3- MINUTE MAGIC

Kevin Courtney on the terminal decline of the single

The single, R.I.P., 2004. This is the year that the humble single began its inexorable tumble into oblivion, hastened by disastrous sales and the increased popularity of music downloading. The death of the single was heralded by the introduction of the official Download chart, and Top Of The Pops' move to Sundays on BBC2. The writing's on the wall: recently, Eric Prydz's single, Call On Me, set the record for the lowest ever sales needed to reach the UK No 1 - just 23,519 copies. Listen to the tune, and you'll be amazed it even sold half that many.

This hasn't stopped the record companies from releasing truckloads of dross, on the principle that, if they throw enough sh** at the wall, some of it will stick. If you've only cleaned the toilets on a reality TV show, chances are you'll have a single out. Darius is still releasing singles, years after his losing turn on PopStars, while Big Brother winner Nadia has recently entered the pop race with a song that showcases her talent - none. Peter Andre has tried to revive his stalled pop career with a song called Insania, written while flirting with Jordan on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. He's since pulled, but his career prospects remain limp.

In the past, record companies used the money made from cheesy hit acts to develop credible new rock talent. Now, the cashflow has reversed: record companies are taking money that could be used to develop good, potentially lucrative rock acts, and blowing it on the quick novelty record fix. So don't blame downloads - blame the downgrades.

Irish show You're A Star has been responsible for a high output of homemade dross in the past year. We've had singles from Mickey Harte, Simon Casey, George Murphy and Chris Doran. The public voted for these people, so all I can say is, we really do get the music we deserve.

Sadly, independent Irish bands are still clinging to the security blanket of the single, wasting their parents' money on pressing them up, and wasting the world's resources on excessive packaging and overlong press kits.

Even when the tune is halfway catchy, there's little chance of it charting, because it's usually only available in one indie record shop. Amazingly, when you suggest to these bands that they should perhaps offer the tune as a free download to help build up their profile, they react with horror, as if you'd asked them to sell their children into slavery.

The best songs are still coming from the world of hip-hop, pop and r 'n' b, with the likes of Scissor Sisters, N.E.R.D., OutKast, Joss Stone and Jamelia making a little three-minute magic. Rock acts such as Franz Ferdinand and The Killers have revitalised the tired format, while U2 have released one of their best tunes - pity the album doesn't quite reach the same heights.