Hi Guys,
Thanks for the invaluable feedback on the ‘less is more’ topic.
It’s very interesting indeed, as most of you seem to be swaying towards the ‘six-track’ concept.
One further point that I forgot to mention was that a six-track album would of course be sold at a relative price thus making music more affordable which I personally support. Also, as some of you have clearly understood, it might help to think of it more in terms of higher quality music more frequently. You could end up with two albums a year…six tracks every six months. Now I’m not promising this of course but what I am saying is that it becomes somewhat easier to be more frequent with ones output whilst focusing on a lesser number of songs.
So you see, you could end up with more new and exciting music over a shorter period of time. It’s no secret that I have a tendency to take my time when it comes to making records.
All in all, I feel that the industry is changing and that artist will have to adjust. My agenda now is the same as it’s always been, to connect emotionally with my fans and provide you with the best that I have to offer.
Please keep posting your comments, as they’re really helpful.
Love, Peace and the family,
S.
If you were to ask my son Dean ..he would NOT be happy with only 6 songs…baahaaaaa!!
Do what you need to do…We will listen to anything and everything.
ps-Dean has made you THREE birthday cards…how can I get them to you?
Laura and Dean
its a great idea!!perhaps your on to something ..!with your music to me personally you have no “fillers ” those are little gems as well as the hits ! its true what you stated about the price point .. it whould work for your marketing!and because you are so informed about the web and downloading ..this might show the masses of other performers The Future..of CD..! i remeber listening top to bottom ..albums in the 80s..that experience..is LONG GONE…i know for “our generation” it might not be ,but for the kids now its i tunes or bust! so this is a brillant solution for you! and ..for your listeners…!as far as the quality verses quainity i dont think you ever have anything to worry about ….!!you bring us 80s kids back to that wanting to absorb everthing era…and its a tribute to your perfection!!love and hope what i wrote made sense..Marci
ok i give in i would accept 6 tracks every 6 months if humanly possible…? but would these only be down loadable or on a cd?? thanks luv sue xx
All I can say is “Swoosh”!
I think that people who are really into a singer will buy the whole CD not just download a few songs. I pretty well tell off a CD which one will be a hit to the masses and which I personally like just because I like the artist..So I believea 12 trackwill still have a market. Songs I download on the ipod are usually from artists I dont really know well.. .. May I suggest Seal that you at some point make an album of songs that are well known that you have resung and put your touch on it.. Like..”Walk On By.. It was great.!!. This way you could get an album out without having to have the pressure of writing it and your fans dont have to wait 3 or 4 years.. In the interim you can put out what you think is really good individually on Itunes. This would allow you time for your family, time to tour, write and keep your name out there for new fans to attract to your base.
Hi Seal,
Sat Nam.
It was great to see you on the Grammys. If you and Burt B. do a song you should call it “If Only”.
I would absolutely be happy with a six-track album more frequently. (understand no promises). I can’t wait to hear what’s coming…
Also, I would love to see more video releases from you. I just found “Live in Paris” and I really enjoyed it. Also, it would be fantastic if you re-released your acoustic video to DVD. That video is PURE MAGIC!
Love, Love, Love
Lori
Seal, it’s refreshing to hear an artist acknowledge the changing realities of music distribution as it exists in a p2p world (especially when the industry tries to pretend that it can be sued out of existence!). I admire your proactive and creative approach.
It’s a bold move to redefine the “album” as a shorter collection of original songs (I’m guessing that you’d leave out things like remixes and live tracks), but I agree that it would ultimately work to the artist’s advantage. Fewer songs = More attractive pricing = Wider appeal. Back in the days where I bought physical albums, I took a chance on EPs as a “jumping on point” or “taster” for artists that I wasn’t too familiar with. In today’s mix-and-match iTunes environment, a shorter set might encourage people to just take a chance on the whole thing.
You also hit the nail on the head with multiple releases in one year. Whether you released material as it was completed or staggered them out, you might end up pushing/inspiring yourself creatively and make new musical discoveries at an increased rate. Not that it’s about speed (far from it!), but it could be interesting for both you and your listeners to be better able to see how your writing continues to develop.
Best of luck with your next endeavor!
-Brian Jacob
(Project37.net)
Asking this crowd for objective feedback is like asking a child, “would you rather have six scoops of ice cream now or wait a few years for the whole quart?”
hmmm
Either way, it can’t come soon enough to your biggest fans. For what it’s worth, your dedication, patience and persistence is what I admire most about your music, but I’d still rather have the ice cream now, since you’re asking. Thanks and good luck!
Dear Seal,
I must say, as usual, you look absolutely handsome on the picture taken on the way to the Grammys. I love your smile!
I, too, prefer the six good tracks option.
Looking forward to listen to them!
You and your band are great musicians.
I love you! xxx
I just have to say that we are anxiously awaiting for you to come out with something new! The fact you take your time is represented in the songs you put out. Aww I am torn though. I do like the 12 tracks because of the variety it offers. I do like the 6 tracks for the mere reason tht it is out faster and the promise of another album faster. Tell me you will tour faster and I am sold either way !! Deal??
LOL what a conundrum!!! 6 or 12 ???? Im torn!! I’m leaning towards 6 and being able to hear new music from you a couple of times a year!!!! And I love that photo of you on the way to the Grammys…when I 1st glanced at it I thought it was my hubby LOL you both have alot of the same features along with body type
Peace
Beth
Hey Seal,
I just wanted to let you know that you’re one of the few artists whose music makes me Feel something. I’ve never owned any of your albums, but have been listening to the “best of” over the past few weeks. Tracks like “Kiss From A Rose” completely take me back to another, happier time. I just can’t imagine a song like that being released today. I now understand older people who prefer listening to music from the 60’s and 70’s because they have memories attached to it.
It’s great that you keep in touch with your fans through this blog. Moby does this too and I have a whole new level of respect for you guys because of this.
And lastly, is Ryan Secrest as annoying in person? He seems to be very controlled by his producers, “Only ask about the baby!”
Anyway, thanks.
When you put it like that… I can definitely side with the shorter/faster realease method then. Change is always good though it doesn’t always seem pleasent at first. Its an easy tendancy to just want things the way they have always been because thats the way we first fell in love with your music… long waits fulfilled by classic sonic experiences. But you are of course the artist and you’ll lead the way. Looking forward to hearing what you decide.
Seal,
Thank you for the great concert in Phoneix this last weekend!! You surely didn’t disappoint!! Isn’t Steve Nash the nicest guy!! Thanks againg for making the evening so great!!
6 tracks? O.K, If you promised not to make us wait longer than a year for new releases(6 months does not seem feasible.)Thanks for letting us know that the 6 track cd will be sold at a lower price, that makes since. Thanks again for taking the time to hear what we have to say. That’s so very cool! Take care…Love, I
Hmmmm, now that you mentioned price, I am glad you explained it would be somewhat less! I was gonna ask something along those lines, but I didn’t want to seem cheap!
I have to admit that as a busy 40-something mom (on a limited budget, too), I don’t own an iPod and I don’t download music. While I would love to get ahold of the latest technology, when would I be able to listen to it? With a traditional cd I can put it on the stereo in the kitchen, or the car, or even on the dvd player and my daughter and I can listen to it as we play. I know there are systems that plug the iPod into speakers, but those are sadly not in our budget either.
So, can the cd also be made available in stores? It’s exciting to listen to a long-awaited cd while you study the photos and liner notes (BTW, I still get a chuckle out of the Human Being liner notes).
BTW, my stepkids (teenage daughters and a 22-yr old son) insist on buying the cd’s for the bands they really love, even though they download them onto their ‘pods anyway. But they still want the disk.
Sorry to belabor that point. Regardless, if you only release music as downloads, I will figure out a way to get it.
Thanks for asking our opinion on this issue. Hugs for everyone on Valentine’s Day!
Yes Kristin thats how I am! I don’t own an IPod myself .. nor do I have interest to. For me its easier to pop a cd in my car or play it on the cd player with a few discs loaded up. Though I have always been like that with records. A few favorite songs I would repeat but I would also listen to all of the tracks. Maybe thats just how it was with records haha.. I didnt want to scratch them by skipping .. well until they did come out with turntables that had the skip button and did it for you.. hmmm I am “dating” myself haha.. Anyways.. Seal… you are right about artists needing to roll with technology and the times. Thanks for asking our opinion.. I could go either way.
as long as you still do the maxi cds as well I dont have an opinion. Just do what you do with the integrity. And I love alllllll your music Seal.
GREAT FATHER
OTO NAURONAUT FROM BOHEMIA
I LOVE YOU
Hi Seal!
Interesting idea! I personally like the idea of a complete album, I tend to listen them through quite often. But I really understand your point.. Especially since it takes quite a while to make a full album..
The one problem which I see at the moment with downloading songs is that the sound quality isn’t the same as on cd. Nope, I’m not a big of a hifi-person, but when I do listen music back home, the quality is just little better comparing to mp3’s.
The bigger thing for me is DVD-audio records. The quality of them is beyond comparison even to cd, I REALLY love the surround sound. Thanks so much for releasing your material in that format too! Would you make sure that it’ll stay that way, even with shorter “albums” ?
(and why on earth they sell the first two records as a DVD-A only in States? Why not in Europe?)
I met you briefly last year in Oslo after your show, I hope this year you’ll come to Finland also! Less travelling for us Finnish fans…
And you have never been here! Make it on summertime and I’ll show you one of the most beautiful sceneries in the world! 
Hope to see you this year! I’m really looking forward to the new cd, the previous ones have been in continuous listening for years now!
Hi Seal
I love this discussion – I remember a while back (16 years ago…) Jackie Brambles (remember her?) on Radio 1 commented about your album that it had only 9 songs on, which was unusual by that point, but that every single song was wonderful and strong by itself, but also worked in the context of the whole. That to me is what an album should be, whether it’s 6 songs or 36.
I also liked the comment written on the Future Love EP about the difference between an EP designed to be listened to as a whole, and a single with one strong track and one weak track.
And being a fan of artists like yourself and George Michael, who release albums sparingly and of high quality, but also of Prince, who releases something every year and treats them mostly as throwaways for the here and now, I’ve given this a lot of thought for many years. The drawback to releasing only the strongest material, is that what may not seem great to you might be my favorite song ever. Certainly if you go to a Prince website and read about the 36-song album Emancipation, most people will agree that it’s not at the high standard of, say, the 9-song Lovesexy, but most people will also say that it has 8 or 9 great songs – but everyone has different opinions about which ones are the great ones and which ones are awful.
I know that if I had a great six-song collection from you, I might still wonder about the other tracks you’d worked on that didn’t get included (in the same way that people here have been clamoring to hear Togetherland).
I’ve thought for a while that the Internet offers some good solutions – you could release a collection of songs for mass consumption, radio play, CD release etc., but then release (either as pay-per-download, or free streaming) the outtakes and other random tracks on the internet, and make it clear that you don’t think it’s of the same standard, but that we may enjoy them.
The Barenaked Ladies did something interesting with their latest project – they recorded enough for a double-album, but felt it was too much for a mainstream album, so they released the first half, Barenaked Ladies Are Me, as a mainstream album, but on a ‘deluxe’ version online they included the second album’s-worth of songs, which has now also been released last week on CD, called Barenaked Ladies Are Men.
All-in-all, I would love a strong 6-song collection, but would prefer each song to be Violet-length rather than Princess-length… I’d still like to be able to listen to it as an album and not need to change the CD soon after I sat down. But I’d also like the chance to hear the stuff that you don’t think is as strong or has no commercial appeal, because I think I may like that just as much…
Thanks for taking our thoughts on this. I appreciate an artist giving some real though and attention to what your listeners think.
PS – will this be called Seal V, or do you have a different name in mind?
“Connecting emotionally with your fans”…nobody does it better than you! I look forward to your next album, whether it’s 3 songs or 50!
Quote:Hi Guys,
One further point that I forgot to mention was that a six-track album would of course be sold at a relative price thus making music more affordable which I personally support. End quote.
On 2nd thought, it is quite nice of you to consider our pocketbooks, honey!!!
Quote: Also, as some of you have clearly understood, it might help to think of it more in terms of higher quality music more frequently. You could end up with two albums a year…six tracks every six months. End quote.
GO FOR IT.
Quote:
So you see, you could end up with more new and exciting music over a shorter period of time. End quote.
Well this is an era of instantaneous gratification. I think it’s very creative, wonderful, and wise for someone at your career level to approach the artform of making music this way!