Why are record singles dying? “There’s no question in my mind that when record companies sign kids up now, bar a very few exceptions, it’s a case of ‘bring ’em in, squeeze ’em dry, and throw ’em out again’. And if you tell the teenyboppers today that some band is the latest, greatest thing, eventually they get sick of being manipulated and stop buying the records – which is exactly what is happening. The sale of singles fell by 42% in number and value in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year, and experts are predicting that the top 40 may soon be based on radio airplay, rather than how many singles people buy. “