Today, I explain what it means to release a music “single” in the streaming era.
In Pop Culture Questions Answered, I answer whatever questions you folks might have about movies, TV, music or whatever (feel free to e-mail questions to me at brian@poprefs.com).
As you likely saw, I just did a Pop Culture Questions Answered as to how Billie Eilish was able to win the Grammy for Song of the Year for a song, “Wildflowers,” that was first released on her 2024 album, Hit Me Hard and Soft.
The explanation was that while the album came out before August 31st, 2024, the song, “Wildflowers,” was then released as a single in early 2025, so it was eligible for the August 31st, 2024-August 30, 2025 timeline for music to qualify for the FOLLOWING year’s Grammys.
My friend, Shaun, though, wanted to know, “This is wild to me given how people listen to music now. I do not think I know a single person, old or young, who discovers new music by listening to the radio. So what on earth does it mean to ‘release’ a single?”
Obviously, we are far removed from the old days, when artists (well, their labels) would literally release a physical piece of media with a song on it as as a “single” (whether on vinyl, then cassette tape, then CD, and then getting into internet storage, like MP3s). Those singles would be sent to radio stations, and the DJs would play them, and depending on how popular they were, they would play more, and listeners would then buy copies of the song.
Now that everyone listens to streaming services to get modern music, how do singles even make sense anymore?
Well, first off, an important thing to remember is that people still DO listen to the radio. So the traditional “Send a single to the radio for airplay” stuff still happens.
But as for streaming, singles are often used to promote an UPCOMING album. Like Maisie Peters has a new album coming out soon, so she has released a few singles to promote it, including the excellent “Say My Name In Your Sleep.” You put that on the streaming service AHEAD of the album to promote it.
However, once you HAVE a hit album, you still release singles because a release of a “single” on a Streaming Service sees it show up on the service as a distinct “entry” (essentially a super-mini album) on the service, and it will pop up under “new releases.”
Sabrina Carpenter, for instance, JUST released the single for her 2025 song, “House Tour,” which initially appeared last year on her album, Man’s Best Friend. So it was sent to radio stations as a single, but also released on streaming services as a distinct item separate from the album it debuted on, Man’s Best Friend.
This is helpful because it allows artists like Carpenter to continually appear in the “new releases” section on the streaming services.
That’s PARTIALLY why all the major artists do “deluxe” versions of their albums with new songs added to them (the other reason, of course, is to get their fans to buy a second copy of the album), so that they pop up on the “new releases” section on streaming service.
The name of the game in the modern music industry is keeping your name out there, so releasing singles is a major part of that, even if we’ve mostly moved past physical singles.
Thanks to Shaun for the question! If anyone else has a pop culture question, drop me a line at brian@poprefs.com!
