Traditionally, promotional singles and official singles have fundamental differences; i.e. promotional singles are distributed free, while singles are distributed commercially. In the digital/streaming age, this distinction has blurred. This essay attempts to clarify generally established norms regarding the classification of singles and promotional singles on Wikipedia. While it may be useful for the digital/streaming age, not all of the following factors may apply to the music industry or song articles on Wikipedia based in the physical era.
In 2014, Billboard wrote that "the concept of what a single is has changed in the digital era. Traditionally, a single is a track released commercially and promoted to radio – often with, since the dawn of the MTV era, an official video ... But, now that songs are often released as preview tracks leading up to album releases, they can become known without radio promotion or proper video clips."[1] These preview tracks (and other songs with limited forms of promotion) are referred to on Wikipedia as "promotional singles". Note that per Template:Infobox album, promotional singles aren't included in album infoboxes under "Singles".
Established norms
Factors that suggest a song is a single
- The song was referred to as a single by the record label releasing it.
- The song was referred to as a single by an authoritative, music-oriented media outlet (e.g., Billboard, Official Charts Company).[a]
- The song was released commercially independent of an album (this can be nuanced; see differentiating singles vs. promotional singles below).
- The song was serviced to radio stations with an official add date (e.g., cited from All Access for the United States; EarOne for Italy).[b]
Factors that do not suggest a song is a single
- The song was referred to as a single by a random media outlet.[a]
- The song was marketed with a music or lyric video.[c]
- The song was played[d] on radio stations or added to a radio station's playlist at their discretion.[b]
- The song appeared on a music chart or is certified by an agency.
- The song has "single" next to its title on digital services (e.g., iTunes, Spotify or Tidal), as "single" is present next to all independent releases, official or not.
Factors that don't affect the legitimacy of a single
- The song was only released in one territory/to one radio format.[e]
Factors that may help differentiate promotional singles from regular singles
- A record label may explicitly refer to a song as a promotional single or distinguish it from a regular single.[f]
- An artist may explicitly refer to a song as a promotional single or distinguish it from a regular single.
- A song may be referred to as a promotional single by an authoritative, music-oriented media outlet.[g]
- If a song is released in the form of dance remixes independent of an album, it is usually considered a promotional single (e.g., Rihanna's "Consideration").
- A promotional single may not be released commercially (e.g., distributed for free as a digital download; a CD with "promo only" on the cover).
- A promotional single may only receive a release to one or two formats (e.g., for streaming or digital download only; no physical release or radio add date).[h]
- A promotional single may have a limited availability (e.g. only 5,000 vinyl copies of Doja Cat's "Freak" were produced, and they were only available at Urban Outfitters stores).
- A promotional single may be distributed in a unique way (e.g., Madonna's "Superstar" was released for free in Brazil with a newspaper).
- A promotional single may use the same cover art as the album it is featured on.
- A promotional single may not receive the same amount of attention from an artist as a regular single.
Notes on sources
| Publication | Release format focus | Region | Website | Consensus/Discussions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Music Network | Radio impact | Australia | Website |  No consensus | Defunct as of November 2021. According to the publication, "Singles to Radio is a chart put together by the editorial team based on tracks that are officially serviced to radio each week." The issue was updated each Monday (formerly Friday), but it did not provide specific release dates. Occasionally, songs were listed twice in different weeks. |
| Airplay Control | Radio impact | Italy | Website |  Reliable | These websites host press releases distributed by record labels which indicate that a song is available for airplay on a specific date. As such, citations should use Template:Cite press release. Because no radio format/genre is provided, the link in an article should be radio airplay. |
| EarOne | Radio impact | Italy | Website | Reliable | |
| Official Charts Company | Various | UK | Website | Reliable | As their main song chart is called the UK Singles Chart, their writers tend to call everything a "single" even though it may be an album track. The "new releases" page provides accurate release dates for songs released as singles. |
| All Access | Radio impact | US | Website "Music" → "Future Releases" → select a format | Reliable | Defunct as of September 2023. Songs listed under the subtitle "Hot/Modern/AC" should, in articles, link to the formats Hot adult contemporary radio, modern adult contemporary radio, and adult contemporary radio. If a song is only listed under the subtitle "AC", then only adult contemporary radio should be given in an article. Songs listed under the subtitle "urban" should link to urban contemporary radio. Songs listed under the subtitle "R&B" should link to urban adult contemporary radio. Sometimes a song is listed but removed before the impact day. Be sure to cite the URL closest to the impact day itself to ensure the release occurred. |
| MusicRow | Radio impact | US | Website | Reliable | This website lists country radio impact dates. |
| Radio & Records / R&R | Radio impact | US | Reliable | Beginning in April 1995, Radio & Records listed radio impact dates for contemporary hit radio and rhythmic contemporary radio formats, and began listing others in the late 1990s. Scanned archives are available at worldradiohistory.com, however it is preferable not to add the URL as the copyright status is unclear. They are also available on ProQuest until 2000, but only accessible to editors with a library/institutional account, not via WP:TWL. Online archives are available at Internet Archive. | |
| TopHit | Radio impact | Various | Website |  Unreliable | They list "on air release dates" for songs, but editors view these as the first time it was played on a radio station, not when a label released it. |
What is a radio impact date?
A radio impact date is the date when a record label officially releases a song to radio stations for airplay, particularly in the United States. It is also known as "going for adds", as in adds to radio stations' playlists. According to the 2013 book Understanding the Music Industries by SAGE Publishing, "going for adds is a promotional campaign aimed at creating a national buzz around a track through coordinated airplay." After a record label announces a song is going for adds on a particular day/week, they will attempt to get radio stations to playlist it.[6]