Every pop music enthusiast looks with melancholy at the music shelf where albums of favorite artists, gathered with care in the good old days, sit aligned in a precise order. The days in which you anxiously waited for a particular album to be released so you can get it are long gone, or are they? Something extremely interesting happens in the music industry, when it comes to the release of albums. It seems like artists don’t bother to work that much anymore, or is it something else in the middle of these things? The pop album may not be what it once was, but it may not be dead either.

Together with the development of the digital era and audio streaming services, the presence of pop albums didn’t seem to be necessary anymore. Today, you don’t have to wait for a whole year to enjoy brand new song of your favorite artist, because you can find newly released songs throughout the year, on websites like YouTube or Spotify. You can even create online a personalized playlist, where you can save all the songs you like to hear, having limitless space to do so. And, these programs are so smart that they can also guess what you may like, without you even looking for the song, making suggestions and helping you constantly expand and enrich your playlist. With so many features available, why should artists work so hard on releasing albums, when they can simply put a song out in a matter of minutes?

Also, <a href="http://blog.thirdbridgecreative.com/2016/07/the-long-play/" target="_blank">some even advised</a> our pop stars to stop releasing any kind of album at all, because they will use the time to be creative and release songs in the digital world alone. Still, there are a few artists, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, who remained loyal to the methodology of releasing singles. But, something emerged and proved wrong the idea that albums are not appreciated or important in the evolution of an artist. A number of consecrated artists released albums that were extremely well-prepared, statement albums as they may be called, which also have the possibility of being distributed with the help of digital technology. Beyonce, Drake, Rihanna, and Kanye, are just a few names that are worth being mentioned on this list. Of course, they still release singles as well, but they also invest time and effort into creating consistent work, which represents them in the best way possible, gathering it on an album.

All these artists managed to show that the pop album is not only appreciated, but also very much alive and still kicking strong. No one managed to predict such a thing, considering that technology will change everything. But, even if things did change, something that was of great important in the music industry managed to survive, finding a way to adapt to the term rules of the game. Of course, all of this happened because our artists wanted it, working hard to deliver work that is appreciated both by fans and critics as well.