Concept albums 'will survive in iPod generation'

Musicians may have to respond to changing tastes, but they should not completely rule out the idea of releasing a concept album.

According to Gennaro Castaldo of HMV, the way in which young people receive music has changed significantly in recent years.

This, he said, is because innovations such as the iPod have led to consumers listening to more individual tracks rather than full albums.

Speaking to BBC News, he compared today's music scene with that in the late 1950s and 60s, as the album "barely existed" during this period and singles were a priority for most major acts.

However, Castaldo said this does not mean that the concept album, pioneered by the likes of Pink Floyd, is dead and buried.

"I do think that concept albums provoke that kind of loyalty and sense of intimacy between artist and fan that I think you won't get from other albums," he commented.

Pink Floyd's determination to ensure consumers listen to their albums in full recently led to them taking their record label EMI to court.

The band successfully argued that their songs should not be sold individually as downloads, as their albums were designed to be heard as complete entities.

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