Editing Hidden track (section)

{{Short description|Music not detectable by casual listeners}}
{{for multi|the film|Hidden Track (film)|the EP by Jay Chou|Hidden Track (EP)}}
{{original research|date=December 2018}}
In the field of [[Sound recording and reproduction|recorded music]], a '''hidden track''' (sometimes called a '''ghost track''', '''secret track''' or '''unlisted track''') is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a [[CD]], [[Compact Cassette|audio cassette]], [[LP record]], or other recorded medium, in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener. In some cases, the piece of music may simply have been left off the track listing, while in other cases, more elaborate methods are used. In rare cases, a 'hidden track' is actually the result of an error that occurred during the [[Audio mastering|mastering]] stage production of the recorded media.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rogers |first1=Jude |title=Manna for fans: the history of the hidden track in music |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/25/history-hidden-tracks-musicians-albums |work=The Guardian |date=25 January 2015 |access-date=25 January 2015}}</ref> However, since the rise of digital and streaming services such as [[iTunes]] and [[Spotify]] in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the inclusion of hidden tracks has declined on studio albums.

It is occasionally unclear whether a piece of music is 'hidden.' For example, "[[Her Majesty (song)|Her Majesty]]," which is preceded by fourteen seconds of silence, was originally unlisted on [[The Beatles]]' ''[[Abbey Road]]'' but is listed on current versions of the album.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hidden Songs: The Beatles, "Her Majesty"|url=http://www.hiddensongs.com/songs/abbeyroad.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070422235856/http://hiddensongs.com/songs/abbeyroad.html|archive-date=2007-04-22|access-date=2007-03-07}}</ref> That song and others push the definition of the term, causing a lack of consensus on what is considered a hidden track. Alternatively, such things are instead labeled as vague audio experiments, errors, or simply an integral part of an adjacent song on the record.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hidden Songs: The Beatles, "Untitled"|url=http://www.hiddensongs.com/songs/sgtpepper.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427055038/http://hiddensongs.com/songs/sgtpepper.html|archive-date=2007-04-27|access-date=2007-03-07}}</ref>