Albums in the era of downloads

Last week on Sound Opinions, the Chicago-based rock ’n’ roll radio talk show, hosts Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis were talking about the big music events of the last decade. Jim affirmed my stance that, while there was a lot of innovation in how music is delivered and listened to, there weren’t any major innovations in music-making itself in the ’00s or any specific genre that defined the decade. On the one hand, I was glad to hear someone else say this (because it makes me feel like less of an old crank going around saying “Nothing new has happened since the Dust Brothers”) but at the same time, it’s dispiriting. Jim and Greg seemed optimistic that something new would happen, but I’m not so sure.

Jim posited that in the age of downloading music, album covers and liner notes are almost a thing of the past, that no one is interested in them anymore. In the case of liner notes, I’d argue that the general public was not terribly interested in them in the first place; it was just the hardcore music geeks, who can still find all the same information (lyrics, producers, songwriters, musicians, recording locations, etc.) online if they are so inclined. The end of cover art, however, is something that makes me sentimental. I think it’s an inevitable but sad side effect of downloading music.

I just finished reading David Byrne’s new book, Bicycle Diaries, and funnily enough there’s a passage where he talks about that issue. He rightly points out that albums and album cover art were never wed to one another; records existed before album cover art did. The covers themselves were created as a practical matter to protect the fragile vinyl records, and the artwork followed later. I’m not sure of the source for this, but Byrne says that a classical record that sported the first album cover art sold many, many more copies than other records, hence the decision to start putting art on all album covers as a marketing tool.

This got me wondering when album covers came into being. God bless the Internet, because I actually found the answer on Wikipedia. In 1938, Columbia Records hired a graphic designer, Alex Steinweiss, who is now widely credited as the inventor of album cover art. Steinweiss is still alive and many of his album covers can be viewed online, so check them out if you have a chance. (Wikipedia also provides interesting background info on how records came to be called "albums" – which has to do with storage solutions, of all things.) Those links provide a nice little history lesson if you’re a music fan or interested in graphic design.

It could be argued that not only album covers but albums themselves are becoming less relevant in the era of downloads. Don’t most people download a song or two by an artist they like, not an entire album? As much as I love albums, I’m pretty happy that downloading has helped us reclaim the single, since record labels in America phased out CD singles quite awhile ago. There might not be a picture sleeve or a B-side anymore, but the single lives on, and usually it’s 99 cents – cheaper than the vinyl ones I bought as a teenager.