We’ve seen music adapt to new technologies over the last one hundred years . Formats determined song length: when singles had to fit on a 33 rpm vinyl record, for example. Hits in the 50’s, 60’s 70’s, and up until the 2000’s were three and a half minutes because that was the duration of a 33 rpm “side”. Today Spotify determines the average listener moves on after 30 seconds. What does this do to formats? Songs are getting shorter. A full minute shorter according to TikTok. Writers are ditching the third chorus to shorten the song, and the pre-chorus in an effort to get to the hook sooner. One theory- a short song is very likely to get multiple plays, and that is what drives streaming analytics. Going forward what will listeners expect from streaming services? Can Classical music survive on streaming channels like Sirius? Can we do anything about it? One cellist from the MET is trying to save the Opera channel on Sirius.
More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/