Make It or Make It Better?

The Old Way: Crafting Albums With Intention

Traditionally, the rhythm of being an artist looked very different. You’d take a year or two or sometimes more to write and record an album. That meant writing 50 songs and narrowing them down to the best 10 tracks.

Why 10? Because vinyl grooves couldn’t handle more songs. That physical limitation gave rise to two fascinating outcomes:

1. Mixing for the Medium
   
   Engineers wouldn’t pan instruments past 9 and 3 o’clock — the needle couldn’t track it. Yet somehow, Dark Side of the Moon achieved sonic perfection without using the full stereo field.
   
   
2. The 10-Song Royalty Rule
   
   When CDs arrived, labels kept the 10-song standard, even though discs could hold 15–20 tracks. Their excuse? “We can’t pay mechanical royalties for more than 10 songs.”
   
   In other words, a business built on music found ways to sell more music without paying more for it.
   
   

Sound familiar? Fast forward to the streaming and DSP aage, and not much has changed.

The New Way: Chasing the Algorithm

Today, artists are told: “Upload a new song every month. It’s good for the algorithm.”

But let’s pause. Alanis Morissette co-wrote over 300 songs across three years with hundreds of collaborators. Only 12 made the cut. 

The Problem: Making It vs. Making It Better

Too often, artists look for cheat codes or a viral moment instead of going deeper with their craft. The pressure to “make it” can override the patience required to “make it better.”

And here’s the truth: the art that lasts — the records that stand the test of time — are almost always the result of intention, patience, and pruning, not speed.

The Takeaway

The industry has always been in a tug-of-war between artistic depth and commercial shortcuts. The grooves may have changed — from vinyl to CDs to streaming — but the temptation to devalue music hasn’t.

As creators, we have to choose:

👉 Do we want to simply make it, or do we want to make it better?

💡 If this sparked something in you, join my $old 4 a $ong Newsletter — each week I share insights on ownership, value, and building a sustainable creative life in today’s industry.

This is your journey towards creating your own path to artistic freedom, without bending to external pressures.

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Looking forward to walking alongside you on this journey to craft something truly yours.

To your success and creativity,

Terrance Sawchuk
Founder, $old 4 a $ong Book™