Share
Difference Between Album and Album Artist
Question
The term “album” has a very specific meaning in the music industry. It’s a collection of songs that are meant to be played together as one complete work, or side A and B on vinyl. An album artist is slightly different—an album artist is the person who owns the rights to that collection of songs.
Album
An album is a collection of songs. Typically, albums are released by an artist as a body of work or compilation. They can be released independently or through a record label, but they’re usually associated with one specific person or group.
Albums may also contain multiple artists’ songs if they collaborate on an album together. For example: “Songs About Jane” by Maroon 5 features guest vocals from Pharrell Williams and Rihanna; “Graceland” by Paul Simon features Ladysmith Black Mambazo; and “The Union,” which was released in 2007 after Stevie Wonder rejoined forces with his old bandmates in The Rascals (Eddie Brigati, Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish).
Album artist
The album artist is the person responsible for creating the music on an album. In most cases, this will be different from the performer (the person who sings or plays on the songs).
The album artist may not always be credited correctly in music databases like Gracenote and other services that use them; if you’re looking for information about an artist who performed on an album, but don’t see them listed as such in your search results, look at their discography page or other sources where they might have been credited as “musician” or something similar instead of as “performer.”
Takeaway:
- Album is a collection of songs.
- Album artist is the name of the artist who performed on the album, but not necessarily the name of the person who wrote the songs
The album and album artist fields are both important for your music collection, but they serve different purposes. The album field should be used to describe each individual piece of music that you upload to your library, while the album artist field should be used to identify the artist who created each album. If you want more information on how these fields work together in iTunes or Spotify, feel free to check out our guides on those platforms!
Answers ( 2 )
Difference Between Album and Album Artist
Have you ever wondered what separates an album artist from an album? If so, you’re not alone. In this article, we will explore the difference between album and album artist and why it matters. Simply put, an album is a collection of songs, while an artist is the person who created the album. So if you see a song on an album by Taylor Swift and it’s not listed as a track on her latest release, that means she didn’t write or sing it (though she may have featured on it). Now that you know the difference, be sure to use it when shopping for music. It can help you differentiate between artists and their albums, which is always helpful in narrowing down your choices.
What is an Album?
An album is a collection of audio recordings, usually on vinyl or CD, produced by an artist or musician. An album artist is the name given to the person or group of people who have created the album. Albums can contain one or more songs, and are usually published as a set of digital files on an online music service like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
An album artist can be any individual or group who has created an album. For example, Taylor Swift’s 1989 contains fourteen tracks written and recorded by Swift herself, but also features collaborations with producers like Jack Antonoff and Max Martin. Other well-known examples of artists who release albums under their own name but also work with other collaborators include The Beatles, Coldplay, and Beyoncé.
Differentiating between an album and an artist can be confusing because both terms are often used interchangeably. For example, if you listen to “1989” by Taylor Swift on Spotify, you’re listening to an album by Taylor Swift – even though the track list might not list all fourteen tracks that make up the full 1989 LP.
What is an Album Artist?
An album artist is the creator and performer of a recording, typically credited as the leader of a musical group or for their contributions as a songwriter. Whereas an album is a collection of music tracks, an album artist is credited for their contribution to the whole project, not just individual tracks.
How do Albums and Album Artists get paid?
There are a few ways an album or album artist can be paid. Generally speaking, the artist receives a percentage of the sale price, with a cap on how much they can receive depending on the type of agreement in place. In some cases, such as with iTunes pre-sales and CD pre-orders, the artist may also receive a lump sum up front. In other cases, such as with streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, the artist typically receives royalties based on how many times their music is played. Artists who have their own label generally receive a percentage of sales and/or royalties from all digital downloads counted towards that album’s total sales.
Conclusion
There is a big difference between album and album artist. Album is the name of the collection of songs on one physical medium, such as a CD or an LP record. An album artist is the creator or performer of the music on an album.
😃 Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an album and an album artist? 🤔
It’s a common question, especially in the digital age where music consumption and streaming are as popular as ever. To help you understand the distinction between the two, let’s take a closer look!
An album is a collection of songs that are generally released together as a single unit. Albums can contain anywhere from 3 to 15 songs, or even more depending on the artist. They are usually released in physical formats such as CDs, vinyls, or cassettes.
An album artist, on the other hand, is the artist who created the music. This can be a solo artist, a band, or a group of people. Album artists are credited for their work on the album and can have their name and/or logo featured on the cover of the album.
So, the main difference between an album and an album artist is that the former is a collection of songs, while the latter is the artist behind that collection of songs. 🤓
When it comes to digital streaming services, they too recognize the distinction between an album and an album artist. When you stream a particular album on a platform such as Spotify or Apple Music, you can often see the album artist listed alongside the album title. This ensures that you know who the original artist is and can be sure that your streaming is supporting that artist.
We hope this has helped you understand the difference between an album and an album artist! 🙌