Admittedly this question is less relevant than it once was, thank to cherry-picking, but ITSM that some artists are releasing for too many.

 

For the purposes of this poll, I'm thinking of the original release of an album, not including 'special editions'.

 

[i hope the moderators consider this relevant enough to stay on this forum...] ;)

It depends on the album... for instance, if the only record you'd ever heard was Radiohead's "The King of Limbs" you might say 1, 2 or even 0, but this would be far too low a number for an album like "Born This Way".

Four, in my opinion.

I think 3 ideally, that way no overkill happens and you end up with three big hits, of course, there are exceptions like Rihanna and Katy Perry but they are huge

 

 

 

Yeah 3 I'd say too. With possibly 4 or 5 in a situation where certain artists can get away with being hugely successful i.e. Katy Perry.

Depends on how big the artist is - Rihanna has relased the 4th single from her album (bare in mind the album has sold over 1million) and it managed to reach #8, and Katy Perry's 4th single from her album (ET) hit number 3, with her 5th release looking like it could be a Top 10+ smash! Overall, I would say release 3 or 4 songs from an album, and perhaps a fifth if your a big artist.

IMO once you go beyond three, they rarely generate enough extra album sales to cover the promo.

I think four singles is good if you're popular. Here's how it should go imo;

 

First single - this single has to be brilliant, as its purpose is to hype up the artist(s) and tell the world he/she/they is/are going to be releasing a new album soon. Bad examples of first singles are (Beyonce RTW(G), The Saturdays etc.) and good examples are (Lady GaGa, The BEPs, Take That etc.) Radio airplay is important

 

Second single - it doesn't have to be as good as the first single but it has to be *different*. Examples of second singles that aren't very *different* to the first are (Scouting For Girls, Alexis Jordan, Basshunter etc.) Although a 2nd single that beats the 1st is always a good thing and helps interest in an album. Some people can get away with releasing the album before the second single (Rihanna, Adele).

 

Third single - This is the single that you use to promote the album, there are a few days of doing this. There's A) Release it a week before the album (e.g Tinie Tempah). B) Release it with the album (not many do this) and C) Release it with the album but wait a few months to promote it (most do this)

 

Fourth single - Some can't take this step, but for those who can - they are lucky! The best way to promote your 4th single from an album is to include a 'single mix' (Katy Perry is a great example of this). After 4 singles, you should do a deluxe version or just move on (preferably the former to rake in more sales)

Even some of the biggest artists, they seem to start flopping after a certain number of singles. Like Beyonce, her first few singles in 2008/2009 did extremely well, but after a while they started not doing very well. Even the likes of Video Phone which was absolutely brilliant and had Lady Gaga added on for the single version couldn't get top 40. :(

Even some of the biggest artists, they seem to start flopping after a certain number of singles. Like Beyonce, her first few singles in 2008/2009 did extremely well, but after a while they started not doing very well. Even the likes of Video Phone which was absolutely brilliant and had Lady Gaga added on for the single version couldn't get top 40. :(

 

I think that the songs that flopped in the I Am...Sasha Fierce era (Diva, Video Phone, Ego, Why Don't You Love Me) were download only songs (as far as I know). I can remember at the time of all these flops, Beyonce released two re-releases of I Am...Sasha Fierce (a deluxe version and a platinum version) which was a bit pointless IMO! :lol:

4 singles with music videos are fine, like it used to be. I don't care for other promo singles.

 

1-2 singles is not enough, I don't want an era to end a couple of months after the albums release (see Leona's Echo).

I remember watching an interview on will.i.am. I think it was back in 2009, when the BEPs made their comeback (and I was over the moon, obviously :D). They were talking about the futuristic theme of Boom Boom Pow, and they went on a bit of a tangent, and will.i.am said that he thinks in the future that some artists just won't release albums anymore. Like they'll just release a single every few weeks continuously. Nicki Minaj's era seems a little bit in that direction, kind of. She's released everything on an album first, but it does seem she just promotes whatever whenever. :lol:

I remember watching an interview on will.i.am. I think it was back in 2009, when the BEPs made their comeback (and I was over the moon, obviously :D). They were talking about the futuristic theme of Boom Boom Pow, and they went on a bit of a tangent, and will.i.am said that he thinks in the future that some artists just won't release albums anymore. Like they'll just release a single every few weeks continuously. Nicki Minaj's era seems a little bit in that direction, kind of. She's released everything on an album first, but it does seem she just promotes whatever whenever. :lol:

 

True. I mean what was the point of Taio Cruz, Aggro Santos, Soulja Boy etc. making albums :lol: I still think major artists will be making albums for a few more decades, BEPs Rihanna and Lady GaGa all have made million selling albums so why stop. ;)

An addendum to the original question, then...

 

How many singles do you think should be released *before* an album?

 

Personally, I never like to see more than one released beforehand, as I feel any more than that, might lead people to just buy the singles & cherry-pick the album tracks, rather than buying the whole album.

I'm a traditional "4 singles of an album guy" but it doesn't happen with the artists I like any more.

Before album release - 1

Total releases from an album - 3 maximum

 

 

Kath

As a casual music buyer, i would prefer to see an artist release two singles before an album. That way i can get a glimpse of how different the album can sound rather than from the 'one' single.

 

For instance, i refused to buy leonas second album 'Echo' after hearing 'happy' as i wasnt encouraged enough to buy it. By the second single, it gave me a better informed choice on what other sounds the album can have.

 

In the other hand, the album should be released after the first single in the case of the fans (this should happen beyond their debut album) as it will in doubt capitalise on big first week sales

I think artists should know for themselves.. I do not have a problem with it if one decides to release 7 singles.

But I strongly am a contender for only one single before the album release. Two singles and the wait is just annoying for the fans and I do not understand why it would be better for the artist (unless the album isn't ready of course).

Before the album is released- 1

And 3 when the album has been released.

 

4 with music videos.

It totally depends on artist, the strategy and level of success. Rihanna, Katy Perry and Adele should milk their albums all the way with 6 or 7 proper singles. It works very well if the act is singles-driven and willing to do videos.

 

Michael Jackson released all but two songs from both Thriller and Bad and those albums didn't break the sales records immediately after the release but sold very well for a very long time.

 

For alternative and indie acts anything after three or four singles is pointless because if the album is going to sell, it'll sell on word of mouth and gigs alone. But there should be something for possible prizes and accolades. For example a Mercury-nominated album should have a good single and video out at that time.