Identify the Song Order While Recording an Album

A great album will make more of an impact than releasing a single song. Remember how the world reacted to Eminem's Revival release in 2017? A famous rapper showed up after a long break and delivered a mind-blowing album of songs with a political background, racism problems, and other problems that corrupt modern society. There are 19 tracks in total, and each of them represents a specific topic. Moreover, all songs are released in a specific order, and this is the main topic of today's article. For famous artists like Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and others, the order of songs for your album may not matter. Still, if you only start your path as a musician, choosing the song order is essential. For some individuals, it's more of an emotional decision, as they give it all to creating this music. Moreover, they want people listening to an album to have a good experience, so it's up to them to deliver this experience. Track order matters, and in this article we'll tell you more about this.

After finishing the editing part and ensuring the album looks good, it’s released to the public, launching the mixing part. It’s needed to make the balance and blend all the elements, adjusting volume, and adding special effects to achieve the needed quality. Next comes the stage of mastering, where the sound is finalized, ensuring the sound quality is consistent across the platforms, adapting the album for every platform it will be released at. After that comes the stage of artwork and packaging because the visual appearance of the album matters as well. The final stages are release and promotion, as you share your album on all available platforms, making more listeners hear it. Post-release feedback is also important, as you will know your gaps and find ways to close them.

Key points to take when recording an album. In our article, we will focus on song selection and related aspects.

Album or EP? Decide What You Record

Before talking about sequencing, it's essential to understand what type of mix you create. Generally, there are two major types of mixes: a full-length album and a shorter version called EP (extended play). The main difference is the number of tracks and the total running time. For EP, it's usually around 30 minutes long and has from four to six tracks. Every mix that lasts longer than 30 minutes and has six or more tracks from a single artist counts as an album. 

Besides these two terms, we should also mention single. It's also a form of release that contains from 1 to 3 songs. Usually, all songwriting compositions represent one track with different perspectives. Also, all these tracks combined can't be longer than 30 minutes. Usually, a single is a part of an album or an extended play, so whether you release music in this format, you can add it to the album later. Moreover, digital platforms like Apple Music and Spotify automatically identify the type of music you release. If you release an album on Apple Music, you can add an appropriate tag for a better experience (the same goes for singles). 

Creating Sequence for an Album: Song Selection

Now, to the main questions: how do pick songs for the album? Sometimes, creating a valuable album sequence can be complicated, especially because people can't evaluate themselves objectively or they have too many options to choose from. The first step to take at this point is to create a shortlist of your favorite tracks. For example, if you have 50 songs in total, cut this number down to 20 and pick songs for an album from this number. Share it with people you trust and ask them to evaluate every song. With an independent opinion, it`ll be much easier to make decisions and decide which songs will appear in the final version of your album.

What Matters When Making the Final Choice?

Diversity comes first. Tempo, balance of slow and dynamic moments, as well as the overall song length, matter when building a track sequence. If an artist wants the album to correspond to a specific mood, so be it. Still, in most cases, musicians choose an album format with different tracks, so they will keep people interested. After hearing the first track, users would likely switch to the next one to find out how good it is. 

Why does the diversity matter? The more unique tracks are in your compilations, the better it is for the overall engagement. People stream your songs, add reactions, or even save them, triggering the algorithm. The higher activity you have on your content, the better, as the songs may appear in various compilations on the platform (for example, Release Radar or Discover Weekly on Spotify, or similar compilations on other platforms). If you have doubts about the song selection, take a break and take a step back. Analyze the feedback and discuss it with your producer. Did you enjoy the recording process? What's your personal opinion on the music you choose for the album? Sometimes, it makes sense to delay your final decision, as your tracks should not only make the first impression but also attract users to make them listen to the whole sequence.

Learn From Your First Experience

Artists are afraid to make decisions because they think their songs won't perform well and the music won't kickstart. Still, what if you change your opinion about the first experience and take advantage of it? Once you see how the whole record of your album performs, what stats it gets, and how people react on social media, you'll identify the negative aspects and eliminate them before the next release. If you release your albums on streaming services, you'll get complete stats about each track.

If your music didn't get enough engagement, it makes sense to invest in album promotion. By purchasing real Apple Music plays from Artist Push, you receive organic engagement, as the tracks will be presented to listeners interested in your music. Those who enjoy your tracks will leave impressions, triggering the algorithm and giving your tracks a better position in the overall rating. 

In case you choose Apple Music as a main platform for music promotion, it will be good to know how to increase the stream count on the platform. This article uncovers key aspects and shows what you can do to improve your stats.