So, you’re probably looking at the title of this article and you’re wondering why I’m saying that making an album isn’t a good idea for an up and coming rapper. It’s pretty simple actually. The truth is, albums (and even mixtapes) can be a waste of time, especially when you have no buzz, no following and nobody knows who you are. Apart from that, the album format is a dying format.
Why is this happening…
Think about it. To make an album or a mixtape you need to spend a lot of time making and recording songs. You basically invest a lot of time, energy and money in a pretty large project. However, if your project doesn’t get any traction, all the time and energy you invested is pretty much wasted.
It all has to do with the way music is consumed today. The way we consume music has been altered by internet streaming services. Most people don’t listen to full albums from start to finish. They might go to YouTube, pick a song to listen to from an artist and then move on to another song, maybe even to another artist. The fact is, people that listen to entire albums are becoming rare.
What should you do…
That’s why I think that albums and mixtapes have become something that only established artists (artists that have some following) should do. Like I already said, for the up and coming rapper, making an album might be a waste of time. If you’re a rapper what is just starting out, I’d recommend you focus on making and releasing single songs rather than an album or a mixtape.
At this stage, the attention you get from making an album is pretty much the same as the attention you get from making a single song. If you think about it, it might be better to release one new song every month rather than releasing a new album every 6-12 months.
Releasing songs frequently keeps you active, and the more active you are, the more visible you are, so you have a higher chance for people to notice your music. You also need to think about your potential listeners. Most people have a very short attention span, especially for stuff they are not sure if they like. You will have better success if you try to get them to listen to a 3-4 minute song rather than a 30-40 minute album/mixtape.
Bottomline: focus on smaller projects (like making individual songs), promoting your songs, and keep making more songs until you get a decent sized following. Only then you should start recording larger projects like albums and mixtapes.