The Maxi Single Today
With music stores in the US devoting significantly less shelf space to singles, the format's future in the US remains in doubt. In the UK, having watched sales of CDs drop since the previous rule change, and amid allegations that the consumer no longer felt that UK-issued singles were good value for money, the Chart Supervisory Committee once again changed the rules governing the formats of singles released in the UK. From early 2003, a format described as a "Maxi-CD" was reintroduced, alongside a new 2-track CD single with a lower retail price. The current UK rules allow for up to 40 minutes of audio tracks on a Maxi-CD, as long as all tracks are remixes of the title track. In practice, however, many UK Maxi-CDs still contain only 3 mixes and come nowhere near the maximum allowable playing time. However, releases on dance labels (such as EMI's Positiva) are nearly always Maxi-CDs in the true sense, with more than 3 mixes. Madonna and Lady Gaga are the rare examples of popular artists who still release maxi-singles for each single release.
Example: Erasure – Breathe (US CD single) Released by Mute in 2005 in the USA. Includes 8 different tracks, 6 of which are versions of the title song, plus a CD-ROM section with the video of the title song. Standard jewel case packaging.
The Japanese music industry relies heavily on single sales (these are released before the album containing the single songs) with an artist releasing between 2 and 5 singles before the album release. It's not uncommon to have Maxi Singles since they drive sales faster. Also, CD+DVD bundles are quite popular.
Example: Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc. Released by EMI/Virgin in May 2005 in Japan. Includes 5 tracks, an A-Side, a B-Side, an arrangement of a song from the previous album, a remix of the title track and both main tracks instrumental versions. The DVDs contain the promotional videos for the songs, as well as making-of clips of them.
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