Cassette single

Two U.S. cassette singles and their cardboard slipcases: Donald Fagen's "Century's End" (1988) and the Rolling Stones' "Mixed Emotions" (1989)
Media type:	magnetic tape
Encoding:	analog signal
Capacity:	generally less than 10 minutes total (2-3 songs), sometimes repeated on both sides
Read mechanism:	tape head
Usage:	audio playback

A cassette single (CS, also known by the trademark "Cassingle" or capitalized as the trademark "Cassette Single") is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette. The first commercial release of a cassette single appears to have been the Go-Gos' song "Vacation" b/w "Beatnik Beach" by I.R.S. Records, which trademarked the "Cassingle" name, in 1982, although the recording industry resisted the format. [Capitol & Columbia tried several cassette singles in 1984-1986.] The format was finally introduced on a wide scale in 1987, when vinyl record album sales were declining in favor of cassette recordings; the cassette single was meant to replace the 45 record in a similar way.^[1]

Originally, most cassette singles were released in a cardboard sleeve that slipped over the outside of the release. This was then usually shrink wrapped in plastic. Some singles contained one song on each side, much as 45s had done, but others repeated the songs on both sides. In some markets, cassette singles generally used the same packaging as standard cassettes, a plastic box with a paper insert.

As the cassette maxi-single was released, more intricate packaging was incorporated that looked similar to the packaging of a regular cassette release. These were placed in regular plastic cassette cases with a paper/cardstock insert. Unlike a full-length cassette album, these were generally only one two-sided inlay instead of a fold-out. Maxi-singles usually contained 4 versions of a single song, ie: unique mixes & edits, but some contained versions of 2 different songs.

Insert from the "Winter" cassette single by Tori Amos. Like many British cassette singles, it was sold in a regular cassette box with a paper insert.

Although the cassette had reached a high level of popularity by the late 1980s, due to the ubiquity of mobile devices such as the Sony Walkman, the boombox and car audio cassette players, cassette singles never eclipsed gramophone records to the same extent as cassette albums had done.

Cassette Singles around the world

Australia

In Australia, cassette singles were popular until the late 1990s. Australian cassette singles suffered from a lack of packaging and design when compared to their UK or European counterparts. Record companies such as Virgin and EMI would use a standard design for all releases, which featured a square copy of the vinyl artwork on the cover and standard typography and record company logos on the inlay card. Rear cover artwork was not used.

United Kingdom

In the UK, after the introduction of Compact Disc singles, cassette singles were retained as a low-cost alternative, sold alongside the CD version, but at a somewhat lower price (often £2.29 compared to £3.99 for the CD), and often with fewer "bonus" tracks. By the end of the 1990s, many forms of prerecorded audio cassettes were being phased out, although cassette singles were still stocked by most retailers until 2003.

United States

Bryan Adams' "Heat of the Night" b/w "Another Day" was released as a cassette single by A&M Records on March 13, 1987, making it the first to be released in the U.S. after the industry had agreed to introduce the format on a wide scale and to stop producing 45-rpm singles. In contrast to the earlier Go-Go's single, which was packaged in a regular cassette box, the Bryan Adams single was issued in a unique outer snap-open soft black plastic case with a red colored cassette shell. This case was not used on later single issues and most companies issued them in the new low-cost cardboard slipcase packaging with only one or two opting for the regular type cassette box.

References

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