If you visit #fastalbum you’ll see I’m currently accepting submissions for a quickly assembled album. I’m betting this one takes a while, but if it works, I’ll try try again. Updates will appear at this site as songs are added.

To participate, record an original song that meets your minimal standards as quickly as possible. Mine took about 35 minutes. The first submissions I receive before the playtime tops 45 minutes will be included on the album which will then be distributed on Demonoid, Mininova and The Pirate Bay.

Just upload the file somewhere and link to it on twitter with a shout out to #fastalbum.

The album cover, which I made as quickly as possible:

10:57 PM: I should make it clear, I’m not making any money off this, nor do I hope to. I also don’t care about copyright/sampling issues and you can retain whatever rights you want. This is going to be a torrent release. The point of the project is to accelerate music.

Day 2
12:44 AM: This is primarily an experiment, but maybe I should offer some extra incentives for participating.

I could probably get a What.Cd invite for someone. I’d also link to your site in the torrent, torrent description and on this page. I’d write you a postcard. You will also get exposure from the release and any press, should there be any.

2:02 PM: This experiment is moving along slower than is theoretically possible, but still faster than a studio release. It’s worth thinking through while I wait for songs and try to drive up exposure.

As I noted on the #fastalbum page, a typical album from a new artist takes at least a few months to go from conception to release. While I think it’s possible for internet artists using twitter, music software and torrents to write, perform and distribute an album in just a few hours, the most difficult part of this kind of project is finding the correct audience.

The very helpful Naxos mentioned that there aren’t as many active musicians on twitter as it seems there are. Why aren’t there as many active musicians as it seems there are?

A big part of the problem is the way twitter, and social networking in general, is very quickly co-opted as a marketing tool. If you want to promote a product (new album, slanket for iphone etc.) online, you previously bought ads. Now, your company starts a Myspace page and tries to make friends with strangers.

The marketing department behind a major musician starts a twitter page as a way of communicating with fans and keeping them updated on tickets for sale and new releases. This is a limited scope for what a service like twitter can do, but it’s profitable. Fans of a musician’s work will actually volunteer to read ads. Independent artists tend to follow marketing trends and will also use twitter as a means to promote their content, when it could be so much more. I think it’s a mistake to view new communication mediums solely as a way to sell.

It’s akin to the development of the telephone instantly being used for telemarketing. It’s why MySpace and Facebook became uninteresting.

The best way to rescue this communication form from a takeover by impersonal commercial spam is to use it in a non-commercial and creative way. That’s the (partially retroactive) impetus behind this experiment.

2:24 PM: Some champions of Twitter have taken up the cause. They are…

Naxos
Susan Delaney
Mr. Random
Elliot Cole
Gattlint

Thanks to their efforts, a great number of people have been baited.

The phrase “Accelerate Music” seems to be popular, so I’ve bolded it above. I’m thinking of making a new album cover as-quickly-as-possible with that as a tentative title.

2:47 PM: Now I’m certain a few hundred people have seen this project, so I’m waiting on responses in the form of music. Also, if any visual artists wish to contribute a slightly more striking album cover, I’d be happy to append the album with it and offer them credit/major props.

3:02 PM: Oh whoops, Twitter is now down for an hour. Well, now I can have lunch. If I were reading this page, I might use this hour to record a song.

5:10 PM: Mike Finn has given us an excellent track titled “Bellow” which he created in about 30 minutes. That’s pretty fast.

If you or anyone you know is planning on contributing, tweet at me (@judasconstant) and I’ll add you to the project.

Day 3
1:07 AM: How do you maintain attention in a form of communication that has no attention span? I can try to repeat myself, but each tweet would supplement my audience’s short term attention with long term disinterest.

It’s interesting that in trying to produce a non commercial project I encounter the same problems as advertisers. To some extent, the endless stream of content produces a malaise. A possible problem: Most users don’t visit twitter with the ambition of participating in an art project, they visit it to waste time and see what their friends are doing. I would hope that some of the estimated 7,000 followers who were introduced to this page will join in, but I believe I’m going to have to come up with some more promotion ideas to use throughout the week.

12:30 PM: Today’s first strategy involves sending direct messages to twitter musicians whose music I appreciate and asking them to participate or invite their followers to. More information as this unfolds.

I think direct messages is the best way to go since it’s slightly less open to the public and therefore they can choose whether or not to help the project based on its merits.

6:23 PM: Well, an important Twitter lesson has been learned. You can only direct message someone who follows you. I’m going to pretend I didn’t send out around two hundred messages that didn’t go anywhere and try again later. Oh dear.

7:15 PM: Finding good musicians on twitter is not that difficult, although I think communicating directly with specific artists takes some of the spontaneity out of the project. On the positive side, as long as I ask the right people, at least I’ll enjoy the album.

Day 5 9:03 PM: Back from a brief hiatus to find we have another track. This one’s from Steve Haynes and it’s titled “Just a Minute”. You can visit his twitter page for now, and more information on this contribution and the project will be made available shortly.