单曲

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单曲，在音乐领域，单曲是指包含一支歌曲或更多片断音轨这些相对比较简短的录音。单曲能够以多种格式向公众发行。

• 胶片单曲由两个（或者更多）音轨组成，用于传统的留声机录音上。这种录音的典型形式是7英寸或者12英寸黑胶唱片，以每分钟45转播放（45RPM），但仍有其它格式的存在。这种唱片是双面的，通常有主要音轨（也就是"A-side"）在一面，还有次要音轨(即"B-side")在反面。一些单曲,像The Beatles的"Come Together"/"Something"或者Queen的"We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You"，以双A-sides的形式发行（或者叫做"AA"），双A-sides的两面音轨同等重要。大部分胶片唱片每面包含了多于一个音轨；特别是在12英寸唱片上。最初的胶片唱片在普通纸包装内销售，不过现在通常有每个唱片自己的独特标题和封套。
• 卡带单曲 - 流行于20世纪90年代，现在则已经过时了，目前很少使用在商业单曲的发行上。磁带双面通常由包含主要音轨的A面和包含一个或更多附加音轨的B面组成。磁带的封套通常包括印制的封面和音轨列表。
• CD单曲通常由伴随着一个或更多短音轨的A面组成。长的CD单曲或者Maxi单曲常包含了一些主打单曲的Remixe（重混音）版本的歌曲和完整的其他歌曲（也就是B-side），有时也包含一个短MV。在CD单曲中，每个音轨都有明确的次序，因此即使在双A面的单曲中，也必然有排序第一的单曲。很少的情况下，a single will not be identical in name to the featured track—比如Nine Inch Nails的单曲"Closer to God". CD的封套通常也有印制的封面和音轨列表。
• 限量版CD单曲通常作为一种营销策略而发行。他们通常只在特定的时期销售，或者限定数量的出版，这种CD可能包含了Bonus音轨或者特别的唱片封面to appeal to the specialist or the collectors market.
• 视频单曲(Video Single)是一种用录影带记录的单曲形式。尽管这种格式以Video 45s形式20世纪80年代早期就存在了，但在Madonna1990年发行随后进入MTV黑名单的单曲"Justify My Love"之后才赢得主流音乐的欢迎。U2也发行了Numb,作为他们1993年专辑Zooropa中的主打单曲发行了视频单曲。
• DVD单曲是在DVD格式中发行的音乐单曲。这种格式是在20世纪90年代末和21世纪初引入的。尽管很多唱片公司拒绝发行CD单曲，他们却迅速发行了DVD单曲, 一些热门的DVD单曲包含了Kelly Clarkson的"A Moment Like This"，Jessica Simpson"With You"和Beyoncé的"Crazy In Love".DVD单曲从没有在美国真正流行过，and many are out of print nowadays causing some to view them as collector items.DVD单曲取代了视频单曲。
• 单曲下载是指从在线提供数字下载的提供商处下载一个音轨或者歌曲。同样歌曲的不同版本或者Remixe版本可能是（视供应商情况而定）可下载的，但他们必须分开下载。

单曲通常同时发行多种格式的版本，比如数字下载，CD和胶片等。 其它格式含同时发行两张各自先放各自的音轨的CD，然后作为两张独立的CD而使用各自的B面和封面（例如Muse的非专辑单曲Dead Star/In Your World和In Your World/Dead Star）, 或作为两张各有一支音轨的CD比如Kent的单曲FF/VinterNoll2)。拥有两个以上A面的唱片通常不被算作是单曲，而是算作EP。

尽管非专辑内的单曲有些时候也被发行，单曲内的主打歌曲（也有时候B-sides中也有）通常情况下是出自专辑（已经发行或者即将发行的），单曲的发行部分的作用是刺激专辑销量，同时确保电台的播放率（playlisting）。CD单曲通常还有主要歌曲的"radio edit"（电台版本）或者"single edit"（单曲版本）不同于原始录音版本，发行的单曲重新被编辑从而使歌曲长度对于电台播放更有吸引力，或者被检查（通常重新录音新的歌词），也就是clean版本，或者两者都有。

一张专辑典型的单曲发行数量一般是2至4支——更多的则认为是特别的。（比如：Gwen Stefani的专辑Love. Angel. Music. Baby.）However, since an artist's most popular songs are often singles later albums including their earlier works may have many, 比如S Club 7的专辑Best - The Greatest Hits.

目录 1 英国和美国 1.1 英国 1.2 美国 2 History 2.1 Video singles 3 See also

[编辑] 英国和美国

[编辑] 英国

在英国在19世纪早期之前，单曲在电台和商店的发行在同一天。随着电台空放量的上升，单曲会在榜上爬升至最高位置，一般在一个月左右以后，单曲会缓慢的下降直到掉出榜单。自从19世纪早期，唱片公司在电台发行单曲早约一个月用来提高销量。在电台播放使让听众感觉到与这支歌曲更亲密，从而确保单曲能够以可能达到的最高销量上榜。不同于美国，最热门的英国榜单（例如UK Singles Top 75）都只依靠统计销售数据，而不包含电台空放量。单曲提前发行到电台，自从20世纪90年代为了鼓励更多有可能购买的人购买单曲而让单曲能够在榜单上达到最高值，大部分英国发行的主流唱商唱片在第一周以非常低的价格销售，在之后则高价销售。今天典型的单曲排行是在第一周达到最高值，与过去缓慢爬行的销量完全相反。The modern trend towards entering at peak position has led to the common sight of not one single in the UK Top 75 gaining in the chart.单曲能在#1所待的周数也越来越短，在榜上却下降飞快，单曲在下降之后重新爬上的最高名次的机会越来越少。另外，在20世纪90年代之前，专辑的首支单曲早于专辑几周发行，而在今天单曲典型的话会在专辑一或者两周之前发行。

其他一些营销策略是发行主打单曲。偶尔的，主打单曲会在专辑发行一或数月之前发行。例如：Oasis的"Some Might Say"和Pulp的"Help the Aged". 不同于寻常的情况下，两支单曲为了促进专辑的销售在同一时间发行，一个典型的例子是Manic Street Preachers的"Found That Soul"和"So Why So Sad".

在英国，新的趋势是单曲销售逐渐下降，而由于排行榜引入数字下载而使非单曲在排行榜上上升。美国两人组合Gnarls Barkley通过"Crazy"创造了历史, 它完全依靠下载成为英国排名第一的单曲(这支单曲能够进入UK singles chart是因为随后发行了唱片版本，直到2007年1月无唱片发行的而仅靠下载得单曲才以进入榜单)。从2006年中期开始78%的英国唱片销售都是数字下载。[1]

在CD单曲销售开始衰退之际，7"黑胶唱片的销售量开始在2006年上升，[2] [3] 在一些著名歌手/乐队的引领下，比如Arctic Monkeys, 据说卖出的7"唱片多于CD。结果与20世纪90年代正相反，目前很多单曲发行两个版本7"唱片和一个CD版本。

[编辑] 美国

在美国，自从20世纪90年代早期，单曲逐渐的不做商业发行了。尽管这样做会阻碍它们在Hot 100上的上榜， Billboard magazine认可了这一趋势，并在1998年修改了规则允许只进行空放的音轨（也被它们叫做专辑Cut）上榜。从那时开始，只进行空放的单曲频繁的登上Billboard第一。不过旧规则使一些长期在空放第一的单曲比如No Doubt的"Don't Speak"丧失了获得Billboard Hot 100第一的资格。最近，Billboard开始统计数字下载数据，并计入总榜。

[编辑] History

Singles have been issued on various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch and 12-inch vinyl discs (usually playing at 45 rpm); 10-inch shellac discs (playing at 78 rpm); cassette, 3 and 5-inch CD singles and 7-inch plastic flexi discs. Other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc (5", 8", etc.).

The most common form of the vinyl single is the 45. Its name is derived from the speed at which it is played, 45 RPM (revolutions per minute). The standard size of a 45 is 7" in diameter.

The 7" 45 RPM record was introduced in 1949 by RCA as a smaller, higher fidelity replacement for the 78 RPM shellac discs. The first 45 RPM records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 RPM records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s.

Although 7" remained the standard size for vinyl singles, 12" singles were introduced for use by DJs in discos in the 1970s. The longer playing time of these singles allowed the inclusion of extended dance mixes of tracks. The 12" single is still considered a standard format for dance music, though its popularity has declined in recent years.

The sales of singles are recorded in charts in most countries in a Top 40 format. These charts are often published in magazines and numerous television shows and radio programs count down the list. In order to be eligible for inclusion in the charts the single must meet the requirements set by the charting company, usually governing the number of songs and the total playing time of the single.

In popular music, the relative commercial and artistic importance of the single (as compared to the EP or album) has varied over time, technological development, and according to the audience of particular artists and genres. Singles have generally been more important to artists who sell to the youngest purchasers of music (younger teenagers and pre-teens), who tend to have more limited financial resources and shorter attention spans. Perhaps the golden age of the single was on "45's" in the 1950s and early 1960s in the early years of rock music; albums became a greater focus as artists like The Beatles and others created albums of uniformly high quality and coherent themes (one of many examples being the concluding medley on Abbey Road), a trend which reached its apex in the development of the concept album. Over the 1980s and 1990s, the single has generally received less and less attention as albums, which on compact disc had virtually identical production and distribution costs but could be sold at a higher price, became most retailers' primary method of selling music. The single became almost exclusively a promotional tool for radio play and to appear on television via the video clip.

Dance music, however, has followed a different commercial pattern, and the single, especially the 12-inch vinyl single, remains a major method by which dance music is distributed.

As of 2006, the single seems to be undergoing something of a revival. Commercial music download sites reportedly sell mostly single tracks rather than whole albums, and the increase in popularity seems to have rubbed off on physical formats [4]. Portable MP3 players, which make it extremely easy to load many songs from different artists and play them, are claimed to be a major factor behind this trend.

A related development has been the popularity of mobile phone ringtones based on pop singles (on some modern phones, the actual single can be used as a ringtone). These are reportedly a very lucrative new business for the music industry^{[來源請求]}.

In a reversal of this trend, recently a single has been released based on a ringtone itself. The Crazy Frog ringtone, which had become a cult hit in Europe in 2004, was released as a mashup with Axel F in June 2005 amid a massive publicity campaign and subsequently hit #1 on the UK charts.

[编辑] Video singles

In relation to music singles, the industry has released music videos as singles as well. Originally released on very short VHS cassettes (T-15), these eventually were released on LaserDisc as LD-singles (18 cm or 8" format, instead of the full 1'/12"/30 cm LD), and on cDVD as DVD-singles (8 cm or 3" format, instead of the full 12 cm/5.25" DVD).

[编辑] See also

• List of best-selling singles
• One-hit wonder
• Release (music)
• Hit single
• Euro 200 Singles & Tracks