The Concept Album is Dead

The online music smörgåsbord is forcing artists to make great songs, not great albums. This is an interesting trend because the music industry started in the singles business and it was only with the LP record that the whole album idea became mainstream. Technology created the album and now technology seems poised to destroy it. So could Green Day's "American Idiot" be the last concept album?

Back in day, artists may not have even had an album as long as they had a few singles on 78s or later, 45s to send out to radio stations. LPs seemed destined to be the choice for classical music. With time, however, and probably for economic reasons, contemporary music migrated to the LP creating the "album" concept. With that came a flurry of musical experimentation with half hour jam sessions and the melding of one song into another, and the concept album was born.

Fast forward a few years, and better technology had the CD replace the LP, effectively killing the "B-Side" idea, that logical cut-off where a record needed to be turned over. The result was less of a hard line between good and "not-so-good" songs. Any track on a CD could be quickly accessed so placement didn't matter as much. With this limit lifted, the concept album had less restrictions and could flourish.

However, the next step of technology was the online download business. The CD was being replaced by nothing! Without a 60 minute CD to fill anymore, music could be released on a track by track basis. Each song lived or died on it's own merits. Gone are the days of requiring the customer to purchase a set of lackluster songs just to get the good songs as well. Any desire to release a concept album would have to be sustained by the artists alone.

Granted we aren't at the above point yet, but the writing is on the wall. I wonder how long iTunes can keep up selling the entire album for $9.99 if there aren't 10 good songs on the album. Won't the customer just start buying tracks individually? Won't this incent the artist to make better songs overall instead of resting on the coat tails of an exceptional song?

From Pink Floyd's "The Wall" to U2's "Achtung Baby", concept albums have a strong tradition amongst music lovers. Can the sheer economics of the equation and relentless march of technology actually kill the concept album? Or can it sustain itself on the artists passion alone? Unfortunately, I think the concept album is doomed.

Comments (1)

Andy See from

I don't think that's true, I think artists could still make a series of songs that tell a story if they want to. They could imply that even the individual songs are part of a bigger theme.