Greatest Hits

[Sparky]

I was reading this in the paper the other day in the review section about somebody that brought a greatest hits out. What is your view on Greatest hits albums? Are they a waste of time?

I think they are a waste of time. and its just another way for the Artists to make money. but they wouldnt be making anywhere near as much money as what they would if they made some new music instead.

Everybody that would want to listen to "insert singer/band here"'s greatest hits would already have the songs that are on them. so why would they want to buy a CD with all the popular ones on there?

Most of the time half the songs on the CD are just fill ins anyway becouse they dont have enough greatest hits to fill it up. So the people who only like a few songs still wouldnt waste that much money on a CD they aint interested in.

Whats your view on this ?

 

[klunderbunker]

I think that now, in the days of itunes and burning cds, they're rapidly becoming pointless. You want a greatest hits album? You can make one yourself with whatever songs you want on it. Back in the day, the Eagles released their greatest hits album and it is one of the top three selling albums of all time. Now I could go out and in less than half an hour make my own copy of that cd and not spend a dime, and I could make a ton of copies of it. Greatest hits albums used to be the best idea on the planet, but with the same songs being so readily available, they're relatively pointless now.

 

[Richard]

Greatest hits CDs should not be released while the singer/band is still active, they should only be made when the band decides it's time to call it quits and makes a greatest hits cd with a few new songs on it aswell.

If a greatest hits CD is made while the band is still active, then it's not really a greatest hits because who knows if the next studio album will have their biggest hit? Making one while you're still active is a waste of time if you ask me, I think bands do it so that they can keep their name out there so people don't forget about them.

Everybody that would want to listen to "insert singer/band here"'s greatest hits would already have the songs that are on them. so why would they want to buy a CD with all the popular ones on there?

What about people who have just discovered a band Sparky? E.g Blink 182. I don't know that many songs from them, but I wouldn't go out and buy all their albums, I would buy their greatest hits since those would be the main really good ones. It's simple. Greatest hits cds are good tools by bands to get new listeners into them.

 

[Tim]

Greatest Hits CDs are both a good thing an a bad thing. It brings in more money for the artist. It promotes the artist, and shows that they must have been not that bad if they have been n the business for so long, and have made a Greatest Hits album. But as KB said, with downloading songs being a first choice for most people, you can make your own CD with the Greatest Hits, and replace some songs with other songs if you like them more. Therefore making them pointless, if you use this view.

What about people who have just discovered a band Sparky? E.g Blink 182. I don't know that many songs from them, but I wouldn't go out and buy all their albums, I would buy their greatest hits since those would be the main really good ones. It's simple. Greatest hits cds are good tools by bands to get new listeners into them.

Richard brings up a good point here. Actually, that is exactly how I got into Blink 182 and now they're one of my favourite bands. And it has also happened with Guns 'N Roses. Greatest Hits CDs are a great way to showcase some of the artist's best music, and a good way to promote themselves to new listeners. Sometimes people don't want to pick up an album because they only know the singles off that album, but they really love the singles, so this is also a reason for Greatest Hits CDs. It allows people to own all of the artist's singles, without having to buy one of their albums.