Jim Roberts walked into a small record store in Clinton, North Carolina in 1973 looking for music to buy. Then, teenager, now Elon University adjunct instructor in music, saw Pink Flyod’s new release, “Dark Side of the Moon”. Roberts purchased the album blindly and listened to it. Soon, he had listened to the album at least ten times, completely engrossed in it. “Dark Side of the Moon” is now considered one of the most influential rock albums of all time.

Roberts said he was unaware of most new releases during his adolescence. Today’s generation follows a similar trend of not being aware of upcoming music releases, despite there being more research tools available than in the past.

According to an article on Billboard Biz, Billboard magazine’s online news site, digital music and album download sales have decreased. In 2013, digital song downloads fell 5.7 percent from 1.34 billion units to 1.26 billion units. This can partially be attributed to ad-supported and paid subscription music services, such as Pandora and Spotify. The article also said physical CD sales dropped 14.5 percent to 165.4 million units, down from 193.4 million in 2012.

Roberts said he follows new releases by artists he has listened to since his youth. For example, he recently purchased Led Zepplin vocalist Robert Plant’s new solo album, and he is anticipating Pink Flyod’s first album in 20 years, The Endless River, set to be released Nov. 10.

Even with today’s resources, Roberts said it is difficult to monitor and care about new releases because there are so many bands.

“Honestly, I don’t get enough exposure and don’t have the time to do research,” he said.

Music through social media

This month, two multi-million dollar selling artists, Lil Wayne and Taylor Swift, are releasing new albums. Many Elon students said they were not aware of these or other new releases, though.

There are many students, though, who don’t follow upcoming album releases but instead pick up new music when they hear it on the radio. 

“I don’t follow releases,” said junior Samuel Ackerman. “I just get excited when I hear them for the first time.”

Ackerman said he learns about new releases from friends, Facebook and Pandora.

“Sometimes a new song pops up on Pandora,” he said. “I ask myself, ‘Wait a minute, what is this?’”

Ackerman does not define new music as material newly released, but as something he personally had not heard before.

“It could have been out for a while, but it’s new to me,” he said.

Digital platforms such as iHeart Radio, Pandora and Spotify help students find new music as well.

Junior Derek Vogt said he does not look for new releases because he uses digital platforms. “Now that I use Spotify, I don’t see many advertisements for new music,” he said. “I followed that more when I used iTunes.”

There are some students, though, who continue to follow favorite bands’ upcoming albums.

Elon sophomore Emma Bonniche uses Pandora to find new music. Before services like Pandora, Boniche listened to the radio. Looking back, she said the radio does not suit her current tastes. “Today, there are more options to find music that you like,” she said.

Boniche is excited for the Foo Fighters’ album, “Sonic Highways,” set to release on Nov. 10. She follows the band on Facebook, where The Foo Fighters announced the album on their page long before its release.

Word of mouth

Friends and family provide plenty of musical influence as well.

“I listened to what my older siblings did growing up,” said first-year Aaron Bennett.

Boniche said of her friends, “They have similar tastes. They know I don’t like genres like alternative folk, so they won’t suggest that.”

Sophomore Amanda Echavarri is excited about Taylor Swift’s new album, “1989,” due to be released on Oct. 27.

Echavarri said some people are more proactive about discovering new album releases than others. But overall, she said, those people are not the majority.

“For everyday people, the album isn’t that relevant,” she said. “I only anticipate a few artists’ new albums.”

In one of Robert’s Elon courses, Beyond the Beatles, students study artists such as The Rolling Stones, The Who and others.  He hopes students can experience music they might not have heard before.

“I want my students to introduce this music to their future children,” he said.