I’ve owned many acdc albums, and there is a cohesiveness to them all. Black Ice is an excellent example to that. There is a theme to the music. Malcolm said many years ago that it isn’t about the money anymore. It’s about the craft. Angus is one of the 500 richest men in the Netherlands. He holds to standards that he believes in. I completely respect that. Buy the record - give it a few listens. (Took me about 3-4 to really hear the mastery that only the young brothers have between rythym and lead guitar) Well worth the purchase. Angus…I love you man!

Granted…the talent these days has died off. The energy that bands put into their work is not what it was 20 years ago, but I don’t think Itunes is to blame. It’s artists and record labels wanting to make a quick and easy buck. As for AC/DC, I love their music, and I feel they have stood the test of time because of the heart they pour into their work. Having said that, with the lack of talent these days, I will NOT be forced to buy a CD that has 9 crappy filler songs just so I can hear one good song. Angus’ remarks about making Albums and not singles, is just arrogant ignorant. Itunes and any other download service gives the option of only allowing people to buy albums as a whole. furthermore, if he really meant what he says, why only make it a Wl-Mart exclusive? I’ll tell you why: because there was loads of $$ involved for that exclusivity. Angus Young is in the music business to make money. I realize everyone in the industry is, but one thing is making money off their talent and another is dictating where people buy their products. Angus: welcome to the 21st century!

Angus is a dying breed. Let’s come back to this topic in 10 years when hardly anyone even recognizes the concept of an “Album”. Consumers will ultimately choose what they want to listen to, and these holdouts of artist who want to ram the “whole album” down throat will eventually cease to exist. Times are changing, those who fail to change with it will become obsolete.

I agree with Angus Young on the whole iTunes and singles topic. the iPod could easily become the death of good music. There is too much pressure today to release THE next hit single… something that you can play on the radio, market, or download into your random playlist. An artist can have a great album, but be missing THE single… so the label brings in a single-maker writer. The result is crappy music, laden with catchy little hooks and (usually) lacking substance. The album is where the true artistry lies: make songs that actually mesh together/have some cohesion, put some elbow grease into designing some album art… have some artistic integrity, damn it!

An ACDC concert sold out 3 months before the show in NC … maybe they are doing something right! Also, if you want own a great concert on DVD … pick up Live At Donnington … my fav!

I believe that you should just buy the whole damn album. I think its just a waste to have to listen to all the single hits from any band and only spend the .99. So ya get one song from a one hit wonder. Big whoop. AC/DC has the right to do what they believe in and making great music has stood the test of time and will continue to be one of the greatest rock band of all history. If you dont like it go back to listening to the one hit wonders and let the best do what they do best.

As a 40-year-old, I’ve listened to ACDC for years. Many of their songs are classics and stand the test of time. Makes me smile when I see a high-school kid wearing an ACDC t-shirt. Speaks volumes of the bands longevity.
BUT…..the bands position on iTunes and similar services is naive and just dumb. As others have said here, these services are here to stay. Period. Further, folks who embrace this newer music delivery, generally don’t buy entire albums. Buying the songs you really want, and skipping the filler, is one of the best customer aspects of these services. And yes, there is filler on ACDC albums. Back to the high-school kid, wouldn’t any band want him buying five of the bands songs off iTunes vs. zero songs because he doesn’t buy albums at Best Buy anymore? Or, he’ll simply grab pirated copies of the songs from the web and the band also makes nothing? It’s in the best interest of ACDC, their music, and their continued longevity to make their music as accessible as possible to younger listeners thru electronic means. It’s the world we live in now - heck, I’m typing these comments here via my iPhone. ACDC, I love your music, but it’s 2008, not 1984.

This is ridiculous, if bands were actually interested in some kind of artistic integrity then what’s with all the “greatest hits” albums and crap like that?

From a money standpoint, arguing that they make more from selling a whole album than a single song is somewhat misleading since it costs them essentially nothing to allow downloads. Frankly I think it’s also very arrogant to imply that just because you put 10 songs together that they sync well enough to imply that we should be thankful for the experience.

I know of Tribute Bands that do lots of AC/DC singles to encompass each set, not just one album as others do. They prove that people will listen to ’shuffle’. Other artists have album concepts which can now be released as each song happens, to build the whole album. An example is the album “Hell and High Water” by Don Coleman. His first song on the album , “Women, Whiskey & Rock’n'Roll” which was recorded to celebrate Bon’s life has been on AC/DC’s site for about six months. The second song “Loud, Hard, Fast & Wild” kicks it up a notch. If the songs were to wait until the whole album was finished, there would be less impact. Times are changing as is the way music is preceived. An album may be good enough to hang around and maybe become a classic but the chances of having all the songs get the attention they deserve is lost by the time it’s all released.

ac/dc is awesome but i’m not buying a bunch of ghetto cd’s so i can listen to my favorites.

I am from Moldova, and I am emigrant in US. Sorry for my English, I can see that kids here are divided in old school and new once. Personally I belong to old school and I proud. You new kids do not know the meaning of an entire album. It is the most exciting thing ever especially from the band you love. I totally 150% agree with Angus, THE KING OF THE KINGS OF ELECTRIC GUITAR. You single kids mamma boys, try to listen to Rasor’s Edge or many many orthers. Try to listen to Somewhere in time from Iron Maiden and you can only skip one or two songs at the most and you look forward to the next song to start.

I think the people who don’t even know who Angus Young is don’t even count. I love the “angus Whoever you are” comments……

In a way he is right, bands shouldnt make singles (cough cough radio rock) they should make albums. I think that one reason the music industry is dieing rite now is because soooooooo many bands have a single. There have been very few albums I have bough recently that have been better than ok. So to all those crappy bands who are just in it to write one song and get 5 minutes of fame, taking shots of jack daniels with the lead singer of Nickelback, please just break up now and save us all $.99.

Its a shame that I’m one of the only kids I know that even buys my music, yet alone the entire cds because i like to listen to them all the way through. More people need to stop downloading off things like limewire- there not helping the artists there listening to.

Its a shame that I’m one of the only kids I know that even buys my music, yet alone the entire cds because i like to listen to them all the way through. More people need to stop downloading off things like limewire- there not helping the artists there listening to.

There is a lot to be said for making an album, but that art went out of style in the early 1980s. Interestingly, the one artist today that can claim actually makes albums is Kid Rock. Even Springsteen, his albums today don’t have the cohesiveness of his work through Born in the USA. Will we one day see artists simply release singles? Maybe.

(Oops… what I meant to say was) Die-hard fans will buy the album, but AC/DC limits their chances to broaden their audience by not offering singles. Would they rather make zero dollars for an albums’ worth of songs that most people wouldn’t care about, as opposed to charging $0.99 to anyone who might enjoy the only song from the album that’s any good?

Die hard fans will buy the album, but AC/DC limits their chances to broaden their audience by NOT offering singles. Would they rather make zero dollars for an albums’ worth of songs that most people wouldn’t care about, as opposed to charging $0.99 to anyone who might enjoy the only song from the album that’s any good?

Die hard fans will buy the album, but AC/DC limits their chances to broaden their audience by offering singles. Would they rather make zero dollars for an albums’ worth of songs that most people wouldn’t care about, as opposed to charging $0.99 to anyone who might enjoy the only song from the album that’s any good?

AC/DC makes songs. Just like any other band.

@Tony - “Angus whoever you are”??? You can’t be serious.

Just how rich do these guys wanna be? They should be giving away their albums by now!

If that’s true, then AC/DC should make sure their new CD has just 1 50 minute track. That’s what another album artist named Prince once did, he put his money where his mouth was. So guys, why even break it down to individual songs if you’d like us to listen to the whole album as is from start to finish?

This move is about one thing: more money. Forget the noble but lame “We make albums” quote — what subtle nuance am I missing by not buying a complete AC/DC record?

Doesn’t iTunes have an “Album Only” feature? I believe Radiohead offered their music this way for a time on iTunes.

iTunes, WalMart, what’s the difference?

Let’s be real. AC/DC makes nothing but singles. I haven’t heard a single album by them that moved together cohesively, especially since they’ve made the same album at least 10 times.

well it isnt as if AC/DC ever made a concept album. “We don’t make singles, we make albums.” is more of a quote I’d expect from a band like Pink Floyd

I can understand his point of view - but in the real world, the iTunes model is here to stay. Taking choice away from the consumer isn’t a good thing. There are other ways to encourage albums sales over singles. The ONLY reason they can get away with this is because they are AC/DC. It’s still only going to encourage people to pirate, sadly.

AC/DC makes albums? Give me a break! There are 3-4 good songs per album, the rest is filler. Even Back in Black is half crap.

It’s OK when bands like AC/DC say this, but most bands aren’t capable of writing 13 songs that live well together.
So from the listener’s perspective, the great full length album is very rare, even top-tier bands have songs you should push ’skip’ on.

It’s unfortunate that most kids today don’t realize how sweet it is, to put on a great record, tape, or cd from the beggining…… and just push play.

Holy shit, AC/DC is still alive?

Wow, Angus Young, who ever you are, thanks for reaffirming the fact that people just, in most cases, want to hear the single because it’s usually the only song worth hearing. It’s so rock n’ roll to deny having iTunes sell your music but gladly release it through Wal Mart???!

Agree with Angus.
The bands deserves money for the whole album, and besides, buying the album is having the whole experience.

Angus is right, albums are like sex, singles just foreplay. buy the experience!

Now we know Anonymous’ secret identity!!! It’s Drew!!! Seriously, from a band that put out Back in Black, I think people should listen when they talk about the economics of albums.

i’ve never been a huge fan of AC/DC…but i commend angus young for saying, “we don’t make singles, we make albums.” I think people these days have lost track of the beauty of any artist’s/band’s album.