Music Ownership is Out…Renting is In

There was a time no too long ago when consumers would greatly anticipate the release of a new album – they couldn’t wait to get their hands on it and listen to it from start to finish.  All 10 or 12 tracks.  They purchased the recording and could hold it in their hands – they owned it. It was theirs.

Well, those days are all but gone with recorded music being primarily consumed in digital formats as opposed to physical ones.  And, the recorded music business is now being driven by single hits – just one track that could be added to a playlist of other single hits.  While some listeners are still interested in listening to a particular artist for more than one track, many are beginning to ask the question, is there a point to recording an album today, or should artists focus on just releasing single tracks?

But what about classical music and jazz, which is typically much longer than the 3.5 minute hit single? Well, I think there still needs to be artful long form works and recordings that encourage people to listen for an extended period of time. Concert music and jazz are two of the ways we can continue to produce work that challenges the shrinking size of recordings and attention spans. We should be mindful of this trend, yes, but not compromise our art because of it.