The term album can be used in different ways. According to the DigoPaul in its dictionary, the first meaning of the concept refers to a kind of notebook whose sheets are blank to be completed according to the interests of its owner.
The album emerged as a book with blank sheets for the owner to collect notes or signatures from friends or family. At the end of a school year, in some regions it is common for students to exchange albums so that their classmates write a few lines for them. In this way, when receiving the album again, the subject can treasure as a memory the words of those who have studied with it.
Given the shyness or introversion of some people, having the opportunity to write a few words for their peers can be ideal to say those things that they have not found the opportunity to transmit in another way. In addition, an album of this type can become an object of great value in adulthood, and generate a lot of nostalgia when reviewing it and remembering the years of childhood or adolescence.
From this idea, the notion of album can be used to name the notebook where expressions, verses, drawings, etc. are collected. For example, a person may have the habit of describing the dreams of the night before in an album each morning, and then analyze them more lucidly and try to understand the messages they hide.
Albums are also the books or notebooks that serve to store different kinds of collections. It is possible to name the album of postage stamps (stamps), the album of stickers (also called figurines) and others.
A photo album is one for storing photos. From the rise of digital photography, albums became virtual, functioning as systems or applications on a computer.
Something similar happened with music albums. The first albums were the discs that were kept in a case. Later, all the physical music supports, such as compact discs, began to be called an album. Currently any album is known as an album, including digital ones.
In the field of music, the term album can be used as a synonym for «disco» or «CD», among others, and this largely depends on the culture of each Spanish-speaking country. In general, the concept refers to a collection of songs, whether or not unpublished, but almost all different; Complementary is the single (also known as the single), which can also be released in physical format and have more than one version, but revolves around the promotion of a single song.
Typically, singers release a single to anticipate the release of an album, so that their fans can quench the anxiety of new material and also to study the market response before embarking on a larger investment. Especially in the case of artists who have been in the industry for several decades, they do not always manage to maintain their success, and therefore they need to make ever greater efforts to maintain their relevance.
One of the most common types of music album to reinforce the presence of a singer in the market is the compilation of great hits, something that many companies abuse for lack of new songs or to take advantage of the immense fame of certain artists. There are also Christmas-themed albums, which only a few create responsibly and creatively, while most use them as a resource to make easy money.
