Vote totals:
Yes:
0%
No:
0%
Neutral:
0%
DEBATE: ARE SINGLES A THING OF THE PAST?
ARE SINGLES A THING OF THE PAST?
Free songs
Free songs-Bank Holiday Monday by Stereophonics for example- drum up more publicity than releasing a single for the charts. It’s free for a start; people may well download it just for this reason.
Most bands give away the occasional free song in order to catch their audiences’ interest and drum up new fans. But most established acts would rather make money from their loyal fans through singles sales. Chart position is still a prestigious thing; having an official number one is a solid measure of an act’s success. Therefore the practice of giving away free songs will remain an occasional one.
ARE SINGLES A THING OF THE PAST?
Album tracks available from download stores
This makes album tracks available for download before they are even contemplated as singles, lowering the chances of the consumer actually buying the single.
Lead singles, the song which most often is the highlight of an album, are usually released before the album. These songs are often the big hits and consumers have no way to buy them except as a single. They act as an important ‘taster’ of an album as well as being big songs in their own right.
ARE SINGLES A THING OF THE PAST?
B-sides are less important.
Gone are the days of The Masterplan, arguably Oasis’ best album and made up entirely of B-sides. A live recording of the single or an acoustic version of the single now make up most of the B-sides on singles nowadays. These acoustic versions aren’t true acoustic versions either. Merely trading your electric guitar for an acoustic and playing the song exactly the same way does not constitute an acoustic version.
The death of the B-side, while regrettable, has little bearing on the power of a hit single. People don’t buy a single for the B-side, especially now most sales are made in electronic formats.
ARE SINGLES A THING OF THE PAST?
Radio continues to promote singles
The internet is the new medium for discovering and exchanging music- radio is on the way out. As air play counts for less and less, so will the single.
Radio remains a popular medium that is expanding to make use of the internet. Radio playlists focus on individual singles rather than albums, so that they will continue to be important to listeners.
