Album 528282 224485552 2008-07-09T01:38:18Z Roadstaa 6880161 /* References */ {{otheruses3|Album (disambiguation)}} [[Image:Earlyalbum1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Early record "albums" were in book form, resembling photograph albums]] An '''album''' or '''record album''' is a collection of related [[Sound recording and reproduction|audio]] or [[music]] tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live [[concerts]] or on their [[websites]]. The tracks on an album may be related by [[subject]], [[mood]] or [[sound]], and may even be designed to express a unified message or tell a story (as in the case of a [[concept album]]), or the tracks may simply represent a convenient grouping of recordings made at one time or place, or recordings whose commercial rights are controlled by a single record label. A group of audio tracks is considered to be an album if it has a generally consistent track list (often with minor differences or [[bonus tracks]] in different territories, or if the album is "reissued" at different times). An album may be released in a single format, such as on [[compact disc]], or in multiple media formats, ranging from physical ones such as [[CDs]], [[DVD audio]], [[cassettes]] and [[vinyl records]], to digital ones such as [[MP3]] and [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]] files or [[streaming audio]]. The term "record album" originated from the fact that 78 [[Revolutions per minute|RPM]] [[Phonograph]] [[Gramophone record|disc records]] were kept together in a book resembling a photo album. The first collection of records to be called an "album" was [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky's]] ''[[Nutcracker Suite]]'', released in April 1909 as a four-disc set by [[Odeon Records]].<ref name="Sandiego">{{cite web|url=http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/recording/notes.html|title=Recording Technology History}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.terramedia.co.uk/Chronomedia/years/1909.htm|title=Chronomedia}}</ref> It retailed for 16 [[shillings]] &mdash; about [[pound sterling|£]]56 ([[United States dollar|US$]]101) in [[as of 2005|2005]] currency. In 1948, [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] produced the first [[LP album|12 inch, 33⅓ RPM microgroove record]] made of [[vinyl]].<ref name="Sandiego"/> 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]]. Traditionally, an album ranged in duration from half an hour to an hour, depending on the genre and [[record label]]. American pop albums tended to be around a half hour; British pop albums were somewhat longer, often containing 14 songs instead of 11 or 12; jazz albums were longer still; and classical albums were the longest of all. From the dawn of the "[[album era]]" (in jazz, about 1954; in rock, about 1962) until about the mid-1960s, albums were often recorded as quickly as possible, sometimes in single sessions. ([[Prestige Records]] and [[Blue Note Records]] were famous for this; as well, [[the Beatles]]' first album and [[the Byrds]]' first four albums were all largely recorded in single sessions.) Vinyl [[Long Play|LP]] records had two sides, each comprising one half of the album. If a pop or rock album contained tracks released separately as commercial [[single (music)|singles]], these were often traditionally placed in particular positions on the album. A common configuration was to have the album led off by the second and third singles, followed by a ballad. The ''first'' single would lead off side 2. In the past, many singles (such as the [[Beatles]]' "[[Hey Jude]]") did not appear on albums, but others (such as the Beatles' "[[Come Together]]" and "[[Something]]") were also part of an album released concurrently. Today many commercial albums of music tracks feature one or more singles, which are released separately to radio, TV or the Internet as a way of promoting the album. Albums have also been issued that are compilations of older tracks not originally released together, such as singles not originally found on albums, [[b-sides]] of singles, or unfinished "demo" recordings. Today, with the vinyl record no longer being used as the primary form of distribution, the term "album" can still be applied to any [[sound recording]] collection, such as those on [[compact disc]], [[MiniDisc]], [[Compact audio cassette]], and digital or [[MP3]] albums. [[Cover art]] is also considered an integral part of the album. Many albums also come with [[liner notes]] and [[inserts]] giving background information or analysis of the recording, reprinted [[lyrics]], images of the performers, or additional artwork and text. These are now often found in the form of [[CD booklets]]. Due to the large capacity of new media (compact discs originally ran to 74 minutes, later extended to 80 minutes) and the lack of any formal "side" divisions, the matter of how long an album should be is open to debate, although most albums today are at least 30 minutes long. Usually, rock albums with a particularly fast tempo, such as albums in [[punk rock]] and non-progressive [[thrash metal]] are the shortest, then albums in mainstream rock and pop; then [[hip hop]] albums are the longest. According to the rules of the [[UK Album Chart|UK Charts]], a recording counts as an "album" if either it has more than four tracks or lasts more than 25 minutes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/docs/NEW_Album_Chart_Rules_2007_2.pdf |title=Rules For Chart Eligibility - Albums |accessdate=2007-04-20 |year=2007 |month=January |format=pdf |publisher=[[The Official UK Charts Company]]}}</ref> Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as EPs, an abbreviation of [[extended play]], "extended" meaning longer than a [[Single (music)|single]] but shorter than an [[Long Play|LP]]. The term "mini-album" may also be used. If an album becomes too long to fit this format, a recording artist may make the decision to release a [[double album]] where two vinyl [[Long Play|LP]]s or compact discs are packaged together in a single case, or a [[triple album]] containing three LP's or compact discs. 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, or a compilation of previously unreleased recordings. These are known as [[box set]]s. Some musical artists have also released more than three compact discs or [[Long Play|LP]] records of new recordings at once, in the form of boxed sets, although in that case the work is still usually considered to be an album. ==See also== {{wiktionary}} *[[List of albums]] *[[Single (music)]] *[[Extended play]] *[[Long play]] *[[Release (music)]] *[[Compact disc]] *[[Album cover]] *[[Liner notes]] {{Music portal}} ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Albums| ]] [[Category:Taste in music]] [[ar:ألبوم]] [[be-x-old:Музычны альбом]] [[bs:Album]] [[ca:Àlbum musical]] [[cs:Hudební album]] [[da:Album]] [[de:Musikalbum]] [[et:Muusikaalbum]] [[el:Άλμπουμ]] [[es:Álbum musical]] [[eo:Muzikalbumo]] [[fr:Album (musique)]] [[gl:Álbum musical]] [[hr:Glazbeni album]] [[id:Album]] [[it:Album discografico]] [[he:אלבום מוזיקה]] [[lt:Albumas]] [[hu:Nagylemez]] [[mk:Музички албум]] [[nah:Huēycaquizcopīnalōni]] [[nl:Album (muziek)]] [[ja:アルバム]] [[no:Musikkalbum]] [[pl:Album (wydawnictwo muzyczne)]] [[pt:Álbum]] [[ro:Album (muzică)]] [[ru:Музыкальный альбом]] [[simple:Album]] [[sk:Hudobný album]] [[sl:Glasbeni album]] [[sr:Албум]] [[sh:Album]] [[fi:Albumi]] [[sv:Musikalbum]] [[tl:Album]] [[th:อัลบั้ม]] [[vi:Album]] [[uk:Музичний альбом]] [[fiu-vro:Albom]] [[zh:音樂專輯]]