Album
An
album is a collection of related
audio tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although many smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at shows or on their websites.
The term "record album" originated from the fact that 78
RPM Phonograph disc records were kept together in a book resembling a photo album. The first collection of records to be called an "album" was
Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, released in April 1909 as a four-disc set by
Odeon Records.
It retailed for 16
shillings — about
US$20 in modern currency.
In
1948,
Columbia produced the first 12
", 33â…"
RPM microgroove record made of vinylite.
With a running time of 23 minutes per side, these new records contained as much music as the old-style album of records and, thus, took on the name "album". For many years, the standard industry format for popular music was an album of twelve songs, originally the number related to payment of composer
royalties.
Today, with the vinyl record no longer being used as the primary form of distribution, the term "album" is applied to any
sound recording collection, mainly those on
compact disc, Although it can also refer to
MiniDisc,
Compact audio cassette, and
MP3 albums.
Cover art is also considered an integral part of the album.
Due to the large capacity of new media, the matter of how long an album should be is open to debate. According to the rules of the
UK Charts, a recording counts as an album if either it has at least four tracks or lasts more than 20 minutes. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as EPs, an abbreviation of
extended play, "extended" meaning longer than a
single. The term "mini-album" may also be used.
If an album becomes overly long, a recording artist may make the decision to release a
double album where two discs are packaged together in a single case.
Many recording artists who have an extensive back catalogue will often re-release several CDs in one single box with a unified design often containing one or more albums as well as previously unreleased recordings. These are known as
box sets.
*
Compilation album*
Concept album*
Double album*
Rarities album*
List of albums*
Single (music)*
Extended play*
Release (music)*
Compact disc
