Intros of pop songs are being cut short as the music industry seeks to make money from short attention spans on streaming services.
Famous introductions like those heard on The Doors’ track The End, or the Jackson Five’s I Want You Back, have been increasingly omitted from modern singles.
Songwriters make money from streaming services like Spotify based on how much of each track audiences listen to, incentivising those in the music industry to ditch lengthy intros and get straight to the hook in an attempt to keep the attention of listeners.
According to a study of all UK chart-toppers since 1952 conducted by the Press Association (PA), the average length of hit singles has fallen from a high of around four minutes to just three minutes in recent years.
James Masterton, a chart analyst and historian, explained that “songs have lost their intros, with streaming to blame”.
He added: “You only get paid – and a play only counts for the charts – if the listen lasts longer than 30 seconds. People will still not sit through a song they don’t like, so production is now focused on getting to the meat of the song as quickly as possible, to hook the listener in.”
Dramatic key changes were once a staple of pop songs, particularly boy band ballads, but these have also fallen out of fashion, with only one hit track in the past 10 years featuring the kind of key change which was once so popular.
