Slashdot Mirror
The Failed Experiment of the Digital Album Booklet (theoutline.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Before the ubiquity of MP3s and streaming platforms, one of the many small joys of buying a new album on CD was slipping the booklet out of the jewel case and reading the liner notes, credits, and lyrics while the music played for the first time. These days, the biographical information, album production notes, promotional photos, and printed lyrics that fans once relied on physical literature for have found homes in other areas online. Artist websites, social media accounts, and sites like Genius and WhoSampled offer a patchwork of album information, like credits and clues to what happened behind the scenes. But those details rarely exist in one place, and production and songwriting credits seem less and less important. Meanwhile, the form that was intended to replace the traditional booklet, the digital booklet, remains a rarity when it comes to new releases. The idea of digital album booklets may appeal to only the nerdiest of music fans, for whom having everything in one place is a ritualistic way to listen to music and for whom album credits are crucial. But in an age where branding is often as important as skill, the lack of digital booklets feels like a wasted opportunity for artists wanting to communicate directly to fans without a social network as a middleman.
Agree completely. Not everyone cared, but for your favorite albums or favorite band or even an unusual track you might want to know something more about -- the CD booklet, preceded by the LP jacket (sometimes with accompanying booklet) was often really informative. (Oh, and those tiny print things on cassettes too... I don't miss those.)
Like DVD extras that gave fans insight beyond the movie, "liner notes" are going the way of the Dodo. I have a friend who has been trying to write on recently released music, and the basic info you'd often get in liner notes is often hard to come by, if they exist at all.