4 ms·
Ask HN: Is the avg.song length(≈3min)related to the recording capacity of vinyl?
Nowadays I would guess an average popular song length is about 3 minutes long.
The question is:
- Is this somehow related due to the fact that the first vinyl/grammophone records had a limited capacity?
- Or is this somehow differently related, e.g. a singer's voice degrades if one sings longer than 3 minutes,or the attention span for a listener is degrading?
- greenyoda 10y agoAs far as I know, 3 minutes is the standard time slot for radio play, and a song that's longer than that will be more difficult for DJs to schedule and thus will get less air time. Thus, musicians try to fit their songs into that time slot to maximize royalty revenues. This doesn't seem to come from any physical constraints of old media, since a 7-inch 45 RPM record (the standard "single") had a recording capacity of about 5 minutes per side.[1] Billy Joel, in his song "The Entertainer" (1974), has the following lines: [2] I am the entertainer I come to do my show You've heard my latest record It's been on the radio Ah, it took me years to write it They were the best years of my life It was a beautiful song But it ran too long If you're gonna have a hit You gotta make it fit So they cut it down to 3:05 Wikipedia says that this "references the shortening of Joel's song, 'Piano Man', from 5 minutes and 38 seconds to 3 minutes and 5 seconds to fit a radio slot".[3] [1] http://history-of-rock.com/record_formats.htm http://history-of-rock.com/record_formats.htm [2] http://www.metrolyrics.com/entertainer-lyrics-billy-joel.html http://www.metrolyrics.com/entertainer-lyrics-billy-joel.htm... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entertainer_(song) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entertainer_(song)
- bbcbasic 10y agoBut Queen refused to be shorten Bohemian Rhapsody to pander to radio limits
- Someone 10y ago"since a 7-inch 45 RPM record (the standard "single") had a recording capacity of about 5 minutes per side.[1]" [1] also says: "Since the grooves are so spaced out and the records spin so fast, a standard 10-inch 78 can't hold more than about 3 minutes of music per side" => That 3 minute norm may predate the popularity of the 45 RPM single.