Album = Record? (1 Viewer)

[jeff peterson]

I always hear people refer to a record as an album and a CD as a CD. In fact, they have corrected me when I call a CD an album saying an album refers to the old LPs. IMO, an album is a collection of songs, whether on CD, vinyl, cassette, 8 track, or reel to reel.

Agree? Disagree? Discuss.

 

[Don Giro]

I tend to call cds "albums" for the same reason, but I will refer to one as "the new (insert artist title here) CD" when I'm in conversation with a younger person who has no idea what an "album" is.

Latley, I've noticed that I just refer to the name of the artist without mentioning the format: "I just bought the new Marillion." I think people generally know I'm referring to a CD."

 

[Bren_Chris]

I've always thought "album" = "collection of music, regardless of format." I actually use "album" and "record" fairly interchangeably - I do some music writing, and even "LP" is fun to throw in where applicable. But the phrase "so and so's new CD" doesn't hit my ears right. The semantic emphasis is on the product and not the music. But perhaps it is befitting our current music culture.

 

[Angelo.M]

(...or a collection of 1's and 0's in a bunch of files...)

Agree. They'll always be "albums" to me.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I use all three interchangeably. It's assumed today that when someone buys music, it is a CD, anyway.

 

[Erik.Ha]

Hmmm... I thought an "album" was a collection of Photos...

 

[chung_sotheby]

My classification of music media and formats is as such:

Album - A collection of songs (usually over 45 minutes)on a form of media. The form of media can be CD, Vinyl, Tape, MD, SACD, etc. I believe that albums were first called "Albums" because they collected songs together in much the same way that Photo Albums collected pictures together. At least that is how I like to think of them. Example: Speakerboxx/Love Below, Turn on the Bright Lights, etc

LP - An album that is on Vinyl, usually longer thatn 40mins. Example: MFSL pressing of Abbey Rd on 180g, First pressing of Pet Sounds, etc.

EP - A collection of songs, shorter than an album (less than 40 min) on any type of media. Doesn't have to be on Vinyl. Example: Dave Matthews-Recently, Interpol-Black EP, Yeah Yeah Yeahs-Machine, The Beatles-Yesterday

Vinyl/Record - A song or collection of songs on Vinyl. Can be an EP, and Album, or a single (12").

 

[Jack Briggs]

As far as the word "record" is concerned, any recorded presentation, regardless of medium (vinyl, tape, optical disc), is a "record."

 

[Michael Pineo]

This is what dictionary.com says:

1. A book with blank pages for the insertion and preservation of collections, as of stamps, photographs, or autographs.

2. A set of musical recordings stored together in jackets under one binding.
The holder for such recordings.
One or more 12-inch long-playing records in a slipcase.
A phonograph record.
A recording of different musical pieces.
3. A printed collection of musical compositions, pictures, or literary selections.
4. A tall, handsomely printed book, popular especially in the 19th century, often having profuse illustrations and short, sentimental texts.

So, apparently it can mean either one.

 

[Danny Tse]

To me, an "album" is a collection of songs released under one single title. It should run at least over 30 minutes long.

A CD is merely the medium on which the "album" is using for distributing. The "album" can be on a cassette, MD, SACD, DVD-A/V, 8-track, vinyl record, etc.

A "record", to me, is vinyl records. Be it a 45 single, LP, EP, etc.

However, the Grammys has its own definition for "record", as in "Record of the Year"....a single song. It has a separate award for "Album of the Year", which goes to a collection of music under one title.

 

[EricSchulz]

I believe that several of the answers are close: Many artists released collections of 78's (which holds less music than a 33 1/3rpm) in a book of sleeved pages, similar to a photo album, and the term "album" was applied. As the record companies switched to the 33 1/3rpm format (the LP or "Long-player") many still released collections in the sleeved books. Whether the record was a single disc or a collection, the term "album" was used. If anyone wants to, come over and see my Dad's collection of music from the thirties and forties...

 

[John Milton]

Billboard has an albums chart that clearly is referring to CDs. That's good enough for me.

 

[Will_B]

The word "album" has to come into play more now because people need to be able to say "I got the latest album on CD" or "I got the latest album on mp3" or "I got the latest album on sacd" or whatever. It's a nice word, I like it. I approve. Continue about your business.


They are SO not a billboard, they're a magazine. Or a newspaper sized magazine. But certainly not a billboard.

 

[Sam Favate]

I call CDs "albums" and "records" but I am in the minority. Where I will say "Hey, I got the new Dylan album, you should check it out," most of my friends will say "Have you heard the new CD by Outkast?"

I agree that album/record refers to a collection of songs, whether on CD, vinyl, cassette, whatever. To many however, it seems album/record refers to vinyl.