Cookie's Corner - #157 - What's the difference between a compilation and a playlist?
From the founder of Blue Coast Records and Music
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In case you missed, here’s the latest newsletter from Blue Coast Music Store wth 5 compilation albums
Compilations versus Playlists - what’s the difference?
https://bluecoastmusic.com/blue-coast-collection-5
I never understoo the value of a great compilation album. Whether you call them a collection, sampler or playlist the concept is basically the same. It’s a variety of tracks from different sources that have some kind of relationship in the mind of the creator. In this case, the “creator” is probably the producer who chose the tracks for the list of songs.
The list of songs could be a “Best of” an artist’s life works or set a mood like “relaxing at the beach”. It could be a list of the producer’s favorite songs from 2010 or ‘dance hits from the 1990’s”. Almost anything can constitute a reason to create a playlist.
You as the “producer” makes the choice for the sequence of songs and which songs. Have you created a playlist for yourself? Feel free to share it in the comments below or suggest your favorite compilation.
One big difference from an album compilation released by a record label as a full album is that most of the time (not all), the producer takes great care to master the album so that it flows well between all tracks. Meaning, in mastering, small adjustments are made to EQ, volume level, etc so that the album flows well.
Not every label does this, but at Blue Coast Records, we take great care to do that. When I’m mastering in my studio, OTR Studios, artists/labels hire me because I will to that and have a number of “tricks” I use to get a smooth listen to an entire album. It makes sense to me, but apparently, is not how a lot of mastering engineers approach the job. There is no right or wrong… or standards set for this so it’s up to the artist or label to choose how they want the compilation to flow.
I learned from working at Windham Hill back in the late 1980’s. They were the masters of the sampler album. The sales from samplers were much better than artist’s own albums and often gained new listeners for the artist’s fanbase.
Now with streaming, listeners can create their own playlists that could include hundreds of songs. The difference is that these playlists are not setup to make those small adjustments in sound so that the playlist flows. Sure, you can put on a “compressor” or limiter that auto adjust the volume, but that’s not the sound the artist really wants you to hear. For a lot of tracks, it’s detrimental to arbitrarily add a compressor.
For those interested, I’ll be starting up Producer’s Workshop next month to offer more technical aspects and answer questions directly about these processes. You can subscribe early here, if you like.
Thanks again for supporting the efforts of myself and the artists we work with to have a vibrant community of those that care about sound, recording and creativity.
Enjoy your listening!
Cookie Marenco
For a very long time I have used the concept of a playlist differently than many do today. I have a pretty extensive record collection. Once recordable CDs became a thing, I would, and still do make compilations on a theme (or playlists if you will), from album tracks and singles both 45 and 78, for easy casual listening.
I have learned to hate the fact that CDRs are not the most durable media in existence.
But, I am old enough that I still like the concept of physical media rather than life lived on my computer, tablet or phone for all of this. Examples of my compilation CDs include everything from 1950s Gospel 78s, to rock and roll era “Teen Tragedy”, to songs that contain references to “time”, (“Time Trax”) to pop and rock organ tracks, which I called “Organized”.