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A minimalistic, chalk-style artwork representing 'TikTok Music' @DALL·E
Releasing music in the form of albums was once so standard that its rationale was rarely questioned. However, I never considered why the album format became the norm. When I first learned about LPs (long play) and EPs (extended play), I was surprised to discover that our modern understanding of music formats is rooted in the technical limitations of the vinyl record era. Despite the decline of the traditional record industry, its influence continues to shape the now digitized music market.
As a native Chinese, I have a more intuitive understanding of the development of music in China. China never experienced the vinyl record era as a predominant medium for music, and there is no widely accepted term in Chinese that directly corresponds to LPs or EPs. For older generations, exposure to modern popular music came through the unique Chinese phenomenon of dakou (Chinese: 打口). This practice involved tapes and CDs containing western popular music that were deliberately damaged, labeled as waste, and then shipped to the Chinese market as discarded goods. As a millennial, my earliest musical experiences involved downloading MP3s from peer-to-peer sites, followed quickly by a transition to streaming services.
Eight examples of CDs that have an applicable use as a dakou @Wikipedia
The medium of popular music has evolved significantly over time, with each transformation occurring at an increasingly rapid pace. Every technological advancement has led to a reconfiguration of how music is disseminated and consumed. The concept of LPs and EPs, as originally defined by the vinyl format, was dictated by the maximum length of music that could be played in a single session. Physical recordings required precise calculations to fully utilize the available space on each side. To maintain public attention and standardize the duration of music played on radio programs, the length of songs gradually settled into the now customary 2 to 4-minute range. This shift also influenced the structural composition of popular music, making the division into intro, verse, chorus, and bridge more universally recognized.
The advent of tapes and CDs significantly increased the storage capacity of physical music records. Moreover, these formats introduced the possibility of tape and CD ripping, allowing listeners to extract and redistribute their favorite tracks. This marked the beginning of a shift in the music distribution chain, breaking down the traditional top-down, one-way flow from producer to consumer. The impact of this shift was further amplified by the rise of MP3s and the Internet. Peer-to-peer (p2p) music-sharing platforms, epitomized by Napster, embodied the early potential of the Internet to democratize access to knowledge and content. While setting aside moral or social judgments, it's clear that these platforms dealt a significant blow to the physical record-centered music industry, which struggled to keep pace with technological advancements.
Returning to the music itself, the removal of physical medium constraints made it possible for musicians to release singles independently, allowing them to achieve widespread fame with just one song. When China began to popularize the Internet at the turn of the century, a term emerged to describe this phenomenon: Internet singers. These were musicians who burst onto the scene with one or two songs that became wildly popular online. Their early works were often characterized by catchy, repetitive melodies that were easy to sing along with. While these songs enjoyed broad appeal, they were frequently dismissed by professional musicians and critics as vulgar or of low quality. Despite this, many of these tracks, particularly their choruses, became ubiquitous as color ringback tones.
Most Internet singers had brief moments of success, with one or two hit songs defining their careers. However, some of these initially dismissed artists have endured and gained recognition within the music industry over time. From the perspective of a casual listener simply seeking enjoyable popular music, whether an artist is ultimately recognized by the industry is of little concern. Today, the term Internet singer feels outdated, as virtually all musicians are now active online. The Internet has become as fundamental to daily life as water and electricity. Perhaps the most significant shift in how people understand music, influenced by this early Internet phenomenon, is the diminishing importance of album and tour ticket sales in measuring a musician’s success. Releasing an album is no longer seen as a necessary milestone in a musician’s career.