Is the album antiquated? Many young music consumers have never heard a full album, survey finds – EDM All Day
To any music junkie, giving an hour or so to a truly great album is sacred practice—just think of what it can give back. But the fragmented nature of streaming and playlist culture has certainly obfuscated the value of the record, at least in the classic sense.
A recent survey on adults’ listening habits from French streaming service, Deezer, found that among the 2000 UK-based participants, approximately 15% under the age of 25 have never listened to an album in its entirety. Similarly, only 27% of participants said they like to listen to an album the way the artist intended (chronologically, letting each song play out). Grim news for the traditionalists among us. However the study found that 74% of its sample answered they were more apt to listen to the duration of an album after seeing a band or artist perform live, with 32% opting to regularly listen ahead of the gig.
Deezer’s results attest that just under half of participants (42%) employ sporadic listening methods: putting their digital libraries or playlists on shuffle or shopping around from favorited tracks. Overall, 49% of those surveyed maintain that they’re now listening to less albums in general, attributing the decline to an ill-defined lack of time. But hope is not lost for album auteurs: With vinyl sales swiftly on the rise yet again this year, it seems that people are indeed prioritizing the album.
In light of the UK Music-backed National Album Day (October 12) approaching, EDM All Day asks readers to spend some time with a record this week, full-on. Whether it’s Zeppelin IV, Recess, Sgt. Pepper’s, or A Color Map of the Sun—it could reveal itself as something more than a sum of its parts.
H/t: Music Week
