How Streaming Changed the Way We Produce Music
How has streaming affected the music production process?
Algorithmic music discovery and online digital platforms have transformed music consumption. We look at how streaming changed the way we produce music.
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How Streaming Changed the Way We Produce Music
Since acoustic records were introduced in the late 19th century, the way we consume music has constantly evolved, and the recording process has changed alongside. This ever-changing landscape has affected the way artists, producers, and engineers think about the different stages of the music creation process, from songwriting and arrangement to mixing and mastering.
Today, music listeners have instant access to millions of songs from a handheld device, which enables flipping between music genres and eras in a matter of seconds. Naturally, this changes the impetus when it comes to how songs are structured and produced, because the audience isn’t quite as receptive to enduring your three-minute intro as they perhaps were in the days when albums like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon were released.
How Streaming Changed the Way We Produce Music: The Impact of the First Few Seconds
A song’s burning need to establish its identity is one of the main pressures of the music streaming landscape. Of course, there are classic songs like We Will Rock You by Queen, which do this instantaneously, but when album sales were still the primary currency within the music industry, producers had ample freedom to create atmospheric intros before unveiling the main hook.
In this current, chronically online age of short attention spans, taking this more cinematic approach to songwriting could actually be seen as indulgent or risky, as the intended listener could simply skip to the next track in response. This has incentivised a more instantly gratifying approach that gets right to the point, sucking the audience in from the first few seconds.
This doesn’t mean that every song has to start with the main melodic hook; it could be a familiar sample, a quirky voiceover, or an engaging rhythm pattern that causes you to prick up your ears and invest in the next few minutes. This makes the opening seconds of the song more pivotal than ever in a song’s mechanics, as it sets the tone for the arrangement dynamics.
How Streaming Changed the Way We Produce Music: Momentum is the Key
The advent of streaming has also led to a shift in thinking in the way producers approach the sections between the most important parts of a song. While easily distinguishable verses, choruses, and pre-choruses remain essential, there is an increased amount of rhythmic movement within the transitions that keeps the listener locked in.
This is also influenced by the rise of electronic dance music within mainstream culture, a style that constantly emphasizes and anticipates what is coming next throughout the arrangement, keeping your feet stepping in time on the dance floor. These elements vary from one song to the next, like a fleeting hi-hat pattern that changes up after eight bars, or a little vocal hook that only pops up in the pre-chorus.
We also find the widespread use of story elements like gradually building backing vocals throughout the arrangement or a bass part that becomes more interesting in the second verse. These subtle additions don’t overwhelm the primary melodic song elements though; they simply keep things ticking over, making it easier for the listener to invest in the entire composition.
How Streaming Changed the Way We Produce Music: Hooks Aren’t Just Melodies
The shift into consuming music through streaming has also expanded the concept of what we call “the hook”. While traditional pop songwriting might have prioritized the melody or vocal part from the chorus, modern producers have started thinking of the sound character of an element as a hook as well.
The distinctive sound of the vocal intro of Bohemian Rhapsody or the drums on When the Levee Breaks have captured the collective imagination of listeners for decades, and now in the modern era, producers use textured bass, colourful guitar tones, and synthesized ambience to give a song an instantly recognizable identity. In the context of an endless sea of digital releases, this becomes essential.
This is particularly apparent in pop, hip-hop, and electronic music, where a unique sound choice merges with a melodic hook in the mind of the listener. Producers can use this as an opportunity to establish the song’s identity in the first few seconds, rather than saving all the sonic gems for the chorus.
How Streaming Changed the Way We Produce Music: Mix Translation is Essential
Because we stream music primarily on consumer devices like AirPods and the tiny speakers inside laptops and smartphones, having a mix that translates is everything. While you may be grinning from ear to ear listening back to your mixes on a fantastic pair of $2000 studio monitors, you need to ensure the experience is similar on all the possible devices your music may be heard.
The playback devices we use do not have flat frequency response, and each one has a different way of reproducing the spectrum. This makes it important to identify the key elements in your mixes that need to punch through clearly on any system, no matter what. Vocal clarity is paramount, as this is where the song’s emotional core lies.
Similarly, getting your low-end to translate has a major effect on the song’s overall impact. With this in mind, streaming has encouraged producers to consider aspects of the mix like midrange depth, stereo width, dynamics, and frequency balance. While your mix won’t sound identical on every playback device, it does need the foundational elements to retain their clarity and size in relation to the other sounds.
How Streaming Changed the Way We Produce Music: Loudness and Dynamics
As the major streaming platforms each have different loudness normalization standards, this has changed the way producers and engineers approach loudness. Of course, the reason behind this is that pushing for a louder master doesn’t always guarantee louder playback once the track is published on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or Tidal.
As a result, having contrasting elements in the song and dynamic range has become increasingly important. A sparse, centrally focused verse, for example, immediately makes the chorus feel bigger, while a brief solo part can anticipate a major transition perfectly. However, this doesn’t mean that mixes with power and density are suddenly out of fashion.
In the end, the fact that streaming is a standard didn’t result in the creation of a universal formula for music production. Instead, the rules have simply changed, and this affects the decision-making process for producers. At the same time, the thinking behind the strongest songs considers the demands of the current landscape without letting algorithms affect creative choices. The fundamental idea of exciting the listener’s curiosity remains the same.
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