stones.

The Beatles of course where influenced by Bob Dylan who treated albums as far back as 1962 (Freewheelin' Bob Dylan) as not just a random collection of songs but as an album with a unified musical theme.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm reading a book right now that points to the Beatles Sgt. Pepper as the first BIG album that was sold/promoted as a whole album, not just a collection of singles. Other bands starting picking up on that and the trend continued into the 70's with bands like Zep & Floyd that avoided the singles market as best they could.

That's the album I would have pointed to as well...The Beatles did everything first.

Pretty much.

As I understand it, they tried with Rubber Soul and Revolver too, but they still had touring commitments and couldn't spend as much time in the studio as they wanted. By the time writing started for Sgt. Pepper, they stopped touring and just spent all their time in the studio. They also had enough power by that time to tell the record company to go scratch while they worked.

I can't imagine that format (no touring, endless studio time, no singles) would fly too well today, but it will happen someday in some fashion and the artists will take back control, releasing and profiting from their music.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I'm reading a book right now that points to the Beatles Sgt. Pepper as the first BIG album that was sold/promoted as a whole album, not just a collection of singles. Other bands starting picking up on that and the trend continued into the 70's with bands like Zep & Floyd that avoided the singles market as best they could.

That applies to rock & pop music but other genres were already thinking in terms of albums in the late 50s. As soon as the 12-inch LP became common jazz artists starting putting together focused "albums" that were designed to be listened to all the way through to create a thematic whole. This was a genre that (rarely) released singles at all, so it was definitely an LP form of music.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I can't imagine that format (no touring, endless studio time, no singles) would fly too well today, but it will happen someday in some fashion and the artists will take back control, releasing and profiting from their music.

They actually still recorded singles too...they just released them apart from the album. Many of The Beatles' singles are not on any albums.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I can't imagine that format (no touring, endless studio time, no singles) would fly too well today, but it will happen someday in some fashion and the artists will take back control, releasing and profiting from their music.

They actually still recorded singles too...they just released them apart from the album. Many of The Beatles' singles are not on any albums.

Oh yea, of course. They recorded and released singles all throughout their career. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't want to, but the record company said otherwise. I was just saying that they thought of Sgt. Pepper as a full album, not just a collection of singles.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I can't imagine that format (no touring, endless studio time, no singles) would fly too well today, but it will happen someday in some fashion and the artists will take back control, releasing and profiting from their music.

They actually still recorded singles too...they just released them apart from the album. Many of The Beatles' singles are not on any albums.

Oh yea, of course. They recorded and released singles all throughout their career. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't want to, but the record company said otherwise. I was just saying that they thought of Sgt. Pepper as a full album, not just a collection of singles.

Right.

And that is where I think the difference lies in what I predict for the future. In the past, and up to the present, singles and ep's have existed alongside the albums. But I think the ep's will take over, and albums will be somewhat gone.

If you look at current trends the biggest increase in sales is from digital singles. Sales of full-length albums continue to decrease and I don't see EPs filling that gap either.

I don't see the majority of the metal scene gravitating towards EPs anytime soon.

IQ's also continue to decrease, major coincidence there.