Maxi single

A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.

The first maxi singles

The term came into wide use in the 1970s, where it usually referred to 7-inch vinyl singles featuring one track on the A side and two on the B side. The 1975 reissue of David Bowie's Space Oddity, where the featured song is coupled with Changes and Velvet Goldmine, is a typical example. Since the mid 1970s, it was used to refer to 12" vinyl singles with three or four tracks (or an extended or remixed version of the lead single/song) on the A-Side, with an additional two or three tracks on the B-Side; the B-Side would initially be used by DJ's. Later, in the 1980s, a typical practice was to release a two-song single on 7" vinyl and cassette, and a maxi-single on 12" vinyl.

These first 12" maxi-singles were promotional and mostly sent to discotheques and radio stations. Examples of such promos—released at almost same time in 1975—are Gary Toms Empire – "Drive My Car", Don Downing – "Dream World", Barrabas – "Mellow Blow", The Tramps – "Hooked For Life", Ace Spectrum – "Keep Holdin' On", South Shore Commission – "Train Called Freedom", The Chequers – "Undecided Love", Ernie Rush – "Breakaway", Ralph Carter – "When You're Young and in Love", Michael Zager & The Moon Band Feat. Peabo Bryson – "Do it With Feeling", Monday After – "Merry-Go-Round", The Ritchie Family – "I Want To Dance" and Frankie Valli – "Swearin' to God".

Salsoul Records made 12" maxi-singles commercially available for the first time on May 1976 with the release of "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure (SALSOUL 12D-2008). An earlier 12" catalog number from this label is "More" by Carol Williams (SALSOUL 12D-2006), but it was released later.

The early CD era

When CDs began to appear as a single format in the late 1980s (see CD single), songs were often released in two CD formats simultaneously, as a logical application of the vinyl record format to CD. There would be a regular single on a 3" CD with two tracks, similar to a 7" record. There would also be a full-size 5" CD, often with three or four tracks, which was considered the maxi-single despite often containing only marginally more music than its smaller counterpart.

Example: Erasure – Sometimes (European 5" CD maxi-single) Released by Mute in 1988 in Europe. Includes 3 different songs. Packaged in a slim jewel case with insert. Labelled "Maxi-Single-CD" on front cover.

Cassette maxi singles

Occasionally, a cassette single would also be released in two cassette formats simultaneously: a traditional Cassingle [CS] with two tracks and a Cassette maxi-single [CMS] with four or more tracks, generally remixes. This practice was experimented with in the late 1980s but was uncommon even then.

Example: Debbie Gibson – Out Of The Blue (cassette maxi-single) Released by Atlantic in 1987 in the USA. Includes 4 mixes: 1. Club Mix, 2. Bonus Beats, 3. Drumapella, 4. Dub Version. This was Packaged in a 12" x 3" cassette maxi single longbox (with a regular cardboard slipcase/cassette inside), although most later maxi singles were just issued in regular style cassette cases.

1990s CD maxi singles

Shortly after the onset of the 1990s, CD had clearly become the music format of choice. As the 1990s progressed, nearly every single release was available on CD, and vinyl and cassette single releases gradually became less common.

The UK became a thriving market for CD singles, but in 1998 the UK Chart Supervisory Committee reduced the maximum playing time of chart-eligible CD singles from 40 to 20 minutes, though 12" vinyl singles could still play for up to 40 minutes. While Maxi-CDs had been much loved among the dance community, as most if not all of the remixes that had been commissioned by the label could be released commercially, lobbying by artists in other genres who felt obliged to record extra and cover tracks to provide enough material for their single releases was to blame for the rule change. As a result, UK singles from around mid-1998 often appeared as 3 separately-sold CDs with 3 tracks each, or more commonly, 2 CDs and an extra format (such as 7", 12" or DVD single). Very often, at least 1 track was common to all formats. Single releases in the US and elsewhere still included many tracks (primarily remixes) and called themselves maxi-singles to differentiate from the 3-track UK versions.

Example: Saint Etienne – Who Do You Think You Are? (US CD single) Released by Warner Music in 1993 in the USA. Includes 8 different tracks, 6 of which are versions of the title song. Digipak packaging. Labeled "compact disc maxi-single" on the front cover.

Another extensive example is the collection of singles released for the award-winning Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins. Each of the five singles ("Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "1979", "Zero", "Tonight, Tonight", "Thirty-Three") had two or more additional songs; most of them had six or seven. All of the maxi singles were released together, with additional tracks on some, as the Aeroplane Flies High boxed set, for a total of thirty-three tracks across the five singles.^[1] Adding that to the total number of other unique tracks on the main CD and vinyl releases of the album itself brings the grand total track count of Mellon Collie to fifty-eight.

Digital maxi singles

A digital maxi single is a series of digital downloads mostly containing remixes. Unlike a normal maxi single, tracks can be bought and sold based on preference. In terms of chart usage, even if a single had a maxi single and a digital maxi single released with exactly the same content, they would still be counted differently. For instance, the maxi single would be counted as two points, while the digital maxi single (if all songs were downloaded and if the single were to contain the standard five tracks) would be counted as ten points.

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. Lady Gaga and Madonna 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.

References

1. ^ "The Aeroplane Flies High [Box Set, Limited Edition, Single"]. Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Aeroplane-Flies-High-Smashing-Pumpkins/dp/B000000W3G#MusicTracksHeader. Retrieved September 16, 2010. 

• http://www.djsportal.com/disco-single-story-p-171.html?cPath=2 12 DISCO SINGLE – story in pix]