The Evolution of Song Lengths and Structures in the Digital Age

When Szu Yu Chen, a graphics reporter at The Washington Post, was covering this year’s Grammy Awards, she couldn’t help but notice how many nominated songs came in under three minutes. The more she looked into it – analyzing Billboard charts and interviewing artists – the more she realized this was a real trend. Meanwhile, when “Post Reports” audio engineer Sean Carter was working in a recording studio in Atlanta, he kept observing a similar shift, too.  

Today, Carter guest hosts “Post Reports,” in conversation with Chen, exploring what’s driving this change in music, and what’s gained and lost as a result. 

Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon, edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Rennie Svirnovsky. 

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