I was wondering how singles released from albums are chosen?

Does the artist get a say in what single they want released or is it up to someone else? The record company?

It's usually up to the record company. They have a division called A&R where things like which single are released are decided. They do market research and whatnot to figure out which single should be played ad naseum on mainstream radio.

I've read accounts of artists being very angry at the record companys' choice of single.

I's amazing what a hit single can do for a band. The perfect example is a a band called Blues Traveler. I first heard them on an alternative/modern rock station in the early 90's. I thought they were super and bought each successive cd as it was released, but they never got much air play or sold many cds. Untill the single Runaround was released. This single propelled their fourth cd, cleverly called Four, to over 2 million in sales. It also boosted the sales of the previous cds. The funny thing about it is that the first three cds had more than a few songs that were better than Runaround. Go figure.

Just curious, were their first three releases on a major label? Major labels are funny creatures.

When I worked in radio, we got this single called "Freak of the Week" by Marvelous 3. Our listeners loved it, our jocks loved it, I really loved it. When their next single came out, it was only released to alternative stations. Being that we were CHR, we couldn't get the single. The label did that with one or two more of their singles. Then, they released the worst song on their follow up CD and dropped them. I do so love A&R people, they sometimes have a case of cranio-rectal inversion.

Blues Traveler's records are on the A&M label.
Now that I'm on this subject, I'd like to mention a band that did not have a hit single, and never made it real big. I refer to DaDa. These guys sell enough records to keep just enough money rolling in to maintain them as a going concern, but never had the breakout hit. I highly recomend them. Start with their first cd, called Puzzle. This music is better than the plethera of sludge oozing out of my radio on a daily basis.
You can make it big without the hit single. Metallica sold millions of records before they eventually had a hit single.

One tiny nitpick, the album is Puzzle. I really like DaDa, especially Dizkneeland and Scum.

The Old 97's have been recording for years even though they've never had a mainstream hit. They have a loyal following and they release some great music. Nope, you don't need a top 40 single to keep things going. Look at The Grateful Dead, they did it for decades.

I love it when I find A DaDa fan. I don't know why I listed the cd as Puzzled. I've only listened to it about a thousand times. Also, now that were picking nits, the song is actually spelled Dizz Knee Land.
I'm not familiar with the Old 97's. What style of music is it? And could you recomend a good cd by them to start out with? Thanks.

One good nit pick deserves another

The Old 97's are an alternative country band. They have that twangy sound and some really great lyrics.

I'd recommend "Wreck Your Life" or "Satellite Rides" to start.

It sort of depends. If the singer's a really big hit for the label, they'll probably let them have the majority of the decision. If there's a collaboration, most artists usually release at least one of them as a single. But overall, it's pretty much the best 3-6 tracks on the album.

Of course if you're a really great band singles aren't much of an issue...Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd