A question about A-sides and B-sides?

[ryushe]

I've always been interested in something. For singles, primarily Jpop or Jrock singles, there's what seems to be a main track, the A-side and a secondary track(s), the B-side. Where my questrion lies is, Why is it almost always the A-side is better than the B-side?

This is majority opinion based but I almost always find myself likening the A-side better than the B-side(s).

[HSaabedra]

In the music industry in general this is a standard practice, not just limited to Japan although there have been cases where the B-side track is better than the A side (Vanilla Ice scored his first hit when a radio DJ in Alabama flipped the single from the A side and played "Ice, Ice Baby" on the B side.) A sides push sales of the single, but B-sides are primarily used to fill out the CD.

[ryushe]

So, who or what decides which song becomes a A-side or B-side?

[HSaabedra]

So, who or what decides which song becomes a A-side or B-side?

That is left up solely to the record company based on the accessibility of the song and the willingness of radio stations to play it after previewing.

[Gibb]

I often times find myself liking B-sides better than A-sides. For a lot of the bands I listen to, they usually have a more mainstream friendly song as the A-side, such as a regular Rock/pop song with a fast tempo. Sometimes they have a slower ballad type song as the B-side, and I really love slow ballad songs.

Here are a couple of examples:

melody. - SEE YOU single. The title track SEE YOU is a pretty good song, but the B-side "Close your eyes" is a slow ballad song that I absolutely love.

melody. - Next to you single. The title track is a pretty typical pop song. There's a b-side called "So into you" that I like quite a bit more. "So into you" isn't a slow song, but it has a more easy listening feel to it.

Looking through my collection, it seems there are quite a few singles where I only like the A-sides, and don't care much for the B-sides, so it varies.

[Shizukachan]

Alice Nine's new single was the same as well, having a type A and type B single. I couldn't choose between the two but they both have the same two songs and each type having a different third content.
It's just a way to make it a collectible for fans (and to make money, that's business for ya!)
And why type A is always best? Thinks of it like a level. Like in an airplane, first class is better than business class. It's just way of saying that this type A single is has "deluxe" content.

Not sure if my info is right, It's a bit of background info and opinions.

[kenshinbebop]

I notice that the Japanese industry has a lot more singles than America. Now, I don't know if that's true, or it's just that in America, they're not as publicized(?), or marketed.

What I like about the lots of single is lots of B Sides...then they realease B Side compilation, like Another Morning, Another Pillows, or Feedback File.

[HSaabedra]

I notice that the Japanese industry has a lot more singles than America. Now, I don't know if that's true, or it's just that in America, they're not as publicized(?), or marketed.

What I like about the lots of single is lots of B Sides...then they realease B Side compilation, like Another Morning, Another Pillows, or Feedback File.

Physical singles haven't been sold in the US since 2001, and the iTunes Music Store is what brought back the idea of the pop single back into the mainstream. In Japan new CDs cost upwards of $40, which is why you see a lot of singles making up the majority of an artists discography since they're cheaper.

Ironically, to get people buying domestic releases instead of cheaper imports the full albums usually contain extra tracks or multimedia content to offset the higher prices and are usually separate from international releases to the point where Japanese arms of independent or major labels have exclusive masters of major releases with extra tracks that are not available anywhere else. The best example I can give is Radiohead doing an exclusive series of single releases for OK Computer that were released in Japan and fetch upwards of $200 on eBay or GEMM.