How the Phonograph Created the 3-Minute Pop Song

And how streaming is changing it again

Photo by alerkiv on Unsplash

Pop songs are getting shorter.

I’ve been reading some interesting stories lately pointing out how, over the last decade or so, songs have dwindled in length: “From 2013 to 2018,” as QZ reported, “the average song on the Billboard Hot 100 fell from 3 minutes and 50 seconds to about 3 minutes…