A split album (or split) is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively. A split is different from a 'various artists' compilation album because split albums include several tracks of each artist, instead of multiple artists with only one or two tracks.
History
A split was initially done on vinyl records, with music from one artist on one side of the record and music from a second artist on the opposite side. As vinyl records have declined in popularity, this format has been done on CDs. Although there are not multiple sides to a CD, the idea is still the same. From the early 1980s through the present, the format has been used widely by independent record labels, and artists in punk rock, hardcore, grindcore, black metal and indie rock circles.
Advantages
A split allows more than one artist to split the production costs for one release instead of handling all of the expense by one artist. The same can also apply to the promotional costs of a single release. Splits also allow bands to expose their music directly to another band's fanbase. Usually, the bands that are on a split are of a similar genre.
Examples
- Many EPs of the noise band Melt-Banana are splits with another band
- Red Wave album (1986), first official international release of Russian rock, feat. 4 bands from Saint Petersburg
- "Here She Comes Now"/"Venus in Furs" is among the few split singles that Nirvana did early on. "Here She Comes Now" is a split single with The Melvins
- One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels A split EP between Bright Eyes and Neva Dinova.
- The BYO Split Series is a series of split albums released by BYO Records. Albums have included The Bouncing Souls with Anti-Flag, Swingin' Utters with Youth Brigade, Alkaline Trio with One Man Army and NOFX with Rancid, with each band covering the other's songs.
