Are compilation albums dead?

[Doja Kitten]

I feel like greatest hits albums are not a thing anymore. We have well accomplished artists with 10+ number one hits with no greatest hits albums. Any thoughts on why that is? 

[ObsessedBritFan1]

You make a playlist of lossless tracks. The average consumer listens to music on devices these days. Hardly anyone uses physical copies as their main media.

[The Femme Fatale]

There’s really no need with streaming. Why put the same song on streaming apps twice because one is from an album and one is from a greatest hits compilation?

Tbh I think albums are next on their way out and what will replace them are playlists. I mean it’s still an “album” per se but it’s more of a playlist since you can listen to individual songs and not in order. Also with albums you get a booklet with photos and song credits, but you don’t really need that with a playlist.

The future is streaming. I don’t see the BB 200 lasting long. I mean it could track playlists like they do albums, but tbh I don’t think there is a need for it anymore once physical CDs are obsolete.

Sorry I trailed off topic a bit lol, but I’m really interested in seeing how music is gonna evolve and how things are gonna be counted on charts in the next few years.

[Sometimes_Lucky]

As others have said, there really isn't any need for it now that music is mostly consumed on streaming services where people can make their own playlists and consume music without having to change the physical media that they have in their music player.  It's kind of a shame, because it's cool to see artists that you enjoy become big enough to warrant a Greatest Hits album and then, if they are active long enough, see multiple compilations of theirs come out and document how their sound has evolved over those years, but at the same time, you can kind of get that with the streaming sites anyway. 

[trip to my touch]

gh mp in 2004 almost felt too late and was one of the last impactfull ones (the singles collection could neva)

[Broccoli Spears]

1 hour ago, trip to my touch said:

gh mp in 2004 almost felt too late and was one of the last impactfull ones (the singles collection could neva)

The singles collection is currently sitting at #67 in the album charts in the UK. I think it’s doing just fine.

[trip to my touch]

30 minutes ago, Broccoli Spears said:

The singles collection is currently sitting at #67 in the album charts in the UK. I think it’s doing just fine.

i was waiting for that argument. it wouldve been ghmp if that wouldve been the most recent one.

point is outside of fans (and even i wouldnt be too thrilled about buying another gh) a new cd in 2024 wouldnt make any sense. some people like in the uk would download it if there is a major hype around her but thats all

[Broccoli Spears]

12 minutes ago, trip to my touch said:

i was waiting for that argument. it wouldve been ghmp if that wouldve been the most recent one.

point is outside of fans (and even i wouldnt be too thrilled about buying another gh) a new cd in 2024 wouldnt make any sense. some people like in the uk would download it if there is a major hype around her but thats all

I think if it’s a limited edition thing, vinyl release, contains unreleased tracks, etc. - there might be appetite for it. There’s got to be a selling point to make it worthwhile.

 

[trip to my touch]

12 minutes ago, Broccoli Spears said:

I think if it’s a limited edition thing, vinyl release, contains unreleased tracks, etc. - there might be appetite for it. There’s got to be a selling point to make it worthwhile.

 

sure. but times of mio sales are defn over

[Doja Kitten]

5 hours ago, ObsessedBritFan1 said:

You make a playlist of lossless tracks. The average consumer listens to music on devices these days. Hardly anyone uses physical copies as their main media.

I thought about the same thing. Streaming has totally changed the game. It’s just a different time now. When Mariah release #1’s I thought it was the most badass thing ever. It’s like a milestone. 

 

5 hours ago, The Femme Fatale said:

There’s really no need with streaming. Why put the same song on streaming apps twice because one is from an album and one is from a greatest hits compilation?

Tbh I think albums are next on their way out and what will replace them are playlists. I mean it’s still an “album” per se but it’s more of a playlist since you can listen to individual songs and not in order. Also with albums you get a booklet with photos and song credits, but you don’t really need that with a playlist.

The future is streaming. I don’t see the BB 200 lasting long. I mean it could track playlists like they do albums, but tbh I don’t think there is a need for it anymore once physical CDs are obsolete.

Sorry I trailed off topic a bit lol, but I’m really interested in seeing how music is gonna evolve and how things are gonna be counted on charts in the next few years.

True I think albums are on their way out too. K pop stars rarely release full length albums. I think if it doesn’t have a cohesive concept like lemonade there’s really no need to put out an album with 15 songs at once.

[Doja Kitten]

4 hours ago, trip to my touch said:

gh mp in 2004 almost felt too late and was one of the last impactfull ones (the singles collection could neva)

The box set is kind of cool tho. They don’t make those single cds with paper covers anymore. I feel like those are more like collectible items nowadays.

[Doja Kitten]

1 hour ago, Broccoli Spears said:

I think if it’s a limited edition thing, vinyl release, contains unreleased tracks, etc. - there might be appetite for it. There’s got to be a selling point to make it worthwhile.

 

I agree. I own a few vinyl records but I don’t even own a vinyl player. In my opinion CDs are in a very awkward position nowadays. They are not nostalgic enough like vinyls but at the same time nobody uses them anymore. There’s something very human about vinyl records that CDs lack. CDs just feel too digital and industrial to me.

[Crabo Lavender Turmeric]

GHs are not the makers they were.

IMO, these compilations are not for dedicated fans but for people who only listen to the singles. Like "Oh, here is a Queen Hit Compilation. I like Queen. Lemme Get it". But now we got streaming. 

 

 

[Crazy4BRITNEY3.2]

ehm we've been having a thing called playlists for the past 17 years or so

[Doja Kitten]

1 hour ago, Crabo Lavender Turmeric said:

GHs are not the makers they were.

IMO, these compilations are not for dedicated fans but for people who only listen to the singles. Like "Oh, here is a Queen Hit Compilation. I like Queen. Lemme Get it". But now we got streaming. 

 

 

lmao I’m guilty of that when I'm getting into artists that I'm new to. But nowadays spotify has those This is … playlists and they do the job just fine.

19 minutes ago, Crazy4BRITNEY3.0 said:

ehm we've been having a thing called playlists for the past 17 years or so

Yes but honestly I kind of miss the days when artists would do a photoshoot just for their GH albums. Sometimes they even include a handwritten letter in the booklet. Not mentioning a lot of times they include unreleased or new tracks in the album. GH albums used to be a milestone for artists but I guess it has lost its meaning in the age of streaming.

[Crazy4BRITNEY3.2]

2 minutes ago, Doja Kitten said:

Yes but honestly I kind of miss the days when artists would do a photoshoot just for their GH albums. Sometimes they even include a handwritten letter in the booklet. Not mentioning a lot of times they include unreleased or new tracks in the album. GH albums used to be a milestone for artists but I guess it has lost its meaning in the age of streaming.

Yeah I feel you. I guess only huge artists who still manage to make bank from physical sales (eg TS) would release an old school compilation album these days. For all the rest the labels wouldn’t even bother procucing them as it would be silly money spent for a little (if not none) profit

[Doja Kitten]

29 minutes ago, Crazy4BRITNEY3.0 said:

I guess only huge artists who still manage to make bank from physical sales (eg TS) would release an old school compilation album these days. 

Honestly I’d love one from Rihanna with like three new tracks. It’s been like 8 damn years.  

[stanLOONA]

I read some articles a while ago and they blamed streaming, since everybody can do their own "greatest hits" with Playlists  Bummer because I love greatest hits tbh

One of my favorite girl groups did one years ago and one of the versions was each member favorite song from their discograhy... that can be a playlist but it's not the same. I think if they still release GH today that sparks their streaming numbers anyway while selling physical media, which can be super fun if they invest creativity 

[Isla]

I know people say it's because of streaming, but I do think they're convenient for people who just want to listen to the "greatest hits" from artists. The only thing rivalling compilations are the top hits playlists on Spotify for different artists.

It's a shame because there's so many artists who I can think of who could have put out a greatest hits album by now. 

Edited January 10 by Isla

[MissSpearsSaysSo]

The Weeknd came out with his collection a few years ago, and that had a physical release. People could still do them especially if they have exclusive content.