what was the purpose of the "single" originally and how people made money from it?
The singles that were released in the 90's often had a few songs sort of like an EP, they often sold for less than $5, I wonder how those companies made money off it. From what I understand the singles was to determine how a full length album would do.
Sometimes people only liked the single songs. I would think a music video could be a form of a "single" as well but then again people want the physical version they can play on their radio which is probably why a CD single was released to accommodate the video. I haven't really seen anyone release a single in a while it's probably because there's not many record stores that would have the section for it. I would think the full length made more sense because you get the single AND other songs all in 1 price. It was usually the pop and major labels that released singles, not much indie labels. I would think printing unnecessary copies of a thin cased disc would be a waste. Some artists sold more singles than the actual album which makes no sense because with the single it's so cheap how much money were companies really making off it? Could this be why it went obsolete?
The singles that were released in the 90's often had a few songs sort of like an EP, they often sold for less than $5, I wonder how those companies made money off it. From what I understand the singles was to determine how a full length album would do.
Sometimes people only liked the single songs. I would think a music video could be a form of a "single" as well but then again people want the physical version they can play on their radio which is probably why a CD single was released to accommodate the video. I haven't really seen anyone release a single in a while it's probably because there's not many record stores that would have the section for it. I would think the full length made more sense because you get the single AND other songs all in 1 price. It was usually the pop and major labels that released singles, not much indie labels. I would think printing unnecessary copies of a thin cased disc would be a waste. Some artists sold more singles than the actual album which makes no sense because with the single it's so cheap how much money were companies really making off it? Could this be why it went obsolete?
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