The Hit Songs Deconstructed Trend Report: Q1-2014

Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

This report provides you with a detailed look at the key hit songwriting trends that defined all of the songs that landed in the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 over the past year (April 2013 through March 2014).

Trend Categories:

In Brief: Q1-2014 Highlights >> Number Of Songs Within The Top 10 >> Record Labels >> Songwriters >> Lead Vocal >> Primary Genres >> Primary Sub-Genres & Influencers >> Primary Lyrical Themes >> Song Title Word Count >> Song Title Appearances >> Primary/Prominent Instrumentation >> Electric Vs. Acoustic Songs >> The A-B-A-B-C-B Form >> Average Song Length >> Song Length Range >> First Section >> Last Section >> Average Intro Length >> Intro Length Range >> Average Outro Length >> Outro Length Range >> First Section Being A Chorus >> First Chorus: Avg. Time Into Song >> First Chorus: Time Into Song Range >> First Chorus: Avg. Percent Into Song >> First Chorus: Percent Into Song Range >> Songs That Contain A Pre-Chorus >> Songs That Contain A Bridge >> Songs That Contain A Prominent Instrumental Or Vocal Break >>

The Songs

The following are the 20 songs charted in the Hot 100 top 10 during the first quarter of 2014:

All Of Me (John Legend)

1 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com

Counting Stars (OneRepublic)

Dark Horse (Katy Perry)

Demons (Imagine Dragons)

Drunk In Love (Beyonce featuring Jay Z)

Happy (Pharrell Williams)

Let Her Go (Passenger)

Let It Go (Idina Menzel)

Pompeii (Bastille)

Roar (Katy Perry)

Royals (Lorde)

Say Something (A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera)

Story Of My Life (One Direction)

Talk Dirty (Jason Derulo featuring 2 Chainz)

Team (Lorde)

The Man (Aloe Blacc)

The Monster (Eminem featuring Rihanna)

Timber (Pitbull featuring Ke$ha)

Wake Me Up (Avicii)

Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus)

IN BRIEF: Q1-2014 HIGHLIGHTS

New Top 10 Arrivals & Carryovers

For the first time in over a year, the number of top 10 songs that carried over from one quarter to the next surpassed new top 10 arrivals. What this means is that during the first quarter of the year a good number of top 10 songs possessed increased staying power relative to quarters

2 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com past. Note that over half of the new top 10 arrivals of the quarter stemmed from the R&B/Soul genre category.

Record Labels

9 labels represented the 20 songs within the Hot 100 top 10 during the first quarter of the year, of which Interscope and Columbia tied as the top with 20% of songs each.

Songwriters

The number of songs featuring 5 or more credited writers remained in the majority during the first quarter of the year, though single writer songs have doubled in number over the past couple of quarters.

Lead Vocal

The number of songs featuring a solo male lead vocal remained in the majority for a fourth quarter in a row, accounting for 40% of all songs. Songs featuring a female lead have been in decline for the past 2 quarters, while those featuring a male/female duet have been steadily increasing in number since Q3-2013.

Primary Genres

Pop remained as the top genre within the Hot 100 top 10, though R&B/Soul saw the most stringent increase of all the genre categories, jumping from just 10% of songs in Q4 up to 25% of songs during Q1. Rock increased in prominence as well, while Dance and Hip Hop/Rap both saw significant declines.

Primary Sub-Genres & Influencers

Despite accounting for just 5% of songs within the Primary Genre category, Hip Hop/Rap was the top Sub-Genre / Influencer of Q1-2014, having its presence felt within 35% of songs within the top 10. Rock & R&B/Soul both increased in prominence, while Dance has been in a tailspin over the past couple of quarters, showing up as a prominent influence in just 10% of songs during the first quarter of the year.

Lyrical Themes & Titles

Not surprisingly, love/relationships remained as the most popular lyrical theme within the top 10 despite it significantly decreasing in prominence over the last couple of quarters. What was surprising though is that the “other/non-typical” lyrical theme category continued to account for a substantial amount of songs after surging upward to 45% from just 16% of songs back in Q3, of which boasting, historical/biographical and lifestyle were representatives. Additionally, hooking up and partying/clubbing continued to be the least popular themes within the top 10.

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1 word song titles were the most popular during the first quarter of the year, though they were followed very close behind by those featuring 2 and 3 words, the later which doubled in number over the past 2 quarters. Only 1 song contained 4 words within its title, and none contained 5 or more.

Songs that have their title appearing between 6 and 10 times within the song accounted for a small majority during Q1, while those that appear between 16 and 20 times as well as those that don’t appear at all were barely a factor. Pompeii was the only song NOT to mention the title throughout the entire song.

Instrumentation

The synth remained as the most popular instrument featured within top 10 hits, though it took a significant hit during the first quarter of the year, decreasing from 90% down to just 65% of songs. Prominent bass, strings and wind instruments all increased in prominence, while guitar and piano both declined in number.

Songs that are primarily electric in nature were in the majority during the first quarter of the year, followed close behind by those that possess a combination of electric and acoustic based instrumentation. Additionally, note that the number of primarily acoustic songs has significantly increased within the top 10 over the past couple of quarters.

Song Structure & Form

The majority of songs featured an A-B-A-B-C-B form, which reached a 4 quarter high during the first quarter of 2014.

Average song length decreased by 0:07 to land at 3:48 during the first quarter of the year. The 4:00+ range was the most popular, but was followed close behind by the 3:30 – 3:59 range. Only a couple of songs landed under 3:00 in length.

75% of all songs kicked off with an intro during Q1, which was down from 90% just 3 quarters earlier. Those that didn’t either immediately kicked off with the verse (15% of songs) or chorus (10% of songs). Of the songs that do contain an intro, they averaged at just 0:12 in length (down 0:02 in relation to the preceding quarter), with the most popular range being the moderately short range (0:10 – 0:19). That being said, note that the shortest intro length range (0:01 – 0:09) has nearly doubled in number over the past year, accounting for 40% of all songs by the end of Q1-2014.

For the first time since Q3-2013, the number of songs that feature an outro as the last section of the song fell below those that end on the chorus. It was a close split, however, each accounting for 40% and 45% of songs, respectively. Note that the other 15% of songs ended on an instrumental and/or vocal break, which has increased in prominence over the past year (e.g. Timber and Wake Me Up). Of the songs that do contain an outro, they averaged at just 0:14 in length with the most popular range being the moderately short category (0:10 – 0:19). Note that this category increased significantly over the last 2 quarters, jumping from 44%

4 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com to 74% of songs.

30% of all songs featured the chorus as the first section of the song as opposed to a verse. On average, first choruses occurred 0:37 / 17% of the way into a song, which was almost identical to the preceding quarter. The most popular first chorus occurrence TIME range by far was the moderately late range (0:40 – 0:59), which has been in the majority over the past year. In regard to the PERCENT into the song where the first chorus occurs, the moderately late range (20% – 29%) took over at the top spot for the first time since Q2-2013, accounting for 50% of all songs. The previous quarter’s top range (10% – 19%), was more than cut in half, decreasing from 45% of songs down to just 20% by the end of Q1-2014.

The number of songs that contain a pre-chorus within their framework saw a slight increase during the first quarter of the year, accounting for 65% of all songs within the Hot 100 top 10. Note that this number has remained relatively stable over the last few quarters.

After embarking on a 3 quarter decline from which it started out accounting for 85% of all songs, the number of songs that feature a bridge within their framework rebounded during the first quarter of 2014, accounting for 75% of all songs.

THE TRENDS

Note: An (*) indicates a category that increased, decreased or remained constant over 2 or more quarters

Number Of Songs Within The Top 10

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During the first quarter of 2014, 20 songs charted in the Hot 100 top 10. Of those songs, 9 were new to the top 10 and 11 were carryovers from Q4-2013.

Total Songs

With the exception of Q3, the total number of songs that chart in the Hot 100 top 10 each quarter has remained constant at 20.

New Arrivals

The number of songs entering into the top 10 for the first time has been in decline over the past couple of quarters, dropping from 16 back in Q3-2013 down to just 9 in Q1-2014.

Q1-2014 New Arrivals

**All Of Me

Dark Horse

**Drunk In Love

**Happy

Let It Go

Pompeii

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**Talk Dirty

Team

**The Man

**Notice that over half of these songs stem from the R&B/Soul genre category!

Carryovers

The number of top 10 songs that carry over from one quarter to the next have been steadily increasing over the past few quarters, surpassing new arrivals for the first time in over a year during Q1-2014. What this means is that a greater number of top 10 songs are possessing increased staying power relative to quarters past.

Q4-2013 Carryovers

Counting Stars

Demons

Let Her Go

Roar

Royals

Say Something

Story Of My Life

The Monster

Timber

Wake Me Up

Wrecking Ball

Record Labels

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During the first quarter of 2014, 9 labels accounted for the 20 songs that landed in the Hot 100 top 10.

Interscope and Columbia tied at #1, each accounting for 20% of all top 10 hits. Interscope songs and artists include The Monster (Eminem), The Man (Aloe Blacc), Counting Stars (OneRepublic) and Demons (Imagine Dragons), while Columbia represented The Story Of My Life (One Direction), All Of Me (John Legend), Drunk In Love (Beyonce), and Happy (Pharrell Williams).

Note that Interscope was a factor within the Hip Hop/Rap, R&B/Soul and Rock genre categories (where it accounted for 2 out of the 3 songs), while Columbia had a very strong presence within the R&B/Soul category, representing 3 out of 5 hits.

Additionally, notice that Columbia’s presence increased from 5% to 20% over the last 2 quarters, while Interscope took a big hit in Q1, decreasing from 40% of songs in Q4 down to 20% during the first quarter of the year. That being said, Interscope has been either tied at #1 or been the sole occupier of the top spot for the last 4 quarters.

Capitol followed at #2, accounting for 15% of all songs, while RCA, Republic and Warner Bros. all tied at #3, each accounting for 10%.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

Capitol

Columbia

Epic

Walt Disney

In Decline

Hollywood

Interscope

Roc Nation

Remained Constant

Atlantic

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Dualtone

IDJMG (In the process of being reorganized)

RCA

Republic

RRP

Warner Bros.

Songwriters

As has been the case over the last few quarters, the number of songs that feature 5 or more credited writers continued to remain in the majority during the first quarter of the year, accounting for 50% of all songs.

Songs featuring 1 or 2 writers tied for second, each accounting for just 20% of songs. The writers who decided to go it alone include Ryan Tedder (Counting Stars), Pharrell Williams (Happy), Mike Rosenberg (Let Her Go) and Dan Smith (Pompeii).

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Songs featuring 3 writers accounted for just 10% of songs, while those that feature 4 writers dropped off the map completely during the first quarter of the year.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

*Songs featuring 1 writer

In Decline

Songs featuring 5 or more writers

*Songs featuring 4 writers

Remained Constant

Songs featuring 2 writers

Songs featuring 3 writers

Lead Vocal

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As you can see, the solo male lead vocal category has remained in control over the last 4 quarters, consistently accounting for 40% – 42% of all songs within the Hot 100 top 10.

Songs featuring a solo female or male/female duet vocal followed, each accounting for 25% of all songs. Notice that the solo female category has been in decline over the last couple of quarters, while the male/female duet category has almost tripled in number.

As for the male duet/group category, notice that it has been in decline over the last 3 quarters, dropping from 21% of songs back in Q2 down to just 10% in Q1-2014. It fared better than the female duet/group category, however, which has been consistent at nil over the past 4 quarters.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

*Male/female duet/group vocal

In Decline

*Male duet/group vocal

*Solo female vocal

Remained Constant

Solo male lead vocal

*Female duet/group vocal

Primary Genres

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Not surprisingly, Pop songs continued to dominate the Hot 100 top 10 during the first quarter of the year, accounting for the vast majority (45%) of songs.

What was surprising though was the sharp increase in the number of songs that are predominantly R&B/Soul in nature. After declining from 20% of songs back in Q2-2013 down to just 10% in Q4, the category experienced a sudden surge during the first quarter of the year, jumping all the way up to second place with 25% of songs.

The success of songs like Get Lucky, Blurred Lines & Treasure certainly paved the way for this R&B/Soul boom, which include All Of Me, Drunk In Love, Happy, The Man and Talk Dirty.

Rock is another category that has been on the rise, increasing from just 4% of songs back in Q3 up to 15% of songs during the first quarter of the year thanks to hits including Counting Stars, Demons and most recently Pompeii. Are these songs “through and through ROCK songs?” No. But they also possess a Rock nature or are performed by Rock artists which relegates them to the category as opposed to Pop.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Dance and Hip Hop/Rap categories didn’t fare so well during the first quarter of the year, both declining from 20% and 15% of songs down to just 10% and 5% of songs, respectively. Wake Me Up and Timber were the only songs that were predominantly Dance in nature, while The Monster was the sole Hip Hop/Rap representative. As you’ll see in the graph that follows, however, Hip Hop/Rap fared much better in the Primary Sub-Genre & Influencers category.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

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R&B/Soul

*Rock

In Decline

Dance

Hip Hop/Rap

Remained Constant

*Pop

*Country

Primary Sub-Genres & Influencers

Despite the genre only accounting for 5% of songs within the Primary Genre category as mentioned earlier, Hip Hop/Rap was the #1 influence in Hot 100 top 10 songs during the first quarter of the year, showing up within 35% of all songs. It traversed all of the primary genre categories except for Rock, including Dance (e.g. the nature of Pitbull’s vocal delivery

14 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com in Timber), Pop (e.g. Juicy J’s contribution to Dark Horse) and R&B/Soul (e.g. Jay Z’s rap in Drunk In Love).

R&B/Soul came in at a close second, helping to shape the sound of 35% of all songs, and Ballads/Power Ballads, Country/Folk and Rock all tied for third, influencing 25% of all the songs that landed within the top 10 during the first quarter of the year.

Additionally, notice that Dance has been getting hammered over the past couple of quarters, going from being the top influence with 46% of songs back in Q3-2013 down to just 10% of songs during Q1-2014 along with songs that possess a Retro influence, which has also seen a steady decline over the past couple of quarters despite the success of songs such as Happy, Blurred Lines and Get Lucky.

We’ll be covering all of this in-depth within our Sub-Genre report, which comes out next month.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

*Ballads/Power Ballads

*Country/Folk

Hip Hop/Rap

R&B/Soul

*Rock

In Decline

*Dance

*Retro

Remained Constant

None

Primary Lyrical Themes

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Note: The percentages in the graph above reflect all of the songs that the particular lyrical theme showed up in, either as a stand-alone theme or in conjunction with additional themes (i.e. lyrical fusion).

Other/Non-Typical Themes

The most profound lyrical theme shift that took place over the past year occurred within the “other/non-typical” theme category back in Q4-2013. After accounting for just 17% of songs during Q3, the category skyrocketed up to 45% of all songs during the final quarter of the year, and dipped just 5% during the first quarter of 2014.

Note that this category contains themes that don’t usually show up on a quarter to quarter basis, like love/relationships, for example. Examples of some of these themes during Q1-2014 include boasting, historical/biographical and lifestyle.

Lyrical Fusion

After seeing a moderate increase during the last quarter of 2013, the number of songs that feature 2 or more primary lyrical themes remained constant during the first quarter of 2014, accounting for half of all songs. Of all the different combinations, love/relationships & inspiration/empowerment remained the most popular pairing, of which Katy Perry’s Roar is a perfect example.

Individual Themes

As you would expect, love/relationships remained as the most popular lyrical theme during

16 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com the first quarter of the year. That being said, notice that it has it has been in decline over the past couple of quarters, decreasing from 75% of songs back in Q3-2013 down to 55% of songs during the first quarter of the year.

Conversely, the inspiration/empowerment theme saw a substantial increase, jumping from 20% of songs in Q4 up to 35% in Q1.

As for hooking up and partying/clubbing, both of these continued to remain as the least popular lyrical themes within top 10 hits, showing up in just 15% and 5% of songs, respectively during the first quarter of the year.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

Inspirational/Empowerment

In Decline

*Love/Relationships

The “Other/Non-Typical” theme category

Remained Constant

The “Lyrical Fusion” category

Hooking Up

Partying/Clubbing

Song Title Word Count

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As you can see in the graph above, less has historically been more when it comes to the number of words within a song title, and for good reason!

Over the past year, 1 and 2 word titles have traded off at the #1 and #2 spots from quarter to quarter, with 1 word titles eking out a small win during the first quarter of the year, increasing from 30% to 35% of all songs within the top 10.

2 word titles saw a significant decline in number, dropping from 45% in Q4 down to 30% during the first quarter of the year. Notice that the category tied with 3 word titles, which doubled from 15% in Q4 to 30% in Q1.

As for longer length titles, notice that the 5+ word title category has been in a steady decline since back in Q2-2013, and dropped off the map completely during the first quarter of 2014. 4 word titles didn’t fare much better, accounting for just 5% of songs over the past couple of quarters (Story Of My Life was the sole representative in Q1).

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

1 word titles

3 word titles

In Decline

2 word titles

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*5+ word titles

Remained Constant

*4 word titles

Song Title Appearances

During the first quarter of the year, a small majority (30%) of songs had their title appearing between 6 and 10 times within the song. They were followed by the 11 – 15, 1 – 5 and 21+ categories, which accounted for 25%, 20% and 15% of songs, respectively.

Additionally, notice that after a 2 quarter increase the 16 – 20 category took a substantial hit during Q1, dropping from 15% of songs down to just 5%. As for the “no title mention” category, Pompeii was the sole representative during the first quarter of the year.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

No title

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6 – 10 times

In Decline

16 – 20 times

Remained Constant

1 – 5 times

11 – 15 times

21+ times

Primary/Prominent Instrumentation

As you would expect, the synth remained as the most popular instrument found within top 10 hits, showing up in various degrees of prominence within 65% of all songs during the first quarter of the year.

That being said, notice that it did see a steep drop in influence considering that it was a key element within 90% of songs just 1 quarter earlier. Why the decline? It was due to the top 10

20 / 40 Hit Songs Deconstructed Deconstructing Today's Hits for Songwriting Success http://reports.hitsongsdeconstructed.com exit of a number of Dance and Electropop songs from Q4 such as Summertime Sadness (Gevais remix), The Fox and Applause, and the introduction of non-synth songs during Q1 including Happy, The Man and Let It Go to name a few.

Guitar remained at the #2 spot for a fourth quarter in a row, accounting for 45% of all songs by the end of Q1-2014. This includes electric guitar as found within Timber & The Monster, as well as acoustic guitar which showed up as a prominent instrument within Wake Me Up and Let He Go, for example.

Piano held onto the #3 spot for a fourth quarter in a row as well, although it saw a moderate decline in influence from half of all songs in Q4 down to just 35% during Q1. Note that John Legend’s All Of Me was the only purely piano driven song of the quarter.

Prominent bass was an key element within 30% of songs, which includes the Trap influenced Dark Horse and Drunk In Love, as well as accentuating the Retro Funk/Soul nature of Happy.

Strings showed up in one-quarter of all songs, and as you would expect was most prevalent within songs that possess a Ballad type nature (e.g. Wrecking Ball and Say Something). Wind instruments followed at just 15%, which included harmonica (Timber), as well as brass (The Man and Talk Dirty).

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

Prominent bass

Strings

Wind instruments

In Decline

Synth

Guitar

Piano

Remained Constant

None

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Electric Vs. Acoustic Songs

Songs that are primarily electric in nature resumed the majority role in the top 10 during Q1-2014 after tying with songs that possess a combination of electric and acoustic instrumentation during the preceding quarter.

Notice, however, that the “combo” category is right on the heels of the electric category, accounting or 35% of all songs.

The one category that has seen a significant gain over the past couple of quarters is the acoustic category, which has increased from just 4% of songs during Q3-2013 up to 25% of songs during Q1-2014. This was due to the increased number of acoustic piano driven songs such as All Of Me, Let It Go and Say Something, as well as acoustic guitar driven songs such as Let Her Go.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

Acoustic natured songs

In Decline

Electric/acoustic “combo” songs

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Remained Constant

Electric natured songs

The A-B-A-B-C-B Form (Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus)

Over the past year, the number of songs that follow the historically most popular mainstream song form (A-B-A-B-C-B / Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus) fluctuated by just 5%, reaching a 4 quarter high during the first quarter of 2014 at 40% of all songs.

Average Song Length

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With the exception of Q4-2013, average song length has fluctuated by just 0:02 over the past year, landing at 3:48 by the end of Q1-2014.

The reason for the sudden increase up to 3:55 during Q4 was primarily due to the 3 songs within the Hip Hop/Rap category, which averaged at 5:18 in length (Rap God was by far the longest at 6:08).

Song Length Range

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As you can see in the graph above, over the past year the vast majority of songs within the top 10 have landed within the 2 longer length categories, accounting for between 65% and 80% of songs.

By the end of Q1-2014, songs landing at or over 4:00 pulled ahead of the 3:30 – 3:59 category due to the latter’s slight decline relative to the preceding quarter, while the former remained constant.

As for the 2 shorter length categories, the -2:59 category rebounded in Q1 after a 2 quarter decline thanks to Demons (2:55) and Talk Dirty (2:56), and the 3:00 – 3:29 category leveled off after a 2 quarter decline as well. Combined, both of these categories accounted for just one-quarter of all songs by the end of the quarter.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

Songs landing at or under 2:59 in length

In Decline

*The 3:30 – 3:59 range

Remained Constant

The 3:00 – 3:29 range

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The 4:00+ range

First Section

Not surprisingly, over the past year the vast majority of songs featured an intro as the first section within their framework. That being said, notice that the number has been in decline, starting at 90% of songs in Q2 and finishing out the first quarter of 2014 at 75% of songs.

The reason for the decline has primarily been due to the increase in the number of songs that immediately kick off with the verse, of which Demons and Royals are 2 examples.

As for songs that immediately begin with the chorus, the number has remained pretty much constant over the past year right around 10% of all songs. The 2 representatives during Q1-2014 were The Monster and Counting Stars.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

All of the categories remained constant during the first quarter of the year.

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Last Section

For the first time since Q2-2013, the number of songs that feature a chorus as the very last section of the song pulled ahead of those that feature an outro (though not by much), accounting for 45% of all songs. Notice however that it’s still quite a ways away from its 60% peak back in Q2.

Songs that feature an outro as the last section have been in decline over the past couple of quarters, and by the end of Q1 accounted for 40% of all songs after a 54% peak back in Q3.

As for the number of songs that end on an instrumental and/or vocal break, they’ve increased from 0% back in Q2 up to 15% of songs during the last 2 quarters. 2 of the representatives during Q1-2014 include Timber (“Whoa” vocal break) and Wake Me Up (instrumental break).

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

Songs that feature a chorus as the last section

In Decline

Songs that feature an outro as the last section

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Remained Constant

Songs that feature a vocal and/or instrumental break as the last section

Average Intro Length

Over the past 4 quarters, the average length of a top 10 intro has fluctuated by just 0:02, landing at 0:12 by the end of Q1-2014.

Intro Length Range

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The first and most important thing to note in regard to intro length ranges over the past year is that those on the shorter end of the spectrum (i.e. the 0:01 – 0:09 and 0:10 – 0:19 ranges) have ALWAYS been in the majority, ranging from 83% of songs back in Q2 up to 93% of songs at the end of Q1-2014.

The reason is simple. The longer you remain in the intro, the greater the chance you have of losing the listener. Rule of thumb: Hook the listener in and get on with the rest of your song ASAP! There are of course exceptions to the rule, but that’s a topic for another report…

So as you can see in the graph above there were 2 major trend shifts that took place from Q2 to Q4. Intros that are moderately short in nature (0:10 – 0:19) declined from the vast majority (61%) back in Q2 to just 47% in Q4, while those that are quite short in nature (0:01 – 0:09) almost doubled in number from 22% to 40% of songs in Q4.

By the end of Q1-2014, the moderately short category increased slightly to 53% of all songs, while the short category held steady at 40%.

As for the longer length intro ranges, after holding pretty much steady from Q2 to Q4, the moderately long range (0:20 – 0:29) dropped from 13% of songs down to just 7%, and the long length intro range (0:30+), remained at 0% for a third quarter in a row.

The sole exception back in Q2 was Macklemore’s Thrift Shop, which had its intro land at 0:33. Listen to that particular intro to see how you can keep the listener engaged for such a long period of time! (Hint – it was brought about via new elements entering the mix frequently coupled with the introduction of the primary instrumental hook).

Additionally, notice that the number of songs that DO NOT contain an intro within their framework saw a moderate jump up to 25% during Q4 and held steady during the first quarter

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Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

Moderately short intros

In Decline

Moderately long intros

Remained Constant

Short intros

Long intros

Songs that do not contain an intro within their framework

Average Outro Length

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After remaining pretty much constant during the last 3 quarters of 2013, the average length of a top 10 outro decreased by 0:04 to land at 0:14 by the end of Q1-2014.

Outro Length Range

Over the past 4 quarters the most popular outro lengths have been those that land in the moderately short to moderately long categories. Together, they accounted for between 76% and 87% of songs.

As you can see, however, it was the moderately short (0:10 – 0:19) category that was the most popular of all, and during the first quarter of the year increased significantly from 44% to 74% of songs.

Conversely, the moderately long (0:20 – 0:29) category saw a significant decline during the same time period, dropping from 34% of songs down to just 13% by the end of Q1-2014. Notice that it tied for third place for the first time with the short (0:01 – 0:09) category.

As for the long (0:30+) outro length category, after averaging right around 10% of songs from Q2 to Q4, it dropped down to nil during the first quarter of 2014.

The rule of thumb when it comes to outros is simple – keep them long enough so that the listener has something that they can sink their teeth into by ending the song on an engaging,

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Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

Moderately short outros

In Decline

Moderately long outros

Long Outros

Remained Constant

Short outros

First Section Being A Chorus

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After seeing a significant decline from Q2 to Q3 where the number of songs that begin with the chorus (either immediately kicking the song off or following an intro) dropped from 45% of songs down to just 17%, the number rebounded during the last quarter of the 2013 to where it accounted for 30% of all songs within the top 10. This number remained constant during the first quarter of 2014 as well.

First Chorus Occurrence: Average Time Into Song

The average amount of time that it takes for the first chorus to hit within top 10 songs fluctuated by just 0:06 over the past 4 quarters, occurring earliest during Q2 at 0:34 and latest during Q3 at 0:40. By the end of Q1-2014, first choruses were hitting on average 0:37 of the way into the song.

First Chorus Occurrence: Time Into Song Range

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Over the past 4 quarters, the one first chorus occurrence category which has remained consistently in the majority is the moderately late range (0:40 – 0:59), with most occurring toward the early/mid end of the spectrum.

The 2 key trend shifts that have occurred within the last couple of quarters relate to the moderately early (0:20 – 0:39) and late (1:00+) categories.

After more than doubling in number during Q3 and holding steady through Q4, first choruses that occur moderately early within the song were cut in half during the first quarter of 2014, accounting for just 15% of songs.

Conversely, songs that have their first chorus hitting relatively far into the song (1:00+) have been on the rise since Q3, increasing from 4% of songs up to 20% of songs by the end of Q1-2014. A couple of examples as to why include Team (double first verse, but some consider the first verse to be a 0:35 intro) and Drunk In Love (Beyonce’s first verse is 0:58 long).

As for the early category (0:02 – 0:19), it increased to 15% of songs during the last quarter of the year (just a 5% gain), and primarily represents songs that have their first chorus following an intro.

Additionally, as previously mentioned, only 10% of songs immediately kicked off with the chorus as opposed to an intro or verse.

Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

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First choruses that occur late within the song

First choruses that occur early within the song

In Decline

First choruses that occur moderately early into the song

Remained Constant

First choruses that occur moderately late with the song

Songs that immediately kick off with the chorus

First Chorus Occurrence: Average Percent Into Song

When we talk about the percentage into the song where the first chorus occurs, we’re talking about the occurrence relative to the length of the entire song, which is why the results sometimes differ from the “time into song” section, which doesn’t take into account total song length.

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As you can see, the average percent into the song where the first chorus occurs hasn’t fluctuated that much over the past 4 quarters, ranging from 15% of the way in during Q2 up to 18% during Q3. By the end of Q1-2014, first choruses were averaging at 17% of the way into a song.

First Chorus Occurrence: Percent Into Song Range

During the first quarter of 2014 there were 2 key trend shifts that occurred in regard to the percentage into the song where the first chorus occurs.

After tying for the majority back in Q2 and pulling away with the lead during Q3 and Q4, the number of songs that have their first chorus occurring moderately early (10% – 19% of the way into the song) took a significant dive, decreasing from 45% of songs in Q4 down to just 20% in Q1-2014.

On the other end of the spectrum, after residing in second place during Q3 and Q4, the number of songs that have their first chorus occurring moderately late (20% – 29% of the way into the song) increased significantly from 30% to 50% of all songs by the end of Q1.

Additionally, even though first choruses that occur relatively late into a song were in second place from a TIME perspective, notice that they’re in last place from a PERCENTAGE

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Recap: Q4-2013 – Q1-2014 Trend Shifts

On The Rise

First choruses that occur moderately late within the song

First choruses that occur late within the song

In Decline

First choruses that occur moderately early within the song

Remained Constant

First choruses that occur early with the song

Songs that immediately kick off with the chorus

Songs That Contain A Pre-Chorus

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After seeing a moderate increase from Q2 to Q3, the number of songs that feature a pre- chorus within their framework held steady in the low to mid 60% range, accounting for 65% of all top 10 songs by the end of Q1-2014.

Note that all of the primary genre categories contain songs that feature a pre-chorus EXCEPT for Hip Hop/Rap (i.e. The Monster).

Songs That Contain A Bridge

Interestingly, the number of top 10 songs that contain a bridge within their framework embarked on a steady decline from Q2 through Q4, starting at 85% of songs and bottoming out at just 55%.

There were 2 key reasons for the decline:

The first was due to the increase in the number of songs that feature an instrumental and/or vocal break that tookthe bridge’s place to provide diversity within the song. A couple of examples include Timber and The Monster.

The second was due to the increase in the number of songs that just follow a simple A-B-A-B…

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During the first quarter of the year, however, the number saw a significant rebound and increased to 75 of all songs within the top 10. This was due both to the vast majority of new top 10 arrivals containing a bridge within their framework, coupled with a number of the songs that didn’t dropping out of the top 10 at the end of Q4.

Songs That Contain A Prominent Instrumental Or Vocal Break

After steadily increasing from Q2 to Q4, the number of songs within the top 10 that feature a prominent instrumental and/or vocal break within their framework saw a slight decline during the first quarter of 2014, accounting for a little over one-third of all top 10 hits.

Examples of prominent vocal breaks include Ke$ha’s “whoa’s” within Timber and Rihanna’s “wha-oh’s” in The Monster. Examples of prominent instrumental breaks include Avicii’s EDM breaks within Wake Me Up and the instrumental interlude that follows the first chorus in Counting Stars.

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