Single (music)

In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.Vinyl singles consist of one or more tracks on a traditional gramophone record. The record is typically a 7-inch or 12-inch black vinyl disc playing at 45 RPM, though other formats exist. The disc is reversible, usually with the main track (the "A-side") on one side, and the second track (the "B-side") on the reverse or "flip" side. Some singles, such as The Beatles' "We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper" or Queen's "We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You", were released as double A-sides (or "AA"), where the two tracks were given an equal importance. Many vinyl singles contain more than one track per side; this is particularly true of 12 inch singles. Vinyl singles were originally sold in standard paper sleeves, but now often have their own printed card covers with special artwork and text.Cassette singles - popular in the 1990s, these are becoming obsolete and are now rarely released as commercial singles. As they are reversible they usually consist of one main track on the A-side, and one or more additional tracks on the B-side. The case or sleeve of a cassette single also usually includes printed artwork and tracklistings.CD singles usually consist of the A-side accompanied by one or more separate tracks. Extended single CDs or Maxi singles often also include several remixes of the main song, another completely different song, (the B-side) and sometimes a short music video. CD singles do have a defined ordering of tracks, so that even on a double A-side single, one track has to come first. Occasionally, a single will not be identical in name to the featured track—such as the Nine Inch Nails single "Closer to God". The case or sleeve of a CD single also usually includes printed artwork and tracklistings.Limited edition CD singles are sometimes released as a marketing ploy. These are usually on sale for a specified period of time only, or are produced in limited numbers and may include bonus tracks or specialist artwork designed to appeal to the specialist or the collectors market.VHS singles are singles in the form of a videotape. Although the format has existed in form since the early 1980s in the form of Video 45s, the format gained higher levels of mainstream popularity when Madonna released "Justify My Love" as a video single in 1990 following the blacklisting of the video by MTV. U2 also released "Numb", the lead single from their 1993 album Zooropa as a video single. DVD singles are musical singles in the form of DVDs. The format was introduced in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Björk was the first ever artist to release a single on the DVD format with the track "All Is Full of Love" in July 1999, as an opportunity to maximize the exposure of the groundbreaking promo video by Chris Cunningham featuring Björk as a pair of robots. Although many record companies refused to issue CD singles, they readily issued DVD Singles, and some popular DVD singles include Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This," Jessica Simpson's "With You," and Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love". The DVD single never really caught on in the USA, and many are out of print nowadays causing some to view them as collector items. The DVD single replaced the video single. Single Vs - Main article: Single VDownload singles consist of one track or song that can be obtained as a digital download from an online supplier. Several different versions or remixes of the same single release may be available, but each one has to be downloaded separately.
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