Economics of radio made songs shorter too. Listen to Sun Records tracks and there are plenty of 3 minute songs. I know a few recording artists with several mill

Economics of radio made songs shorter too. Listen to Sun Records tracks and there are plenty of 3 minute songs. I know a few recording artists with several million streams and “radio edits” have been a thing for a long time and not a single one mentions Spotify economics as a motivator for particular edits. I am not sure that recording artists are actually doing Spotify math when it comes to their mixes — they’re often just using the same “radio math” they’ve always done. Pop songs have always been radio friendly. The only artists that can get away with a Stairway to Heaven length song are Led Zepplin-level acts, and even then it has to be an extraordinarily massive tune to get a 5 minute+ song on the radio.