Single (music)

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Common forms of phyical music singles

A 7-inch vinyl record single

A CD single (12cm/"full-size")

In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album or LP record,^[1] typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or virtual formats. Singles may be standalone tracks or connected to an artist's album, and in the latter case would often have at least one single release before the album itself, called lead singles.^[2]

Historically, when mainstream music was purchased via vinyl records, singles would be released double-sided, i.e. there was an A-side and a B-side, on which two songs would appear, one on each side.^[3] With the rise of digital distribution, distinctions have become more tenuous. The biggest digital music distributor, the iTunes Store, only accepts as singles releases with three tracks or fewer that are less than ten minutes each (with longer releases being classified as "EPs" or "albums").^[1] However, releases which do not fit these criteria have been promoted as singles by artists and labels elsewhere, such as on the Bandcamp storefront.

Nowadays physically-released music is mainly bought in the form of full-length albums instead of singles.^[4][5] The most common physical formats of singles had been the 7" vinyl records and the CD single, but singles have also been released on other formats such as 12" vinyl records, 10" shellac records, cassette single, and mini CD.