Death of the single?

[TheButcher]

NEW YORK (AP) CNN--


The first time you entered a music store, chances are it was because there
was one song you had to have.


Maybe it was "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles, or Marvin Gaye's "I
Heard it Through the Grapevine." Perhaps you obsessed over "Night Fever" by
the Bee Gees, "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran or 'N Sync's "Bye Bye
Bye."


These days, finding that song -- without buying many more you don't want --
is becoming increasingly difficult.


The music industry is killing off the single.


Once the backbone of the business, singles sales totaled 31 million last
year, down a whopping 41 percent from 2000, according to Soundscan. It's
believed to be the lowest sales figure since the late 1940s, when singles
were introduced on vinyl.


Singles aren't even made for many of the most popular songs because music
companies think they're so unprofitable. For more, follow this link.


http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/wkd.death.of.the.single.ap/index
.html

 

[mandy]

I'd have to say I haven't bought a single in years. It doesn't seem to be worth it anymore. When a single costs 7 or 8 bucks (that's a guess?) and the whole cd costs about $23 (Gotta love JB Hi-Fi!) I'm better off just buying that.

 

[PC28]

What our friend failed to mention is that they don't produce CD Singles in America in the scale as say Australasia region

Thus they are being killed off in the US...

 

[TheButcher]

and youre telling me that Australia does not follow the American model

unfortunately it is a case of monkey see monkey do..

 

[The Hitman]

I never buy singles, only albums.

The Hitman

 

[Rusty Brookes]

I still buy singles-and I mean the old 7" singles. Always a good way to check out an unknown band. I've heard quite a few bands where the single rocked and their album sucked. I reckon there will always be a market for them in underground music.

 

[Macca19]

I rarely buy singles at all. Generally...if i like a single of a band...most likely ill like the other songs of the band so id rather buy their album than just a single.
However, i buy singles of my favourite bands just so i have their full catalogue....ive got all but one of Prodigys singles, most of Korns and most of Machine Head and Fear Factorys, and am starting on getting all the Incubus singles. Sometimes the other songs on the singles are better than whats on some of the albums (for instance Molotov Bitch on the Firestarter single from Prodigy is better than most of the stuff on Fat Of The Land)

So in conclusion...ill only buy singles of my favourite bands so i have their full catalogue...otherwise ill just buy the album

 

[Dr AlfAndrews]

CD technology has made the single uneconomical.

If you think about it, once all the songs have been recorded, it costs pretty much the same to put 15 songs on to a CD as it does to put 2 or 3 songs on. But you can charge at least three times as much for an album as a single.

There is also the matter of all that wasted space.

650 megs of space on a CD. But 3 songs might only take up a quarter of that.

The smart thing to do, if you're putting out a single these days, is to use up the blank space with a video clip. It makes the single a much more attractive proposition for the buyer ... and it's a useful promotional tool for the band.

 

[TheButcher]

and the nail in the coffin to the single..why would you buy the single when you can download the song and bonus tracks from file sharing programs like napster or audiogalaxy...

Ive always been an album buyer too...only bought singles for bonus tracks or the 12" art - derek riggs/Maiden