As of: 03/04/2023 4:21 p.m
Scottish singer Nathan Evans became a TikTok star overnight with “Wellerman” – thanks to one minute and 55 seconds. Short songs are storming the charts right now. This also has to do with the influence of social media and streaming services.
Between all the influencer posts and cat videos, how do you grab attention on TikTok or Instagram? More and more musicians and songwriters are now dealing with this, because the competition is fierce.
Tim Schoon, who forms the music producer duo Tim & Matteo together with Matteo Schwanengel, knows that too. The two young people from Saarbrücken can point to a number one album in the charts – the album YALA by the hip-hop group Genetikk, for which they wrote lyrics and worked as producers. So you know how business works. Nevertheless, they too are always faced with the challenge of convincing people with their music in the shortest possible time.
“Three times the topic in the first 30 seconds”
A visit to their studio, where the two are currently working on new ideas – and of course also analyzing what other artists are doing. First audio sample on the laptop in the studio: “Wildberry Lillet” by Nina Chuba. Schoon and Schwanengel listen attentively. The song was a number one hit, and the two quickly think they know why: the catchy melody phrase comes up three times in the first 30 seconds.
“What’s amazing about the song is that the hook comes three times at the beginning and somehow it doesn’t wear out at all,” says Schwanengel. “One time it’s just mumbling, the second time there’s a bit of music, and the third time it’s the full hook,” says Schoon. “And you don’t get the feeling that it’s copied from one another. Everything with a musical concept. Very well done.”
Music producers Matteo Schwanengel (left) and Tim Schoon.
Image: ARD
In general, one could say that a song should get down to business as quickly as possible. Beginning choruses are not uncommon. In addition, a refrain is no longer sufficient as a distinguishing feature. In order to be successful, a song should already have several small hooklines, i.e. catchy melody phrases. If possible in such a way that they could also be incorporated into a TikTok video, the two explain.
The influence of Spotify
Getting to the point quickly, as with Nina Chuba, has another effect: the commercially successful songs tend to be shorter and shorter. “Wildberry Lillet” is not much longer than two minutes. There is also a purely economic reason for this, as Schoon explains: “Spotify evaluates a stream from 30 seconds. In other words: If a song is longer than 30 seconds, then there is no more money than if it ends after 30 seconds.”
Therefore, from an economic point of view, it is better for artists to keep the song short so that it can be heard more often. Because then there would be more streams and therefore more money. Schwanengel adds: “If you write a song and have a refrain three times, and the listener would like it a fourth time – then you can either put it in or say: just listen to the song again.”
Beethoven already knew: “It has to shoot somehow”
Many specifications, many rules: As a young musician, one could despair. But they see it more as a challenge. The idea of getting to the point, grabbing the audience right from the start, writing catchy parts of a song isn’t really new. This is also shown in audio sample two: “Help” by the Beatles comes out of the loudspeakers. The two are excited. A song like that could easily keep up today. “It’s sung directly. The refrain comes straight away,” says Schwanengel. “Even directly with the catchphrase ‘Help’, that’s aimed directly at the listener,” agrees Schoon.
Schwanengel’s audio sample number three goes back a little further. The music producer gives it a go himself: “Dadada daaa” – he sings the beginning of Beethoven’s 5th symphony and immediately begins to analyze it: “When Beethoven wrote that, he thought it had to bang somehow . That must be in everyone’s ears. And there, too, there are only two different tones and four notes – that’s enough to keep developing this motif in classical music”.
By the way, both are convinced that there is still an audience for longer songs, for example in the rock or techno genre. It’s more about immersing yourself in the music – and that takes time.