Welcome to my website which delves into the dichotomy between albums and singles in the modern music industry. You can use the navigation bar at the top of the page to navigate throughout the site. If there is no bar, make sure you are accessing the website on a desktop with your browser in fullscreen. In addition, while all of my textual references can be found on the references page, you can additionally click on any image to go directly to its source.
Commercially published music is consumed in an exorbitant number of ways. From as far back as cassette tapes to the modern example of streaming services, not only are music consumers overwhelmed by commercial music, but also the many individual ways it is consumed. In this website I explore the greatest example of such disparities unique to the consumption of music: the album versus the single. I will discuss perspectives that side with albums being more important, particularly those relating to music’s nature as art. In tandem, I will also detail perspectives which side with the sale of the single as the best form of music’s commercial production. In conclusion, I will give my perspective on the matter, portraying why I believe albums to be more important than singles.
The album as it is understood in the modern era originated with Columbia, one of the “big three” major record labels which dominates the industry today. They were the first to perfect the “Long Playing Double-sided Microgroove” vinyl record in 1948, allowing for over 30 minutes of music playback while only having to flip a disc once (Pela). This would soon give way to the production of LPs which would not only embody a group of songs, but also a cohesive and artistic body of work: an album.
In addition to 12-inch LP records, smaller 7-inch records would also become popularized. As opposed to the cohesiveness of an album, these discs would be sold to highlight individual songs. This would be done to both produce an easily consumable product with a shorter runtime than a full album and to promote the album which such individual songs would be featured on. Thus, the disparity between albums and singles was born; the argument between such methods of consumption has warred since then into the modern day.
