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I wonder what effect never owning 25 albums will have on music in the future

Sloop John B

Sloop John B

And any old music will do…
Clunky title I know but we all remember a time when we had 10 albums, then 20 etc. and we listened to them so many times and know every nuance and lyric on many of them still.

People born in the last 20? years have always had access to hundreds of thousands of tracks and albums. Do they still listen to a small subset like we had to or do they never get that first 25 albums hit? And will this have any impact?

I was at a gig the other day and my regular gig mate was surprised that I recognised (in the pre-gig music) Lennon’s Mind Games form the first note - Shaved Fish this was one of my first 25 LPs.

.sjb
 
I suspect the reason vinyl is having a resurgence and attracting so many young buyers is that it helps build a connection with a work and effectively makes it special/a physical part of their world the way it was for past generations. Unlimited choice is amazing as a learning and selection tool, but it just doesn’t connect the listener to the artist in the way a transaction for physical product does. I suspect the sense of commitment is important, especially with more layered and complex music that takes a little effort to unlock. As an example I can never remember what movies I’ve seen on TV, Amazon Prime or whatever, they very seldom stay in my mind, yet I can remember every record I’ve bought, what the cover is like, what label it was on, whether it had a printed inner, where I bought it etc. Streaming will never achieve that.
 
Professional artists make money with shows rather than records and/or spare change from Spotify and the likes nowadays.
 
Gervais Cote said:
Professional artists make money with shows rather than records and/or spare change from Spotify and the likes nowadays.
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Depends on the artist. A lot of new bands, which is often where the most interesting music is, make a good income from selling vinyl on Bandcamp etc.

PS Brexit has been a total nightmare for small bands doing the odd non-UK gigs etc, bad enough that many have given up.
 
It’s an interesting one. The LP is circa 60 years old, before that people listened to ‘sides’, some of these sold in huge numbers. The artists often made little, I think this is a bit like Spotify. Did the music matter less? I don’t think so.

It’s a very cyclical situation.
 
paulfromcamden said:
I still occasionally find a record hidden in the lower recesses of the shelves that I have absolutely no recollection of owning!
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I had to fish half a dozen CDs out of my basket at the checkout of a charity shop over the weekend that I had absolutely no recollection of seeing before, let alone putting in there.
 
There's a guy works in one of the kitchens I go to and he can rap every single lyric of all Central Cee's tracks he has blaring out, I've no idea how many times he has had to listen to them to manage that. I can't do it with stuff I've been listening to for 30 years.
 
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