“They don’t make albums anymore. They just try to sell a bunch of lil quick singles. And they burn out, and they put out a new one, and they burn out, and they put out a new one.”- Beyoncé, 2013.
Everything is Everything: New Music
From Beyoncé to Taylor Swift to Tyla, Shawn Mendes, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, Twenty One Pilots, Dua Lipa and countless others, it seems like in 2024 everyone is getting their bums up and working. This year has been stacked with new releases.
Thank you, Kim Kardashian.
But many of these artistic outputs are noticeably shorter. Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism clocks in at 11 songs. Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet has 12 songs and projects by Maggie Rogers and Billie Eilish both tap out at a modest 10 tracks.
But just because condensed track lists dominate now doesn’t mean they’re a new phenomenon.
A Journey to the Past
Most classic albums from the ’60s to the ’80s stuck to a shortened formula. This was due to the limitations of the LP format. To this day, industry veterans and fans alike praise Stevie Wonder’s Talking Book (10 tracks), Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and Michael Jackson’s Thriller (9 tracks) as quintessential albums that didn’t overstay their welcome.
But dammed were past restrictions when the compact disc arrived in the ‘80s. With running times that could extend to 80 minutes, the CD allowed creatives to stuff more material in their albums.
Seeing Green
For artists who wrote or co-wrote their work, longer albums resulted in an excess of publishing income, further incentivizing indulgence. And in today’s streaming era, the more songs there are for fans to stream, the better an artist’s chart placement and revenue. So why is the industry trending towards shorter releases now?
When I See U: The Return of the LP
The trend could have something to do with the revival of the LP, a physical format that generally can’t hold more than 6 songs per side. Last year, 43 million LPs were sold, up 14% from 2022.
Industry Baby: Thoughts from the Inside
Joe Kentish, Warner Brothers U.K. head and Dua Lipa’s long-time A&R executive, says that he and the superstar always aim for a tighter statement.
“She only wanted to have songs she felt made a great record.” With many other distractions vying for our attention, “the album experience is much different”.
“Something that was once an immersive and communal experience is now just one part of [the music] menu”.
The industry may also be responding to our shortening attention spans, worsened by the pandemic. A 2022 survey by the Policy Institute and Centre for Attention at King’s College London found that 50% of adults believe their attention spans are getting shorter. Additionally, a 2023 poll of 504 primary and early years teachers in England found that 84% agree that primary school children’s attention spans have been clipped post-Covid.
Not Like Us- The Outliers
Recent albums by Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have successfully rebelled against this trend. The performers are both established as industry titans who rack up awards, acclaim and incessant intellectualizing/interrogation with every new release or post. As a result of this rare security, they are free to break the rules they spent their early careers diligently playing by.
I LUV IT/ I Hate U
Now that I’ve explained this trend, I’m left wondering if this is a good or bad thing. Even though I love a long concept album, I can acknowledge that some incredible short albums have come out this year. WILLOW’S empathogen (12 tracks, 32 minutes) and Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine (13 tracks, 35 minutes) immediately come to mind. Many fans and critics have lauded eternal sunshine as her best album.
I would never do that.
Sweetener is my everything.
So, it seems like short albums are here to stay.
As Kentish says, All Killer, no filler.’
