Why are we making albums?

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Bill Saunders

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« Reply #15 on: December 07, 2018, 06:48:25 PM »
The challenge is delivering something that others genuinely get pleasure from listening to!

That’s a great ambition @mickyplankton but if nothing else, make sure you enjoy it! As the sadly departed Pete Shelley said, (words to the effect)...we do it because we love it, you’d do nothing if you spent all your time worrying about what others thought about your music.

Wicked Deeds

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« Reply #16 on: December 08, 2018, 04:52:23 PM »
Yes, there are some great stories here.  Good luck to all who have aalready and those who intend to present new albums. :-)

I'm going to  postpone my new album for a little while. It was originally scheduled for release in the early part of 2019. I mastered so many songs that there are now enough for three 10 track albums but......

Something happened unexpectedly and a fourt  album came along that has now been mastered. The artwork has been completed and very soon, it will be unveiled.  I have decided to invest a little time in promoting this new (joint) album as I don't want it to disappear without promotion.  Hopefully, the details of the new project will be shared soon.

Paul

cowparsleyman

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« Reply #17 on: December 11, 2018, 08:48:43 AM »
I guess the thing used to be...

1. Hear a song on the radio.
2. Buy the single
3. Buy the album when it came out
4. Go and see them live on tour, they'd play songs from the next album

repeat...

Now music is so easy to obtain and hear, I think the Album is now a container for a bunch of songs , thats all, with SC and other sites acting like a record shop.

How many of you would pay 99p for one of my songs?

CaliaMoko

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« Reply #18 on: December 11, 2018, 04:43:48 PM »
How many of you would pay 99p for one of my songs?
I would! Is your music for sale anywhere?

Neil C

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« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2018, 07:58:45 PM »
Hi,
Nooms and I did our EP recently and for me it was partly to see how you can produce and complete a project, get it finished and published on CD and digital distribution. And it was partly the joy of giving friends and family the gift they never knew they wanted. Or as PaulAds, said ego.

I am planning to do a properly produced studio LP sometime in the future and recognise it’s a vanity project and nor cheap - once my vocals pass muster. Why? Because I can, and I want to be proud of my simgs so again vanity. I’m not sure my family, who endure and have become immune to my prolific output are too bothered. I’m sure over time wicked’s legacy point will resonate.
:-)
Neil
songwriter of no repute..

shadowfax

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« Reply #20 on: December 11, 2018, 08:43:11 PM »
I have no plans to make an album so you can all rest easy and breath a sigh of relief..LOL ;D
Soundcloud Shadowfax6

from the nightmare!

cowparsleyman

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« Reply #21 on: December 13, 2018, 08:41:37 AM »
How many of you would pay 99p for one of my songs?
I would! Is your music for sale anywhere?

Vicki, goodness, that's really kind of you,  I've got a dormant Bandcamp account so I'll put a few up there for sale and see what happens, which one would you like ? I'll send it to you.

Rich

« Last Edit: December 13, 2018, 08:45:03 AM by cowparsleyman »

cowparsleyman

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« Reply #22 on: December 13, 2018, 08:46:10 AM »
How many of you would pay 99p for one of my songs?
I would! Is your music for sale anywhere?

Did you release your album Vicki? if you did how's it faring?

Rich

CaliaMoko

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« Reply #23 on: December 13, 2018, 03:47:21 PM »
How many of you would pay 99p for one of my songs?
I would! Is your music for sale anywhere?

Did you release your album Vicki? if you did how's it faring?

Rich

I did, Rich! Depending on what all I consider production costs, I sold enough so far to cover maybe a quarter of what it cost. :D I will take the CDs with me whenever I go anywhere, especially when I'm performing, so I'll sell a few more. So far I have 8 digital sales and 14 physical CD sales. I'm singing at a Christmas party on Saturday, so maybe a couple more will go then.

I have an EP in process at the moment, but it'll probably just be digital, which will save a lot of up front expenses. I wish I could "print" CDs on demand.

mikek

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« Reply #24 on: December 30, 2018, 07:45:57 PM »
I have never made an album. Years ago I was in a band and we did an EP.

I do want to make an album of some of my more recent songs. I hope to accomplish it in 2019.  It will be a very modest undertaking, home recorded and produced, home made artwork.

pompeyjazz

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« Reply #25 on: December 30, 2018, 09:28:45 PM »
Go for it @mikek A lot of guys on here and elsewhere do it that way and why the hell not. If you need any help or advice this is the right place to be for sure  :)

Nick Ryder

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« Reply #26 on: September 27, 2023, 04:08:55 PM »
@Wicked Deeds This is a really good question.

For me, I think part of the reason is that it is something I have never done on my own (I have released band albums but they're not the same).

In life, I like to push myself and set challenges. When I was a kid, it was to represent my country at table tennis, which I achieved at the age of 14.

Let later it was to release a CD with my band. I quit music at 40 and started playing table tennis again, so I set myself a challenge to get good enough to play for Yorkshire, which I did 2 years later.

Now, at the age of 50 my challenge was to write, arrange, record and release an album all on my own, and I did that too.

I get a sense of satisfaction achieving difficult things. And when people say nice things about the music, that's the icing on the cake :)

And I think the reason I keep on with this now is because it is extremely enjoyable.

Wicked Deeds

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« Reply #27 on: September 27, 2023, 05:22:17 PM »
@Nick Ryder, I never did release that 2nd album. I did however write another 11 albums and stored them away on memory sticks and hard drives. Maybe it's an addiction 🥴

Paul

CorkingCrackBand

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« Reply #28 on: September 27, 2023, 11:46:40 PM »
Interesting reading through this.  :)

  I make albums because it's the only way I've ever written music. They make little snapshots of where I am both as a musician and as a person. I also try to make them cohesive wholes - with some factor that joins the album together - be that overtly like Neo Shrimp's story of more thematic like Only Hot Air Will Save Us. I view them as well as reflections of me: also as pieces of art that express something. Some are more political, some creative, some reflective or any mix and more. I would lose a large part of who I am as a musician without the album being my main method of delivering my voice. I know no one has or will listened to the full 4 hrs but until someone does, I only take criticism of a song so far: as without that songs context, I don't feel it has been properly heard. All my songs are 'album songs' - I write nothing with the idea of 'Hit' or 'single' in mind. Of course, without the 'album', I may also find a new part of myself as an artist by ditching albums, but at this moment, that's not yet happened.

All the best,

CCB

ChrisPrice

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« Reply #29 on: October 15, 2023, 10:58:37 AM »
I'm working on my 4th album. I give them away. I'm not at an age where I'm trying to build a career out of songwriting and I don't want/need the hassle of marketing. Writing and recording songs is a labour of love for me. I think that working on an album gives me something to focus on. I tried selling my first album on Bandcamp as a charity venture. I set myself a very modest target which I hit but, to be honest, it was way too much work trying to get enough people to shell out. I now have my albums hosted on Site123. I don't think many people actually listen to the whole albums, but they can listen to individual tracks. I reckon I get more plays on Soundcloud, thanks in no small part to the songwriters forums. My philosophy being that getting 50+ listens on SC and the likes is better than playing live to half a dozen p*** artists in some run down pub! :)