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 is happening in the music industry regarding when it comes to the release of albums.  The pop album may not be what it once was, but it may not be dead either.

With the development of the digital era and audio streaming services, pop albums became an endangered species.

Today you don’t have to wait for a whole year to enjoy a new song from your favorite artist, because you can find newly released material throughout the year on websites like YouTube and Spotify.

You can create online personalized playlists, where you can save your faves songs, and have limitless hard drive space to do so. These programs are trying to be smart, anticipating what they think you may like, and making suggestions to help you expand and enrich your playlist. With so many features now available on streaming websites, why should artists work so hard on releasing albums, when they can simply put a song out in a matter of minutes?

<a href="http://blog.thirdbridgecreative.com/2016/07/the-long-play/" target="_blank">Some music execs even advise</a> that pop stars stop releasing any kind of album at all––because they could use the extra time to be creative. And then release their music solely in the digital domain. There are a handful of artists, like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, who remain loyal to the more traditional methodology of releasing singles along with albums.

However, something has emerged, that proves that albums are still appreciated and important in the evolution of an artist.

A number of established artists have released albums that were extremely well-prepared, ("statement albums" as they may be called) which also have the possibility of being distributed with the aid 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, and presenting it album format.

These artists have managed to show that the pop album is not only appreciated, but also very much alive and still kicking.

Few predicted such an emergence would happen, believing that the newer technology will change everything.

Yes, a lot of things did change. But an artifact that was of great importance in the music industry has managed to survive, finding ways to adapt to the rules of the New Game.

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