Thought this was timely after seeing all the chatter about the best albums vs. individual songs from 2010: Pink Floyd finally agrees to allow individual song downloads on iTunes.
Some quick background here: less than a year ago, the surviving band members won a pitched battle with their label, EMI, in which they sought to preserve the “artistic integrity” of their albums. Their argument: that an individual song couldn’t capture the overall artistic statement of the album. (As a Floyd fan, I applauded their stance: I frankly hate hearing them on the radio; you can always guarantee that “Time” will cut off before “The Great Gig in the Sky,” which was never supposed to be the case.)
But things apparently have changed. Perhaps the pressure of the Beatles caving into iTunes was too much.
Whatever the case, it’s too bad. There are plenty of bands (and not just in the prog-rock genre) whose work demands to be listened to in a 45-60 minute chunk, rather than 5-minute bursts.
