Who decides which song is a single and how?
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In the age of vinyl records, it was more practical for jukeboxes and radio stations to have smaller records (7” diameter) with a “single” song on each side. (You don’t want to hunt for the start of a song halfway through an album) It also takes up less shelf-space and cost less material to make.
Artist and record labels would guess which song would be the most popular and produce a record of that single to sell and give to radio stations. If the single was a hit, it translated in sales for the full album.
With digital music you no longer have to press an expensive run of vinyl for each song, but it still makes sense to promote a single song. People grow to remember and like songs after multiple listens. And climbing the music charts is easier if you don’t split plays between multiple songs on the album.
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