Body of Work - by Keith Jopling (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An alternative history of the album, focussing on the format's turbulent life through the digital music era since 1999 through to today, Body of Work explores why we should still bother to listen to music in 40 minute chunks.

Since 1999, the album has been declared dead more times than we can count--yet it refuses to disappear. Body of Work traces its turbulent journey through the digital era and asks why listening in forty-minute chunks still matters.

Weaving insider accounts with cultural history and personal reflection Jopling tells the story of the album's unlikely survival. From bloated CD culture to Napster's atomization, from Apple's unbundling to Spotify's shuffle wars (and Adele's famous intervention), the album has not only endured, it has re-emerged stronger than ever.

Body of Work makes the case that the album remains the perfect vessel for the art of song--the format every artist aspires to, even after decades of digital disruption. As producer and artist Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) put it: "the album is God." It is the defining artform of popular music, and it always will be.

Review Quotes

"The internet can scale just about anything but it can't scale the intimacy of exploring an artist's body of work, and the album's resilience is captured in this remarkable book."
- Will Page, author of Tarzan Economics

"Jopling explores why the album is the historical anomaly that battled through multiple format shifts to (mostly) endure artistically, culturally and economically. Body Of Work is part eulogy for the album's past glories and part electioneering for the album's future relevance."
- Eamonn Forde, author of The Final Days of EMI

"A clear headed summation of the album's evergreen appeal."
- Will Hodgkinson, Chief Rock & Pop Critic, The Times

"Keith Jopling, at once advocate and analyst, has written an affectionate and insightful account of the album's survival in a hostile age of streaming and algorithms."
- Ludo Hunter-Tilney, Arts & Pop Critic, The FT

"This book made me fall in love with the art of the album again, and I'm sure it will do the same for you. A must read for any true music fan"
- Shain Shapiro, author of This Must Be the Place

About the Author

Jopling has worked for Sony Music, Spotify and EMI, and UK and global music trade associations. He has lectured at Henley Business School, NYU, BIMM, ACM, Belmont, Syracuse, Westminster and the University of Krems, Austria. He started the music podcast The Art of Longevity in 2021 and recently produced a documentary episode based on his in-depth podcast interviews with renowned musicians.