How streaming affects the lengths of songs
Switched on Pop hosts Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan join Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel to unpack how technology is changing the distribution, production, and sound of popular music.
Here is an excerpt of songwriter Charlie Harding and musicologist Nate Sloan explaining why songs are getting shorter in the streaming era.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Nilay Patel: Obviously streaming services are everywhere. Algorithmic playlists are everywhere, the album as we know it is falling apart and the forces of the universe are taking hold. Songs are getting dramatically shorter over time. When you ask, “What did technology do to music?” this is such a concrete thing to point to. Songs have decreased in length by...