Why is it taking bands longer and longer to release albums?

[Cool Chris]

I know the market is different than it was even just a few years ago, and that now the real revenue is in touring and not studio releases. But it seems like some bands who could, and should, be bigger (Within Temptation*, Nightwish, Tool, Circus Maximus, Symphony X) are not realizing their potential by releasing an album every 4-5 years.

Of course bigger bands like Maiden and Rush could do nothing for a decade, then release an album out of the blue, because for them the die-hard fan base is established. But reaching that point in your career only comes through years and years of busting ass and earning that reputation. If you are a band like the ones I mentioned above, you can end up just looking lazy.

Is it really a result of the financial landscape within the music industry? Is studio space too expensive? And if it is, why not cut back on time spent in the studio? Albums used to be recorded in weeks, now it takes months and months. Nightwish has supposedly been ‘working on’ a new album since late 2009, and now we find out it won’t be released until 2012??


* I know Sharon has kids, so I’ll cut WT some slack.

[ClairvoyantCat]

I would blame the more unbalanced label revenue of the recent years.  Many of the bands, especially ones like those that you mentioned, make most of their money touring, because the label eats up such a large portion of the money that they should be making from it.  I still don't understand where labels get off thinking they deserve 87% in revenue over a digital download, where they hardly had to pt any money into it's release themselves. 

[SoundscapeMN]

But it seems like some bands who could, and should, be bigger (Tool, ) are not realizing their potential by releasing an album every 4-5 years.

how much bigger should they get? lol. they don't release new albums every couple of years anymore, because they don't need to from a financial standpoint. They earn their living on tour. You can say the same for a band like Muse.

I would guess much of the issues with not releasing new albums so often has to do with time/schedule. Most of the successful bands end up touring a lot, or are so successful, they can do other things without being designated to spending all their time professionally to their A-job.

But for many artists, the issue isn't cost of studio time, as many are able to DIY now with in-home studios. The biggest factor is being able to RELEASE it. Getting a label to put it out. Labels are suffering, so they aren't going to agree to perhaps what they might have a few years back. And bands often don't desire to release albums on their own. But I imagine a lot of bands end up talking-to and turning down many label offers that would be a horrible compromise.

[jsem]

Rus Allen also has kids (if I'm correct).

Still not an excuse. For any of them.

[HarlequinForest]

I don't know, but I have been waiting for a band signed to Earchache (Anata) to release their album for about 3 years.  They have had it recorded and ready for release for about one year, but their label won't allow them to release it yet, for some reason.

I've been waiting for a new Necrophagist album for years, too.  Epitaph came out in 2004.  7 years is freaking ridiculous for a band that is supposedly "active".

[Zantera]

I might be way wrong, but in the case with Tool, I'm really wondering how creative they are.
Sure I consider both Lateralus and 10k Days to be very good albums, but it's like they struggled to make them, not like Porcupine Tree (just to name one example) where there's awesome songs being over from every album, resulting in EP's and B-sides and such.
Tool on the other hand feels very lazy, they do just about enough to make an album, and then they cba to do more. 

[Sigz]

I love how people complain about Tool while I've been waiting for a new Circle Take the Square album for seven years.

[Neon]

On the flip side, there's people like me who stopped paying attention to new albums.  A typical music related discussion tends to go like this for me these days:

Friend:  "Yo I can't wait for ABC Band's new album to come out."
Me:  "ABC Band has a new album coming out already?  Didn't they just put out the XYZ album?"
Friend:  "Kath, XYZ album came out three years ago."
Me:  "Has it been that long already?  Fuck!"

[aparadoxindeed]

I definitely agree with some of the points here about label financing.  One thing I'd like to throw out there though is that Symphony X and Tool are two bands that you could put under the perfectionist categories.  I remember Russell Allen talking about this when he was releasing his solo album.  He was really happy to get away from the perfectionism of Symphony X for a while.  Obviously, this doesn't explain all bands who take a while to record and release new albums.  Maybe this is more a factor for proggy bands that are expected to have impeccable playing and production?  Either way, both bands are awesome.

[Zook]

If Michael Romeo is such a perfectionist, how'd he miss that loud pop in Domination?

[aparadoxindeed]

  They've definitely had production issues at times though.  Perfectionism is more of mindset that someone has when they work on something.  It doesn't necessarily mean that perfection will be reached.  Meaning that Symphony spent that much time on Paradise Lost and it still wasn't perfect!  It's still their best one IMO, so it's all good!

[Nick]

Very simple, there's no money in albums anymore. Everyone wants to create art, but the simple fact is that without proper financial backing it's not going to flourish.

Even bands that have more money than god that could record anytime they want are generally bigger bands who either are old and happy to sit at home or young and happy to tour and get way more money than they would for an album.

[pain of occupation]

and there's a band like beardfish that, essentially, be releasing an album every year. perhaps they could benefit from an increase in popularity by spending less time in the studio and more time on the road. i'm not gonna complain bout their abundance of "art" though. this latest 20 month lapse between releases was causing withdrawals.

also sounds like my guys (and gal) in Orbs are gonna release their sophomore album within a year of their awe-inspiring debut.

[Gorille85]

I can't wait to see how Unexpect (independant) are planning to release their new album. Like, how long will it take, etc.

[pain of occupation]

we're expecting that unexpecT quite sooner than later, aren't we?

[Gorille85]

we're expecting that unexpecT quite sooner than later, aren't we?

Indeed. The release date should be revealed in the near future.

[zerogravityfat]

i'd say the pressure from the label to tour the entire world and spend a whole year in the road. then they have to go back home and have to deliver a new record. there is no room for creative inspiration so they have to probably negotiate long periods between albums to ensure they have time to themselves, and to write new stuff.

[Ravenheart]

How much of the touring revenue goes to the record label? I could be off-spot about this, but I believe record labels sometimes help promote and fund a band's tour, so I would imagine they get a slice of that pie as well, unless it's exclusive to everyone physically involved in the touring aspect. Then a part of that money also has to go to the roadies and the owners of whatever venue they're performing at. Whatever is left over goes to the band.