Minimum CD Length....

[Bass Master "K"]

Not sure if this is the best forum for this question, but it seems to fit the theme the closest.

Has anyone noticed that CD's seem to be getting shorter and shorter in length? I haven't pulled out my whole collection and looked at their play times one by one, but it seems to me that 45 minutes is a pretty average length for an album, maybe even a bit on the light side. 40 minutes and I'm feeling a bit ripped off and to tell the truth I can't remember the last time I put in an album and it was that short.

Well, for my birthday I got the new Linkin Park. Was totally digging it while I was doing some work and the next thing I knew it was over. I thought "wow...time really flew while I was listening". I went to hit replay and saw the total time on my CD player:

36 minutes.

Yep that's right 36 freaking minutes. Then I started to pay more attention to some recent CD's I had out. Hoobastank came in at 39 minutes. Craving Theo (a local band who got signed last year) 38 minutes.

Tool can put out 70 minutes, almost double these albums.

Has anyone else noticed this? What's the deal? Is it studios trying to cut down on studio time to save money? Bands not having enough good material by the time they are supposed to be in the studio?

I think it's a bit rediculous. I'm one of the type who buys all my CD's. The only burned CD I have in my whole collection is one I bought and lost (or got borrowed and not returned by a friend) and so I felt comfortable burning it from my friend ("hey......isn't that my CD bro??" friend: "uhhh...nope, it's mine" me: "hmmmmmmm") since I had purchased it legally (still miss the liner notes and artwork ) Anyhow, I feel a bit ripped off when the discs are under 40 minutes....anyone else? DO you think there should be a minimum length for a "full length album"?

 

[TexRoadkill]

Albums used to be limited to 30minutes? Or was it 45? I can't remember but vinyl and casette were only so long. If you figure 10 songs at 3minutes each that's still only 30 minutes.

I think a lot of the song length apsect is because most new bands don't really arrange or write that well. They just come up with a few hooks and slap together the typical verse, chorus, bridge and maybe a solo and call it a song. In the old days you had bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin and many others who weren't afraid to take risks and put out longer songs with lots of solos. Why anyone would want to listen to a 5-7 minute Linkin Park song is beyond me

 

[moskus]

Albums used to be limited to 30minutes? Or was it 45?

I think it was around 45 minutes.

And I would rather have 45 minutes of good music, than 74 minutes of average music.

 

[willovercome]

i think around 45 mintues is usually good. too much and some people get bored, even with the best music. i'm working on a project right now, and i'm trying to cut it down to 45 minutes. this way the bad songs get weeded out first, and the mediocre songs second, and you're left with the cream of the crop. i can't stand liken park, but if you like them, they got rid of all the crap and keep the most amazing 36 minutes they had. i think that's the way to go...then you're always going to be going back for more.