Blog1 min read
On track length within a playlist
Long tracks let the listener forget the playlist is there. The pacing of a room is partly an arithmetic of seconds.
The mean track length on a streaming service is around three minutes. The mean track length on the rooms here is closer to five, and on the sleep and wellness rooms above seven. This shows up in how the playlists are listened to.
Long tracks let the listener forget the playlist is there. A short track resets attention every two and a half minutes — the album art flips, the title changes, the brain registers a new event. A long track doesn't do that, and the room stays the room.
This also affects how the playlist is ordered. A short track between two long ones is a jolt; the listener will notice the gear change. A long track between two short ones is a kind of rest, but it can feel like the playlist has lost momentum. The playlists here mostly stay within a tight length range.
It's worth checking. Most playlists end up with very mixed track lengths because the curator was choosing on quality alone. Mixing pace and length is a different lens — one most playlists are built without.