Why do recording artists put less songs on their cd's when they could put more?

Question

It seems like all of the new artists have only about 12 or 13 songs on their albums while the more established ones usually put more

I hear all the time in interviews "oh yeah we just recorded 50 new songs...." but when the cd comes out theres only 12

It doesnt make sense... 12 songs doesnt even fill up a CD they could deffinately put more on there so why dont they?

I know a cd can hold 70 minutes.. my question is why do singers consistently put out cd's with only 12 songs (45 minutes) of stuff .

I remember back when cd's first started getting big ... every new cd out had only 10 songs ... now the magical number seems to be 12 (13 with a bonus song)

Some people put more than 12 though ... so I know more then 12 songs will fit .... but it just seems like all of these new cd's are sticking with 12 songs and around 50 minutes of run time.

Example: look at every american idols CD ... all of them have 12 to 13 songs per album when they could easily put more

Answer 1

because the record lable only pays for a certain number of songs after that it comes out of the artist's pockets. so they normally choose not to add more song that and its just the norm.

Answer 2

Oftentimes, musicians try to stick to a theme when choosing songs that they may have written and/or recorded for a record or cd. If done right, this makes the record a more cohesive, more enjoyable record. A lot of those extra songs just don't fit in with the rest of the album, or are not felt to be very good, and, quite frankly, a lot of times if a musician or a band feels that a song is not very good, they would rather it never see the light of day, much less be on an album where they have to put out their best material or their recording contract might very well be at risk. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

do you really want to listen to a double disk set from every artist out there? 12 to 15 songs is enough for me. i've seen as few as 9 or 10 songs. that's pushing it for me on the low end

Answer 4

If they put all the songs on one cd, how would they make the next one?

Answer 5

Stupid, cause if you like the CD you are going to buy it regardless of what is on it. If you like one or two songs you will spend your little hard earned money to buy the CD.

Answer 6

Recording studios are expensive, so if you had more songs, the CD would be more expensive.

Answer 7

Less songs per album mean more albums, which equals more money.

Answer 8

Less songs more combination of albums and more sales and more money.
For listners more choices to listen :)

Answer 9

More CDs means more MONEY. Nuff said??

Answer 10

To make there music intimate.