[ALBUM] AL8 Speculation Thread

I know this might be an unpopular opinion, especially among fans who feel that the more material an artist releases, the better. But I’m not really on board with the trend of packing a ton of songs into a single album. Of course, I know that it’s part of the music market now, as more songs mean more streaming opportunities. But long albums often end up feeling bloated and weaker overtime... As a Taylor fan, I have to admit that her latest album, in my opinion, missed the mark. There are definitely several tracks from TTPD that I love individually, but as a cohesive body of work, to me it felt disjointed, confusing, and exhausting to get through.

For me, a solid 12 songs are plenty enough for an album. Then, if an artist wants to release more, they could add a deluxe or super deluxe edition, name it as a double album, and call it a day. This way, the original album can stand on its own as a strong piece of work, and any extra songs or deluxe versions are just a bonus for the fans.

It's a better move for the artist's image as they keep the image of someone who can put out a cohesive work, and casual listeners don’t feel overloaded.

I feel like Avril cuts too many songs, and often the wrong ones. We’ve had a few albums from her where the leaked tracks are better than a good chunk of the ones she included. Just include a few extra!

Meanwhile there’s definitely some artists that could do with cutting down a bit more. Taylor could easily have cut a load of The Anthology tracks. Morgan Wallen could’ve cut quite a few songs from his most recent album too and had a more solid piece of work. Theres definitely a middle ground to be found.

Song probably meant more to her. Especially while making that album, she kept saying she didn’t give a shit about popular music trends

I think it’s more because she probably didn’t have much hand in writing those. And I don’t think she wanted the entire album to be dark/songs about Lyme, she specifically mentioned wanting some fun love songs again.

I can see why she is adamant about having writing credits though. She gets more royalties if she is a writer and not just the performer. She also gets the publishing rights I believe which means she gets a say in what happens to the song in other capacities, like if it can be licensed in TV or film projects, other artists can cover it or rework it like that Boyfriend song, etc. Not to mention she has always branded herself as an artist who writes her songs. It would sort of ruin that image. It’d be like if Taylor recorded a song she didn’t write, it’s just not what her brand is.

There are a few exceptions though. IFILWTD and BOAH were self written and they're amongst the best from her imo. I believe NH too!?

I think TTPD is a masterpiece, not on the first or second listen, its a grower, but anyway.... Its a Taylor thing, I would never ever expect that from avril, shes a 12 song record every 3-4 years type of artist and thats perfectly fine. Its okay to keep it good and simple, not everyone has to go extreme now only because Taylor does. Avrils great at what she does and how she does it and if a banger leaks I'll be happy. But give us AL8, Avril, GH Era doesnt count! 😅😁