Pros and Cons of Recording a Concept Album for New Musicals
It can be tempting, exciting, and thrilling at the thought of jumping into the recording studio to record a concept album. After all, there’s something incredibly exciting about hearing your score come to life and sharing it with the world. But is it the right move for every project? Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of recording a concept album before your musical hits the stage.
The Pros
1. Early Promotion and Buzz
Live theatre is limited by its geographical location. Granted, audiences can travel to see a show, but with the cost of travel, geopolitical conflicts, and economic hardship, airfare & traveling to see a new show isn't often high on the priority list. (Enter the CONCEPT ALBUM)... Recording a concept album can generate a lot of excitement and interest around your musical and you have a global audience with YouTube videos, TikTok, and digital streaming platforms. Six (2020) and Hadestown (2019) released their concept album years before their Broadway debut among older musicals like Evita (1976) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1970). It’s a great way to start building a fanbase and getting your music heard by potential audience members and future investors. A well-produced album gives them something tangible to listen to and can help you make a strong first impression.
2. Showcase the Score
A concept album allows you to highlight your score, show off the strength of your songwriting, and give people a taste of what the full production will sound like. It can be a powerful tool when pitching the show to theaters, producers, investors, or trying to secure financial backing.
If we put this idea of creating an album first in the context of the recording industry, for a moment. Pop artists do not start out by touring and playing Madison Square Garden or SoFi Stadium. They build their audience through sound recordings and songwriting. The audience becomes familiar with the materials enough to memorize the lyrics before seeing a live performance of the music they know. For example, Shania Twain didn't start touring her music live till 6-months after her third studio album released in November of 1997; she started her tour in May of 1998. Different times, but the same principle can apply today.
3. Proof of Concept
In many ways, a concept album acts as a "proof of concept." It shows that your musical has a clear sound and identity, even in its early stages. This can be especially helpful if you’re looking for partners who understand your vision and want to get involved in the production process.
4. Creative Freedom
One of the big perks of recording early is that you’re not tied down by the limitations of live performance, cast schedules, and production timelines. In the studio, you can take your time, experiment with different orchestrations and arrangements, and fine-tune the sound in ways that might not be possible once in production. You have more control over every detail, which can result in a polished product. When a Broadway show records a cast album, it's often over the course of 1 to 3 days depending on the logistics of a show. Time is money and playing around with sounds, ideas, and vocal layering is all but impossible once it gets to that level.
5. Preserve the Original Vision
If you’re working with an amazing cast or artists, capturing their performances on a concept album can be a great way to preserve your original vision, especially if casting changes later down the road. It’s also a way to hold onto the essence of the show in its earliest form, even as it evolves through workshops and rehearsals. It can show your audience it's development in real-time and help them connect even more with you and your work.
6. Potential Revenue
There’s also the potential to generate income by selling or streaming the album, especially if you create music video assets online. If you release it at the right time, a concept album can help build momentum, fund further development, and create an audience that’s already invested in seeing the live production.
The Cons
1. Cost
As with most things, there is a price to pay for recording an album. You’re looking at studio time, hiring musicians, mixing, mastering, album art, managing & administration, and potentially marketing and distributing the album. For many new musicals, the budget is tight, and those funds might be better spent on other aspects of development, like workshops or readings.
2. Locked-In Versions
Once you record, you’re locking in a version of the score that reflects where the show is right now. But musicals are living, breathing things that evolve throughout the development process. If you record too early, you might end up with an album that doesn’t reflect the final version of the show, meaning you’ll have to re-record or leave people with outdated material. It can look sloppy if there are too many versions of your show available for audiences and can turn off potential investors and audiences.
3. Developmental Limitations
Recording before going through live workshops or performances can limit your understanding of what works. There’s no substitute for seeing how audiences react to your material in a live setting. A song that sounds great in the studio might fall flat on stage, or vice versa. Waiting until after some live feedback can help ensure the material is solid before committing it to an album.
4. No Production Momentum
While a concept album can generate buzz, if there’s no clear path to production, that excitement might fizzle out before you can capitalize on it. It’s one thing to get people hyped about the music, but without a live show to follow, you risk losing momentum and having your project stall. Getting back to my example with Pop artists, most artists will tour their music to different cities, but with a musical it's a lot more complicated to tour!
5. Casting Uncertainty
If your cast isn’t fully locked in, recording prematurely can create a disconnect between the album and the eventual stage production. The voices on the album might not match the actors who end up in the show, which can confuse audiences or cause challenges when trying to build consistency across different platforms. If you have a smaller budget, you also might be limited on the talent you can afford and could be working with inexperienced voices in the studio.
6. Premature Exposure
Releasing an album too early can lead to overexposure of the material. If people hear the songs too far in advance of the production, they might lose interest by the time the show actually hits the stage. Additionally, early exposure can give critics or audiences a chance to form opinions based on an incomplete or less-developed version of the musical.
My two-cents?–In today's media economy, intellectual property (IP) derived from your show just anchors your materials, so why not pursue both a staged production AND a concept album? If you're going the route of a concept album, seek out and work with highly-skilled music producers and musicians to get the best out of your music. Record a music video of your best songs and release them on YouTube, TikTok, and social platforms to generate more interest around your music. The music and theatre industries are ever evolving and the "rules" are always changing. What worked tomorrow won't work today, and the new idea that's to come isn't even here yet!
At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer to what is going to work for you. I've had clients self-produce their entire show who are now licensing it to schools, theatres, and regional venues to get their stories heard, and make back some of their investment. It couldn't hurt to have your show on display in a good light, and posting content online is pretty simple. It all depends on where you are in the development process and what your immediate goals are. If your show is fully fleshed out, and you’re ready to share the music with the world, a concept album can be a fantastic tool for building excitement and momentum. But if the show is still evolving, or if you’re not sure how to get it on its feet yet, it might be worth holding off until you have a clearer path forward.