{{Short description|Two sides of phonograph records and cassettes}} {{Redirect-several|dab=n|A-Sides (disambiguation)|B-Sides (disambiguation)}} {{Redirect|Side A|the Filipino pop band|Side A (group)|the Christian theological positions|Side A, Side B, Side X, Side Y (theological views)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Multiple image|caption_align=center|header_align=center | direction = vertical | width = 200 | image1 = 17929A-Lucia di Lammermoor.jpg | alt1 = A-side | image2 = 17929B-Fantasia.jpg | alt2 = B-side | footer = [[Victor Talking Machine Company|Victor]] 17929-A and 17929-B }} [[File:Compactcassette.jpg|thumb|A [[cassette tape]]]]
The '''A-side''' and '''B-side''' are the two sides of [[phonograph record|vinyl record]]s and [[Compact cassette|cassettes]], and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings, which in purely technical terms of recording and playback do not favor any side over the other. The A-side of a [[Single (music)|single]] usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to be the initial focus of promotional efforts and radio airplay, with the aim of it becoming a [[hit record]]. The B-side (or "flip-side") is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been as successful as, or more so than, their A-sides.
==History== Conventions shifted in the early 1960s, at which point record companies started assigning the song they wanted radio stations to play to side A, as 45 rpm single records ("45s") dominated most markets in terms of cash sales in comparison to [[album]]s, which did not fare as well financially. Throughout the decade the industry would slowly shift to an album-driven paradigm for releasing new music; it was not until 1968 that the total production of albums on a unit basis finally surpassed that of singles in the United Kingdom.<ref>MacDonald, p. 296</ref>
Today, with the vast majority of music released and accessed without any physical carrier and predominantly as separate works, the traditional A-side/B-side distinction is obsolete. Nonetheless, some contemporary artists have added on a second track to a single-track release as a metaphorical "B-side" or "bonus track", which can serve as an aesthetic choice as well as a promotional tool.<ref>{{cite book |last=Plasketes |first=George |title=B-Sides, Undercurrents and Overtones: Peripheries to Popular in Music, 1960 to the Present |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |date=2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Return Of The B-Side Single |url=https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/return-b-side-single |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021075725/https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/return-b-side-single |archive-date=2021-10-21 |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=Vinyl Me, Please}}</ref>
==Double A-side== A ''double A-side'', ''AA-side'', or ''dual single'' is a [[Single (music)|single]] where both sides are designated the A-side, with no designated B-side; that is, both sides are prospective hit songs and neither side will be promoted over the other. In 1949, [[Savoy Records]] promoted a new pair of singles by one of its artists, [[Paul Williams (saxophonist)|Paul Williams]]' "House Rocker" and "He Knows How to Hucklebuck", as "The New Double Side Hit – Both Sides 'A' Sides".<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Billboard |title=Rhythm & Blues Records |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=61 |issue=26 |page=30 |date=25 June 1949 |quote="Savoy and Paul Williams Lead Again with{{nbsp}}... The New Double Side Hit – Both Sides 'A' Sides" |issn=0006-2510 }}</ref> In 1965, ''Billboard'' reported that due to a disagreement between [[EMI Records|EMI]] and [[John Lennon]] about which side of [[the Beatles]]' "[[We Can Work It Out]]" and "[[Day Tripper]]" single should be considered the A-side and receive the plugging, "EMI settled for a double-side promotion campaign—unique in Britain."<ref>Hutchins, Chris. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=OykEAAAAMBAJ&dq=double+side+campaign+unique+britain+intitle%3Abillboard&pg=PA26 Music Capitals of the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320140044/https://books.google.com/books?id=OykEAAAAMBAJ&dq=double+side+campaign+unique+britain+intitle%3Abillboard&pg=PA26 |date=20 March 2023 }}" ''Billboard'' 4 December 1965: 26</ref>
In the UK, before the advent of digital downloads, both A-sides were accredited with the same chart position, for the singles chart was compiled entirely from physical sales. In the UK, the biggest-selling non-charity single of all time was a double A-side, [[Wings (band)|Wings]]' 1977 release "[[Mull of Kintyre (song)|Mull of Kintyre]]"/"[[Girls' School (song)|Girls' School]]", which sold over two million copies. It was also the [[List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones|UK Christmas No. 1]] that year.<ref name="UK Official Chart 2011">{{Cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19771218/7501/ |title=1977-12-24 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive {{!}} Official Charts<!-- Bot generated title --> |website=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-date=3 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603234329/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19771218/7501/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 December 2020 |title=Every Official Christmas Number 1 ever |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/every-official-christmas-number-1-ever-__3618/ |url-status=live |website= |publisher=Official Charts Company |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403030036/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/every-official-christmas-number-1-ever-__3618/ |archive-date=3 April 2015 |access-date= }}</ref> [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] released "[[All Apologies]]" and "[[Rape Me]]" as a double A-side in 1993, and both songs are accredited as a hit on both the UK Singles Chart<ref>[http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/nirvana/ Nirvana – UK Singles Chart Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002162723/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/nirvana/ |date=2 October 2013 }} officialcharts.com. Retrieved 23 October 2013.</ref> and the [[Irish Singles Chart]].<ref>[http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement User needs to do an artist search for "Nirvana"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120524211911/http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |date=24 May 2012 }} irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 23 October 2013.</ref>
== {{anchor|backed_with}} B/W == {{Redirect|b/w|the shortened form of "black and white"|black-and-white|other uses|B&W (disambiguation){{!}}B&W}}
The term "b/w", an abbreviation of "backed with", is often used in listings to indicate the B-side of a record. The term "c/w", for "coupled with", is used similarly.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Straight Dope: In the record business, what do "b/w" and "c/w" mean? |date=15 October 1999 |url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1352/in-the-record-business-what-do-b-w-and-c-w-mean |access-date=12 January 2009 |archive-date=4 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004001903/http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1352/in-the-record-business-what-do-b-w-and-c-w-mean |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Characteristics== B-sides are often considered to be [[Filler (media)|filler]] material: songs of lower quality. However, pop artists such as [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], [[New Order (band)|New Order]], [[Pet Shop Boys]], [[Def Leppard]], [[The Cure (band)|the Cure]], [[Tori Amos]], [[Bon Jovi]], [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]], and [[the Beatles]] have been particularly known for releasing strong material on B-sides.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beaumont |first1=Mark |author1-link=Mark Beaumont (journalist) |title=It's time for a return of the good, old-fashioned B-side – and Sam Fender's leading the charge |url=https://www.nme.com/features/opinion/time-for-a-return-of-the-b-side-and-sam-fender-2996652 |website=NME |access-date=24 May 2023 |date=19 July 2021 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309005906/https://www.nme.com/features/opinion/time-for-a-return-of-the-b-side-and-sam-fender-2996652 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Petridis |first1=Alexis |author1-link=Alexis Petridis |title=Oasis's greatest songs – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/05/oasis-greatest-songs-ranked |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=24 May 2023 |date=5 March 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517170322/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/05/oasis-greatest-songs-ranked |url-status=live }}</ref> B-sides have often been compiled on [[Special edition|expanded or "deluxe" editions of albums]] or may be compiled into a B-side compilation album across multiple periods of an artist's career.<ref>{{cite web |last=Evanson |first=Keith |title=The Return Of The B-Side Single |url=https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/return-b-side-single |website=Vinyl Me, Please |access-date=24 May 2023 |archive-date=24 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524191354/https://www.vinylmeplease.com/blogs/magazine/return-b-side-single |url-status=live }}</ref>
==B-side compilations== {{Main|List of B-side compilation albums}}
==See also== * [[B movie]]
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
===References=== {{Refbegin}} * MacDonald, Ian. ''[[Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties]]'' – {{ISBN|1-84413-828-3}} * "A History of the 45rpm record" Martland, Peter. ''EMI: The First 100 Years'' – {{ISBN|0-7134-6207-8}} {{Refend}}
{{Music topics}}
[[Category:Audio storage]] [[Category:Music industry]]