Hack your hit!

We've written about Jay Frank before.

He has written the definitive take on the data that drives hit songs - their length, subject matter, structure etc.

He's about to release another take on this entitled 'Hack your hit' in January 2012.

For now, in this interview with Topspin's Ian Rogers he talks about hs new model label but also reveals some of his data secrets on how to craft a hit!

Exactly what makes a hit song today?

This is brilliant and scary at the same time.

Might be that the very last thing you want as a DIY musician is a so-called 'formula' for a hit.

There are many other factors causing you to be a musician and pursuit of pop fame may well not be amongst them.

Good for you.

But, people, such as Jay Frank whose work I love, are putting songs under the microscope and working out what they can about how measurable factors affect their hit potential.

This may miss the point as far as lyrical, musical and emotional nuance is concerned but at the very least this data tells you what radio wants to play and therefore make a hit.

Read Jay's book - Future Hit DNA - and check out this post about the latest US data for this year.

Here's some of their up to the minute conclusions:

• The current song length average is 3:51.

• The current intro length average is 0:13.

• The average time that it takes for the first chorus to hit in top 10 hit Pop songs is 0:39.  This number has been stable over the last two quarters.

• Love/relationship themed songs have been in a steep decline since Q3-2010 (where they accounted for 63% of all songs), and now account for just 17% of all top 10 hit Pop songs. Hooking up themed songs have been on the rise since Q3-2010, and how account for the majority of top 10 hit Pop songs at 38%.  Inspirational themed songs have also been seeing a steady increase in number, climbing form 0% of songs in Q3-2010 to a now second place 25% of songs in Q2-2011.

I'd maintain that 'hooking up' is essentially the same subject material as 'love', but you get the point!

Read the whole thing here.

 

 

 

Hit song metrics for 2011 - so far

I am very impressed by the data crunching that Jay Frank does in his book Future Hit DNA - we've looked at his stuff before here.

So, when he analyses all the hits of THIS year so far and tells you exactly what the science tells you about what is making a song a massive hit right now, I would take the time to take notice.

THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF INTROS IS 4.88 SECONDS
Intros are getting significantly shorter. Compared to last year, the average intro decreased by 37%. The Top 25 had an average intro length of 2.96 seconds. In fact, there were only two songs with an intro over 7 seconds. Last year, it was 2 of the Top 10. Now it’s 2 of the Top 25. And sales increased as a result. Expand to the Top 50 and it’s only 20% of the titles with intros longer than 7 seconds. That’s down from 48% last year. The chances of a song with a longer intro succeeding continue to decrease every year.

See what else he says here.

 

Finding your 'hit zone'

I thought that we might've posted this already but I can't find it, and it's excellent and well worth reading - so here goes.

What I like about this piece is that it states that you need to be trying to write hits, but not by selling out - and, the best way to get to a hit is by being true to your convictions and your art.

Finding your Hit Zone is essential if you’re an emerging songwriter, artist or producer, because without it:

• Most or all of your marketing, online networking and live shows will be useless;
• You’ll have a hard time building a fan base;
• You’ll probably only sell your music to your friends and family;
• You won’t get TV/film licenses;
• You’ll have a hard time getting signed;
• And so on…

Yes, your Hit Zone is that important.  It’s the most important thing you can do as an artist to attract fans, make more money and achieve success.  It’s like the g-spot: if you haven’t found it, you’re just flailing around and wasting your time.

Read the piece here.