The Importance of the Intro Track

Previously, albums were purchased and then listened to. Listeners' first impressions of the album came after they had already dropped their $10 for a brand new record. The only deciding factors when purchasing were the album cover and whether or not you liked their previous work. Things have, however, rapidly changed in the streaming age of the early 2010s-present.

Nowadays, music consumption has changed due to the rapid rise in streaming. Listeners have access to every album new or present. The streaming catalog also includes a wider variety of music due to its ease of access for even independent artists without record label backing. This means that the competition for your ears is greater than ever. While the stakes may be lower due to lower revenue, the artists are as passionate as ever to break out into the mainstream. This makes the intro track as important as ever. The first impression the listener will get when listening to your new album is that first song. That song defines whether you have a lasting fan or a lasting naysayer.

In just a basic test I did by picking a few albums at random out of my spotify downloads, the amount of plays on the album declined the further you got through the album with the exception of a couple of hit singles. This is clear in The New Abnormal(2020) by The Strokes where the first three songs have placounts of 5.2m, 4.2m, and 5.7m. Then the last three songs have playcounts of 2.9m, 2.6m, and 2.8m. Throughout the album are also a few previously well performing singles in Bad Decisions at 11.4m plays and At The Door at 10.5m plays.

A great example of an album with an intro track that fooled a lot of listeners into saying they hated the album on their first listen is On Sight by Kanye West from his 2013 album, Yeezus. listeners were greeted with an aggressive industrial electronic song. This album, released in the middle of the transition into the legal streaming age, still saw major success as when listeners listened on they liked what they heard. Listeners were later able to more thoroughly appreciate the intro track after having heard the rest of the album.

Kanye being Kanye also has what is possibly the best intro track in music. Dark Fantasy from his 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, sets the whimsical scene of what is to come. The song is a retelling of the original Cinderella by Roald Dahl. The song is a perfect intro that is both appealing to the mainstream listener and pulls them in as well as serving as a good intro of what is to come.