The music retail business is in a world of hurt right now, as people seem to be losing interest in buying music at traditional record stores. These days, everyone buys their CDs--at least, among the people still buying CDs--at big box stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart or Target. I actually feel bad for the Tower Records, Virgin Megastores etc. of the world. I've spent gobs of time at music stores through the years, including Wherehouse Music, which is now in the process of selling off most of its stores in Southern California. I've always had mixed feelings about Wherehouse--I think their selection is paltry compared to a Virgin, Tower or even indie outlet like Aron's (still my favorite) or Rockaway (my other favorite) and especially not Amoeba (OK, my third favorite). But Wherehouse had a solid used CD department, and I've traded many old CDs for new ones there.
Wherehouse blames its Chapter 11 status on too much internet downloading, as well as the practice used by Best Buy and others of dramatically cutting the price of CDs (something those stores, which make their profit off big item sales, can afford to do). But I still think record labels erred by dropping the single a few years ago, and retailers never properly protested to bring it back.
To me, the single is the "entry drug" for many young music fans. Those kids can't afford a whole CD, but they may be able to buy a single of their favorite new song. At that point, they get introduced to the joy of spending time at a record store, flipping through racks of music, buying a CD and owning that piece. Sure, I love downloading, but nothing beats holding a new jewel case in your hand. In their rush to force people to buy whole CDs, instead of just buying singles, the record labels kept young kids out of record stores. Those young kids are now growing up-- and they don't buy music.
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