Talk:Taylor Swift singles discography

Changing "singles" and "promotional singles" sections to "radio singles" and "digital singles"?

The term "promotional single" does not have a clear definition. It would make a lot more sense to categorize singles by their official release format (radio or digital) rather than basing status solely off of sources which often omit the word "promotional" anyway. What do others think of this? 2601:180:8200:63D0:142F:757B:ED82:8C64 (talk) 14:34, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

• I think it would be better to keep it as "singles" and "promotional singles". Digital single still implies the song is a single, and that is not true for songs like "Only the Young", which is a promotional single. As well, this wouldn't be able to be reflected in Infoboxes, as there are no "digital" or "radio" options. D🐶ggy54321 ^{(let's chat!)} 15:19, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

"Haunted" as a promo single

The acoustic version was released, but does it make the song a promo single? HĐ (talk) 01:07, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

Not in the slightest. It's just a different recording of the song. "Forever & Always" (piano version) doesn't make "Forever & Always" a promo single, the live acoustic versions of various Lover songs don't make them promo singles, etc. Just because a song has different versions doesn't make the song a promo single automatically. All the songs on Folklore, Fearless and Speak Now and various Taylor Swift and Lover tracks all have different (live, re-recorded, acoustic, etc) versions existing on streaming services, but they aren't all listed as promo singles. D🐶ggy54321 ^{(let's chat!)} 01:28, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

Scratch that. I didn't realize "Haunted" (acoustic) was independently released. Short answer: yes, it's a promo single. A promo single is an independently-released song that was not officially released as a single. So, "Haunted" (acoustic), "If This Was a Movie", "Superman", "The Moment I Knew", "Come Back...Be Here", and all the other songs independently released (including all the Lover songs that had a live acoustic version) are promo singles because they were independently released. With regard to which versions we should list ("Haunted" or "Haunted" (acoustic), for example), we should list the one that was independently released. In this case, it would be "Haunted" (acoustic) that is the promo single, and "Haunted" (original) would stay as a song, as the former had an independent release whereas the latter did not. Same thing with all the Lover promo singles, the live versions were the ones independently released so they are the promo singles. Sorry for the mix-up. D🐶ggy54321 ^{(let's chat!)} 01:52, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

My point exactly. "Haunted (Acoustic)" was a promo, but "Haunted" itself was not. My edit was reverted somewhat... HĐ (talk) 13:35, 5 May 2021 (UTC)

"I Don't Wanna Live Forever" as a promo single

Isn't "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" with Zayn Malik a promo single for Fifty Shades Darker?.. Young English Actor (talk) 20:12, 31 July 2021 (UTC)

@Young English Actor: No, it was an official single. It was sent to two American radio stations and one Italian one in December 2016 and January 2017, respectively, as a single. See I Don't Wanna Live Forever#Release history. The fact that it was released in promotion of a movie doesn't automatically make it a promo single. D🐶ggy54321 ^{(let's chat!)} 20:30, 31 July 2021 (UTC)

Redirects

I was looking for this article and I got redirected to Taylor Swift Discography, which in turn redirected to Taylor Swift. This redirect confused me, and I'm sure it's confused others.Anfwepgnrwfinre (talk) 22:48, 8 December 2021 (UTC)

I have fixed the redirect target to Taylor Swift discography, which should simplify things. TheCartoonEditor (talk) (contribs) 13:14, 9 December 2021 (UTC)

Singles chronology

I was about to retire for good but had to log in again to give my two cents about the singles chronology. I just want to remind everyone that non-single songs can receive airplay ("Stay Beautiful" aired on Radio Disney, or the complete Taylor Swift Holiday Collection tracks were sent to radio to celebrate Christmas 2008). Receiving unsolicited airplay (as in the cases of "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)", "Cruel Summer", and "Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)") does not equate to a single release, or even a "promotional single" release unless there is a label report saying so (per Template:Infobox song, album tracks can receive airplay without qualifying as singles). I was reluctant to confirm that "Message in a Bottle" is a single, but ultimately UMG Italy sent it to radio in a label report. For the other cases, please consider this very carefully. I would like to ping @Ronherry: because they are the only significant contributor to Taylor Swift articles that I know, hopefully they could help bringing everyone together for a close examination. Best, Ippantekina (talk) 08:47, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

Update: I would like to ping @Tree Critter:, hopefully we will get some thoughtful comments. Ippantekina (talk) 08:49, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

I agree with you. I don't think those songs are singles. I already said this in that discussion. But some two editors reverted me (infsai and Tree Critter), and I removed myself from that discussion henceforth and stopped participating in anything regarding the single statuses. ℛonherry☘ 14:30, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

Add dates are set by labels, while the "Cool New Music" section of AllAccess is (unless there is clear evidence otherwise) the date when AllAccess provided a download. As AllAccess is not a label, I don't think the "Cool New Music" section is reliable. In my opinion, AllAccess providing a download is not proof of a promotional effort by a label. I would agree that the songs listed above are not singles. I believe there is an existing consensus in Swift's discography that for one of her songs to be classified as a single, it needs more than a digital download-only release. This may not be the case for other artists, but I believe this interpretation is correct here because in the streaming era where everything is downloadable, the only way to distinguish between single and non-single is not a commercial release, but further promotion. In Swift's case, the most obvious form of further promotion (and which secondary sources like Billboard also use) is that of a radio release. Heartfox (talk) 23:01, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

Let's also acknowledge that not every secondary source is reliable for "single" status. For example, Pitchfork ridiculously called Doja Cat and Eve's "Tonight" a "single" even though there is not even a lyric video... Heartfox (talk) 23:16, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

I've gone back and forth with this but I don't think it makes the songs singles, but I do think it is promotional. The label is providing the radio with these songs, they aren't coming from nowhere. Also it is a digital download independent of the album. So unless there is a future release date like with "Message in a Bottle", the Cool New Music date is all we have to go off of. While we're here though look at this. [1] The Weeknd recently released a new album, Dawn FM, and damn near every song off of it is listed here with the same impact date. Radio 1 is a source we have used in the past, and still use to determine if a song is a single or not, and unless we agree that Gunna, The Weeknd, and Lil Durk all released 10 singles in one day, than this requires some discussion too. Tree Critter (talk) 10:19, 31 March 2022 (UTC)

Radio push for any song is possible; back in the day "Missing My Baby" received heavy airplay after Selena died, but it is never a single. I tune in the radio everyday and there are deep cuts being played all the time (I remember hearing "Enchanted" somewhere after it became a TikTok hit, which is weird given the Big Machine/Scooter Braun masters commotion...). "Cool New Music" reflects what song is gaining traction, not necessarily what single is being pushed at radio. Ippantekina (talk) 15:14, 31 March 2022 (UTC)

AllAccess "Cool New Music" is not a digital download. It's restricted to those in the industry. The general public can't download anything, and there is nothing to buy. I don't know where the idea that Radio 1 is a reliable source is coming from. It looks like a random Greek radio station. There was an RfC about not citing radio stations. There needs to be an impact date, not an "availability" date. Heartfox (talk) 22:02, 31 March 2022 (UTC)

I'll accept that it doesn't make it a promo single, but it should definitely be in release history and the promotion section. And if Radio 1 is not reliable, then "...Ready for It?" is all wrong, and has been wrong for several years now. The single release date is reflective of Radio 1, among "Waking Up in Vegas" and multiple songs by Timbaland. And that's just from a quick search, I'm sure there's more. Tree Critter (talk) 04:47, 1 April 2022 (UTC)

Well, I'd like to comment on the "Ready for it" part. The article has NOT been wrong because that song has ALL the markers for a single: Radio dates, separate promo from Swift, several publications like Billboard calling it a "single", and a music video (eventhough it doesn't count as a marker, I'm still highlighting); "Ready for it" is blatantly a single. All "Cruel Summer" has is that ONE AllAccess URL and nothing else, and that's where I take issue. "Cruel Summer" doesn't even have a lyric video on YouTube, never a separate promotional roll-out from Swift, and not called a single by Billboard, who confirmed everything before and after Lover era—"Message in a Bottle", "No body, no crime", "Betty", "Exile", "Ready for it", "New Year's Day" etc—as singles. There must be a reason they never called Cruel Summer a single in one of their articles; because it never was. ℛonherry☘ 11:03, 1 April 2022 (UTC)

I'm not saying "Ready for it" isn't a single. I'm saying its release date is wrong. It's Radio1 reference is wrong. So we need to use a different date for its release date or find a different source with the same date. If we agree that Radio1 is not a reliable source for single status. Tree Critter (talk) 14:00, 1 April 2022 (UTC)

I'd also like to add "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" and "Cardigan" were each posted and made available for radio one day before their album releases. Doesn't a song being made available before an album release make it a promotional single? Tree Critter (talk) 19:32, 2 April 2022 (UTC)

There is no consensus an AllAccess download is a label's release. Why would a label make "Cruel Summer" available and then it doesn't even appear on any airplay charts? There was clearly no promotion by the label like an actual single would get. We can't just invent stuff out of the blue. The reason radio release = single is because secondary sources like Billboard have labelled songs singles based on radio release since at least the late 90s (e.g. Doo Wop (That Thing)#Release history ref 1). Heartfox (talk) 04:06, 4 April 2022 (UTC)

I agree. ℛonherry☘ 19:22, 12 April 2022 (UTC)

Request for update

Hi, can someone please update the article to include the new single/singles from Midnights? Thanks, Unlimitedlead (talk) 23:37, 21 October 2022 (UTC)

Excessive use of component charts as footnotes

I trimmed the article from 148,811 bytes to 128,280 bytes by removing an excessive use of component charts as footnotes. The reason for the limit of 10 charts is to avoid excessive detail, and surely this holds here as well. The songs' articles themselves may list component charts if the single did not chart, but having them here is not what Wikipedia is for. --Muhandes (talk) 14:38, 8 January 2023 (UTC)

I second this. I'm actually thinking of removing all component chart positions (Canadian Digital Songs, Country Digital Songs, UK Single Downloads...). Ippantekina (talk) 08:49, 12 January 2023 (UTC)