Is the album still alive?

With Spotify giving in to Adele’s request to remove shuffle option from her album, Indian musicians discuss whether digital music streaming has put pressure on long form music

This writer has always preferred to listen to concept albums in order, and each song from start to finish. Reason being, sometimes, one track provides a transition to the next. This, along with the fact, that we love listening to all the songs on an an album. Adele’s viral tweet, therefore, is one we can relate to. “We don’t create albums with so much care and thought into our track listing for no reason. Our art tells a story and our stories should be listened to as we intended,” wrote the artiste recently. In response to Adele’s request, Spotify has hidden the shuffle button from all albums accessed via the streaming music platform.  “As Adele mentioned, we are excited to share that we have begun rolling out a new Premium feature that has been long requested by both users and artists to make play the default button on all albums. For those users still wishing to shuffle an album, they can go to the Now Playing View and select the shuffle toggle,” said a spokesperson from Spotify.

In an age when attention spans are getting shorter, putting out multiple songs at once on a full-length album might seem like a risky proposition to some artistes. Singer-songwriters Hanita Bhambhri and Raghav Meattle believe that the younger audience gravitates more towards the singles than albums. The shift in consumption is mainly driven by social media, thinks Meattle. “A lot of times people end up listening to 30 seconds of a song on a Reel and they assume that they have heard the whole song.  If I put all six songs in one go, how do I keep the momentum going?” he asks. Staggering his own releases has helped Meattle gain traction. Bhambri, who has not released an album yet, says she personally prefers releasing singles because it sparks a conversation and help build an audience. “Once I’m more established, it might be easier to drop an album.” Meattle believes that genre also plays an important role in deciding whether the release should be a single or an album. “A genre like hip-hop usually has a theme and that requires around five to six songs to convey. Whereas a Blackstratblues album, which is mainly instrumental, can be heard for around 20-30 minutes, but it is difficult for the listener to be attentive for that long for a story-telling album by a singer-songwriter.”

Hanita Bhambhri and Raghav Meattle

In 2016-17, singer-songwriter and frontman of Hindi rock band Ankur and Ghalat Family–Ankur Tewari released his EPs as Side A/Side B. “When we were designing Side A/ Side B, it was kind of a doff of the hat to the old generation and to the way I have consumed music when I was growing up which pretty much consisted of vinyls, cassettes and CDs. There was a sense of anticipation of what the next song would be,” he says. Music journalist Amit Gurbaxani points out that in India, relatively established artistes such as Aswekeepsearching, Parvaaz and Blackstratblues continue to release albums.  “If you are a fan of the music, you might listen to just the single, but if you are a fan of the artiste, you will listen to their album,” says Gurbaxani.

Both Gurbaxani and Meattle, however, agree that most streaming platforms are more supportive of singles, with higher chances of it being playlisted because not all songs from an album have the same level of visibility. “People now want the best of both worlds,” observes Gurbaxani. “And so now, artistes release their albums in the form of singles where they put out singles every few months and finally package them as part of their album.” Indie musicians Dhruv Vishwanath and Tejas have used this strategy for their release.  Releasing a single is not a cinch either. “It is a Herculean task and requires a lot of investment because of the production costs,” says Meattle.

In 2016-17, singer-songwriter and frontman of Hindi rock band Ankur and Ghalat Family-Ankur Tewari released his EPs as Side A/Side B. Pic/Prarthna Singh; (right) Music journalist Amit Gurbaxani says that it comes down to individual preference. “If you are a fan of the music, you might listen to just the single, but if you are a fan of the artiste, you will listen to their album.”

Streaming though, has democratised the distribution of music and it is far easier and cheaper to release music, believes Gurbaxani. Ultimately, though, it boils down to an artiste’s choice for creative expression. “They should stick to what works for them best, irrespective of these ever-changing listening trends.”

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