FEATURE:
Don’t Call It a Comeback!
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The Media’s Overuse of the Word ‘Return’ – and Whether It Reflects Our Need for Constant Engagement
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THIS might seem like an odd feature idea…
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but I can’t help noticing that, whenever an artist releases a new track or album after a short time away, it is called a ‘return’. It may seem like a minor point but, as there is no timeline or rule on how often an artist needs to release music, the word does seem quite pressuring. Like they have been in the wilderness for years and are now back after all of this time. Sure, if someone like Tom Waits released a new single, that might be seen as a return. His album, Bad As Me, came out in 2011. Even so, he has not retired or gone missing in action. Although it does get applied to some artists who have not made music in a few years, you see it all the time in articles relating to a new single from someone who released material a few months before. It doesn’t help that artists like Paul Weller are calling out young musicians who leave gaps between albums! I remember, when Sampha announced news of Lahai, it was seen as a big return. Even if Process, his Mercury-winning debut, was released in 2017, he had not retired or was suggesting he’d be gone. This feeling that he has come back to us after such a long time! Even artists who leave a few months between singles are said to ‘return’. I know what the music media means. They are saying they are back with new material. That is what a music career is. As I said, there is no ruling how often artists should be releasing material, so there is that oddness to saying they have ‘returned’. It can be ridiculous in some cases; maybe someone who released as recently as two or three months ago puts another single out. Suddenly, it is this ‘return’! It sort of makes me wonder whether, in a streaming age where you can get access to music all the time, there is a feeling that artists need to keep producing or fear being irrelevant or passed over!
It bothers me a bit, as I would encourage artists to take as much time as they need. This excitement and anticipation when they release a single or album then leads to people listening and adding to that praise. Do artists feel they need to keep busy and put out music right away?! Fine if that is really what they want to do. I still think music is an industry where there is an unspoken expectation of prolific-ness and productivity. If you dare to take a year between albums or even take six months to follow up one single with another, articles will then keep talking about you returning to the fold. The insulation that it has been a while and, don’t sweat, they are now back! It does seem quite absurd. Rather than this being their musical comeback, the artist is simple conducting their career on their own term. I wonder if this applies to any other industry. Where there is this relief almost when an artist releases music and we sort of assumed they had faded away. Maybe I am reading too much into it, yet so many music news articles relating to new material has that word ‘return(s)’ in it. Such an odd choice. I am not going to highlight or out one website that does it more than others. It is a word I have seen applied to so many. I guess, factually and in terms of the definition, a new song after a little time is a ‘return’. I often wonder what affect that has on an artist if they read it. I don’t think I am bringing up anything new or revelatory. There has on been pressure on artists to put music out as often as possible.
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I wonder whether this can overwork them. Coupled with tour demands and the pressure to keep up with competition and stay in the public eye can lead to mental health challenges and burn out. Maybe social media is a factor in this need for new stuff all the time. Perhaps artists feeling like the streaming age does not pay them enough. That they can earn a living if they keeping pumping out albums, tour them and then repeat. In 2019, The Guardian asked why Pop especially was so demanding and productivity-driven:
“For many artists who release independently, whether they are rappers dropping mixtapes or punks with tape labels, fast-and-furious releases are nothing new. But even major-label pop stars are at it. Ariana Grande released her album Thank U, Next just six months after her previous LP, Sweetener; within two months, she had moved on again, releasing the non-album single Monopoly, later followed by Boyfriend, and is now at No 1 with Don’t Call Me Angel, a collaboration with Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey. This month, before listeners had barely had a chance to hear all of Del Rey’s new album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, she announced that her next record, White Hot Forever, will arrive as a surprise release within the next year.
The studio album was once the industry’s most valued commodity. Back in 2000, the US music industry earned 92.3% of its revenue from the sale of CD albums. It was the peak of the format’s power since its introduction by Columbia Records in 1948. Leaving behind the singles-focused culture spearheaded in the 50s by A&Rs such as Phil Spector, the album hit new levels of commercial and cultural significance in the 60s with the Beatles. Initially, albums were released at the same breakneck pace as singles had been in the 50s, but by the 70s, the rate had slowed as the album became the most revered form of musical expression. “Judgments were simpler in pop’s early days, partly because rock’n’roll was designed to be consumed in three-minute take-it-or-leave-it segments,” wrote famed critic Robert Christgau in Christgau’s Record Guide in 1981. “The rise of the LP as a form – as an artistic entity – has complicated how we perceive and remember what was once the most evanescent of the arts.”
But today, the pace has “completely returned to a hit-driven model,” says Jamie Oborne, manager of the 1975 and head of their label, Dirty Hit Records. “We’ve returned to the days of the 50s or 60s, where people are just smashing out singles in the hope that one sticks. There is a lot of output that is just about building consumption”.
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There is so much competition and saturation now. A minefield or factors to consider when you come into the industry. The challenges that artists face. I think there has always been the pressure to release material so that there is no drop in popularity and visibility. This push and expectation to get caught in this cycle can have devastating consequences. This article from 2018 asked if there is too much pressure on artists. With the rise of TikTok and social media, coupled to the sheer mass of artists and options out there, this has only intensified:
“Artists have an enormous amount of pressure on them from having to look good and act well at all times, to making and putting out music at a frequent rate, to touring around the world. There are many cases of artists who suffer from depression and anxiety as well as others having drug addictions which lead to suicide. These may have nothing to do with the music industry and to do with the individuals mental state, but the stresses that the industry has on its stars, definitely doesn’t help. Artists who have admitted to have suffered from mental health issues include, Adele, Demi Lovato, Zayn Malik, Selena Gomez, Kanye West, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Sia, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears.
Speaking to NME about his Purpose tour, Bieber said, “You get lonely, you know, when you’re on the road. People see the glam and the amazing stuff, but they don’t know the other side. This life can rip you apart.” As well as this Zayn Malik, who had to pull out of the Capitol Summertime Ball, said “With the magnitude of the event, I have suffered the worst anxiety of my career. I cannot apologise enough, but I want to be honest with everyone.” “I have anxiety attacks, constant panicking on stage, my heart feels like it’s going to explode because I never feel like I’m going to deliver, ever,” Adele told Q magazine. With Bieber, Malik and Adele all stating that the pressures can be too much, along with many other artists, it shows that the industry should be more aware of how their stars are being treated and should take that into consideration. With drugs and suicide also being prominent in the music industry, we have seen stars like Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Kurt Cobain, Michael Hutchence and most recently Avicci take their own lives. This may be the cause of their own mental health bu the music industry would not have helped them if we take the statements from Bieber, Malik and Adele into account”.
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The faster an artist works to put out material, the lower the quality. There cannot be that same satisfaction and completeness. Of course, I used a single word the media overuse as a jumping off point. It is not their fault that there seems to be expectations of frequent releases from our artists. It just seems to be the end of the cycle. Almost a sigh of relief that, even if they leave a few months between songs, an artist is back and it is this big thing. In actuality, they there is nothing special or anything that requires such a word! The media are just doing their job. They know that the music industry wants this churn. Artists feel pressured to push hard so that they can keep up. I am not sure what the answer is. This recent article discusses social media’s role when it comes to the heat some artists feel to fulfil a huge demand. In the modern time, how many new artists especially can leave a few years between albums? What if you only want to release a few singles a year? Is that enough?! I think we all need to stop expecting so much from artists. But are we simply conditioned to do that?! How do you resolve this?! Maybe something we are going to be asking years from now:
“Another point to the downside of this expectation is simply the question of the quality of work. Putting together and crafting an album to be able to release a collection of songs is a ton of work and even then, it may not be well received. But albums that end up being award winning or even fan favorites take time and effort, so who are we to rush that? I think that a perfect example of quality work taking time is Adele. Adele is known for putting out incredible albums, maybe doing a tour, and then disappearing for a few years.
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No one is really expecting her to put out a single every few months, or even put out a yearly album. However, many artists, especially up and coming, don’t have the privilege of being as established as someone like Adele where they don’t have to make efforts to stay relevant. So for these up and coming artists, it seems that their only hope at success in their music is to just consistently put out music and hope fans are still liking it, which most likely leads to a severe case of burnout before they really even get started in their career. Plus, as these newer artists work to put out music often, they are probably put in a position to not spend as much time on each individual song in order to really craft a masterpiece, which then leads to a lower chance of them gaining newer fans due to the decreased quality of their work. Even though I am not an artist myself, just thinking of that scenario makes me stressed out and overwhelmed”.
I do worry! It is funny that an artist can be seen by the music media as returning to us even though they simply have not released material for a little while. It calls into question a bigger issue that has blighted the industry for years. Perhaps to the point where we cannot return. The mental health pressure artists have to stay afloat and seen is immense. No wonder so many feel reluctant taking time to craft music and spending some time out. This year, there needs to be more awareness of the pressures and slavish demands. Fans being more patient perhaps. Tackling streaming sites so artists are paid more. Tiny steps will lead to a big change soon enough. It would be magnificence if artists could take as long as they need to release material. The media could say the artists has ‘shared a new track’ or they have ‘put out a new song’. Just don’t call it a ‘return’. It is simply a continuation…
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AND not a comeback!