Can I Have Your Attention?
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash
I’m always lobbying my seasoned collaborator Phil Thornalley for a little more length in our song-babies (“Keep the bridge!” “Stretch the fade!”) I respect him immensely so I have to wonder if there’s something I’m missing or if he’s just more observant of trends.
I bring this up because I was a little freaked out about what The Music Biz Channel’s James Shotwell had to say about how and why pop songs are getting shorter and shorter. He sites a finding that by 2030 the average length of a hit song will be 2 minutes. That’s about half the length of what it was in 1990.
Why? Well, aside from the massive amount of umm “content” there are endless buzzes and dings competing for our attention too. So if you really want to grab somebody before they press “skip,” especially if you’re an unknown entity, you’d better get right to the point in about 8 seconds. That’s the current length of the average consumer’s attention span. 😳
Shotwell says “it’s not about writing the most incredible song that anyone’s ever heard it’s about getting them to listen to it.” That’s a shame. Writing the most incredible song was always a fun goal. Something to shoot for.
However, s a user I understand this calculation. With unlimited access to content why would I choose to linger on a mediocre song? Or a song that wasn’t grabbing me immediately. Life’s too short. Maybe we lingered on “good enough” when there were only five stations but now there are hundreds of platforms, services, channels and playlists.
So…we’re getting to the hook sooner than ever. And…where songs used to ease into a hook, now all sections are hooks. Verse, Pre, Bridge, Post. Hooks for days. I’m used to a certain amount of tension or foreplay before a release. The same way buildup in the body of a joke makes the punchline more satisfying because I WAITED FOR IT.
There’s another reason why we may want to cut to the chase sooner. We won’t get paid on a stream unless our song is played for at least 30 seconds without being gonged. (I knew streaming revenue was sucky but that’s a new low. Thank you, Spotify.) I can’t blame a songwriter. If we want to sustain a livelihood we have to go for a touchdown in that first 1/2 a second.
Intros are being edited out for streaming purposes. Some artists don’t even wait for the beat — start vocals before the track comes in. Shotwell predicts we’ll even start dropping second verses (WHAAAAT?) and song tempos will get faster and faster...to get to the end quicker.
Speaking of brevity have you noticed that we’re eliminating punctuation from texts? Cuz who wants to bother dictating “question mark” or “comma” or “period” out loud”? It makes us feel silly. The problem is (IMO), it’s inconsiderate to the textee who has to work harder to decipher the meaning of a 3-inch-long punctuation-free message. Actually...that’s not so much about brevity as it is about the attention I’m just not willing to give. So, if you want me to read your text…!?
But I digress.
Where was I? Oh yeah.
And fade? What’s a fade?
Sigh.
No more mid-song jams to rock out to at red lights. One time I left the supermarket at the beginning of the “Light My Fire” solo (which is longer than an entire modern pop track) and I was pulling into my driveway by the time it was finishing up. It’s long. Ok. I admit we do not need a 3 minute jam in every single song.
Am I stuck in my song-length ways? In my defense there’s an emotional arc to 3-4 minute song-journey. A build, an investment, a savoring. Maybe it’s just a matter of getting used to the flow of an abbreviated structure. It’s like fashion. It takes a minute.
But what are we giving up in exchange for this brevity?
This fall I’ll be teaching (for the first time) a college course on songwriting life. These are the conversations I look forward to having with young music-makers. I want them to be aware from whence they came. Conversely, I’m open to hearing why new trends make sense to them. If they makes sense to them.
An aspiring artist confessed to me recently that she knows she has to crack the tiktok code because that’s where acts are being signed and songs are getting added. The streaming economy is not only making us rethink the way we market and sell our music it’s also forcing us to edit our creative instincts.
Like the aptly titled Brian Wilson song (and flick — if you haven’t seen it, see it!) I catch myself thinking maybe I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times. I don’t know if I want to continue playing the game with these rules. I liked my times (and my rules) better. I suppose that at some point in everyone’s professional life they’re gonna have that same thought. I’ve had a great run. No regrets. And I’m grateful I “ran” before I had to crack tiktok.
That said…I’m not going anywhere. At least for now. I’m enjoying looking back, looking forward and trying to make sense of the present. ❤️
Thanks for reading, my friends. Listen to my album 2.0 etc…If you'd like to receive my blog via email, please click here. Follow me on Twitter and Insta. Visit my Serial Songwriter Facebook Page. Get a signed CD or a copy of “Confessions of a Serial Songwriter.” ☮️
