Wikipedia:Singles criteria

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." 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

  1. The song was referred to as a single by the record label releasing it.
  2. The song was referred to as a single by an authoritative, music-oriented media outlet (e.g., Billboard, Official Charts).
  3. The song was released commercially independent of an album (this can be nuanced; see differentiating singles vs. promotional singles below).
  4. 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).

Factors that do not suggest a song is a single

  1. The song was referred to as a single by a random media outlet.
  2. The song was marketed with a music or lyric video.
  3. The song was played on radio stations or added to a radio station's playlist at their discretion.
  4. The song appeared on a music chart or is certified by an agency.
  5. 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

  1. The song was only released in one territory/to one radio format.

Factors that may help differentiate promotional singles from regular singles

  1. A record label may explicitly refer to a song as a promotional single or distinguish it from a regular single.
  2. An artist may explicitly refer to a song as a promotional single or distinguish it from a regular single.
  3. A song may be referred to as a promotional single by an authoritative, music-oriented media outlet.
  4. 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" or Carly Rae Jepsen's "Shadow").
  5. 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).
  6. A promotional single may only receive a release to one or two formats (e.g. for streaming, digital download, or physical release only; no radio add date).
  7. 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).
  8. A promotional single may be distributed in a unique way (e.g. Madonna's "Superstar" was released for free in Brazil with a newspaper).
  9. A promotional single may not receive the same amount of attention from an artist as a regular single.

Notes on sources

Reliability of sources that have been used to cite release dates
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 Various UK Website
 Reliable The "new releases" page provides accurate release dates for songs released as singles. 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.
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.
Hits / Hits Daily Double Radio impact US Website Reliable In circulation since 1986, they report radio add dates and has B2B affiliation with Mediabase
Music Week Single release UK Website Reliable A UK-based publication that details new singles/albums releases weekly in the UK, although it is unclear if it's pertaining to radio release or not
U.S. Radio Updater Radio impact US Twitter Reliable The founders have close ties to key figures in the music industry, including radio programmers and promoters from various record labels. Some impact dates are sent to U.S. Radio Updater directly by promoters themselves. Furthermore, U.S. Radio Updater has access to the music servicing websites PlayMPE and NewMusicServer, which only programmers can access, and their release date reports have been cited by authoritative sources like Billboard. When citing a report, ensure that it says the song will impact radio at a particular date (example linked), not that the song has been serviced to radio (example linked).
RadioScope Radio impact New Zealand Website Unreliable The site operates as a radio chart in New Zealand rather than listing radio single releases.

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.

Note that there is a distinction between the terms "impacting radio" and "serviced to radio". As explained by USRadioUpdater, "impact" refers to a formal push by record labels to promote a song, whereas "service to" refers simply to making a song available for download by radio stations. In other words, when determining if a particular song is a radio single, and by extension determining when it was released as such, pertinent sources must use this "impact" verbiage.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Media publications such as Billboard and Official Charts are reliable for single releases because they monitor charts and have detailed reports in the music industry of the US and UK, respectively. A random outlet which simply refers to a song as a "single" does not automatically make it so; a higher-quality source is required. However, even publications such as Rolling Stone or NME, while offering reputable music reviews, are not necessarily reliable for classifying a song as a single or not. They should not be the only source cited when classifying a song as a single.
  2. 1 2 Songs with radio airplay but no official national add dates do not qualify as singles. Song playlists on radio websites e.g. BBC Radio or Capital FM are not proof of single releases, since they can add songs to their playlists without record labels officially endorsing them. A record label determines what receives an official release, not a radio station. As these are not official "releases", they should not be cited as release dates. This was affirmed in a 2021 RfC.
  3. ↑ Every song on an album could receive a music video; this does not mean all are singles. For example, even after Doja Cat's music video for the Planet Her song "Get Into It (Yuh)" was released, Billboard only referred to the album's songs that were sent to US radio as "official singles". If taken into consideration, a music video should not be the only factor considered when classifying a song as a single.
  4. ↑ Note that this says "played", not "pushed". Songs with unsolicited airplay i.e. radio stations playing them without a label "actively seeking spins for it" are not singles.
  5. ↑ An example is the song "Exile" by Taylor Swift featuring Bon Iver. The song was only released to US adult album alternative radio, and Billboard referred to it as a single. A radio add date was reported by All Access.
  6. ↑ Example: "GTFO" by Mariah Carey, which Epic Records referred to as "an early treat for fans", while describing "With You" as the "kickoff single".
  7. ↑ For example, Miley Cyrus described "End of the World" as the "first official single" of her ninth album Something Beautiful (2025), while she described the preceding releases "Prelude" and "Something Beautiful" as the "first song" and "second song", respectively. In a similar case, Bebe Rexha referred "New Religion" as the first single of her fourth album Dirty Blonde (2026), leading the earlier songs "I Like You Better than Me" and "Çike Çike" to be classified as promotional singles.
  8. ↑ For example, Official Charts referred to Dua Lipa's "Future Nostalgia" as a "promotional single".
  9. ↑ For example, Billboard wrote that traditionally in the United States, "a single is a track released commercially and promoted to radio" (emphasis added).

References

  1. 1 2 Gary, Trust (February 17, 2014). "Ask Billboard: Katy Perry Regains No. 1 Momentum". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Five Burning Questions: Doja Cat Notches Fourth Simultaneous Top 40 Hit Off Planet Her". Billboard. February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ Gary, Trust (December 9, 2013). "Katy Perry Rides In On A "Dark Horse," Her Aptly Titled, Unexpected Hit (Updated)". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  4. ↑ Gary, Trust (January 28, 2021). "Taylor Swift's "Coney Island" and "No Body, No Crime" Debut on Airplay Charts, Joining "Willow"". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Legendary Global Icon Mariah Carey Returns With New Music" (Press release). Sony Music Entertainment. March 20, 2026. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  6. ↑ Cyrus, Miley [@mileycyrus]; (April 4, 2025). "Miley Cyrus unveils "End of the World", the first official single off of her highly anticipated album, Something Beautiful, out May 30 via Columbia Records". Retrieved March 20, 2026 – via Instagram.
  7. ↑ Cyrus, Miley [@mileycyrus]; (March 31, 2025). "Miley Cyrus releases "Prelude" the first song and visual from her ninth studio album, Something Beautiful available May 30, 2025". Retrieved March 20, 2026 – via Instagram.
  8. ↑ Cyrus, Miley [@mileycyrus]; (March 31, 2025). "Miley's second song and video release "Something Beautiful", the title track off of the forthcoming album explores her deep connection to fashion showcasing an original custom design by Casey Cadwallader for the House of Mugler in the visual". Retrieved March 20, 2026 – via Instagram.
  9. ↑ Rexha, Bebe [@beberexha] (March 4, 2026). "How excited are you for my first official single "New Religion?" Out this Friday 3/6" (Tweet). Retrieved March 4, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  10. ↑ White, Jack (January 30, 2020). "Dua Lipa reveals the release date and artwork of her new album Future Nostalgia". Official Charts. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  11. ↑ Anderton, Chris; Dubber, Andrew; James, Martin (2013). Understanding the Music Industries. Los Angeles: SAGE Publishing. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-1-4462-0794-9.
  12. ↑ U.S. Radio Updater [@USRadioUpdater] (July 31, 2026). "To clear it up! When we say 'serviced', we can confirm that the song has been made available to radio for download via a few industry sites we have access too, but even though it's a sign it will impact we have not confirmed it will receive a formal push" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 4, 2026. Retrieved August 4, 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).