🎵 Is New Music Less Dancable?
Are hits of today more danceable for parties and weddings compared to decades ago? Read on for the statistical data and analysis.
Many DJs are craving NEW dance hits that are guaranteed to pack the dance floor. So much so that when a new song was announced with the collaboration of Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, hopes were high for an “Uptown Funk” meets “Just Dance”. The result was a moderately slow dance song or dinner song. Buzzkill.
Let’s be honest, many think the dance days from yesteryear are up in smoke. The good times of the 80s party songs, 90s Eurodance, and Pop-Punk tunes are over.
BUT, is this really the truth?
The following introspection is provided by Daniel of Stat Significant.
Background: Daniel Parris was one of DoorDash’s first 150 employees and data science hires. He spent nearly six years there before moving into business consulting and data writing. He now writes Stat Significant, a weekly newsletter with more than 12,000 readers that focuses on data-centric essays about music, movies, TV, and more. Some of my favorites include:
Is Music More or Less Dance-y?
What makes a song danceable? And what does it mean for "danceability" to change over time? People were fox-trotting, jitter-buggings, and tango-ing long before the days of algorithmic party playlists, Bruno Mars, and EDM. It's not like people in the late 1950s abstained from dance because they were waiting for Outkast or Lil Baby. No, they listened to Bobby Darin and Elvis and thought, "Wow, I love dancing to this sufficiently danceable music."
And yet, according to Spotify's "danceability" scoring, popular music has become increasingly danceable over time:
As you can see, according to Sptify’s own calculations, music is now more danceable. So what is driving this purported uptick? A few Stat Significant theories:
Recency Bias in Spotify's Scoring Algorithm: Popular dance music typically exists within distinct cultural epochs (50s Doo-Wop, 60s Motown, 70s Disco, etc.). Would you expect the same playlist at a wedding and a nightclub? No. Nightclubs cater to younger audiences and promote dance by playing the latest electronic music, hip-hop, and rap. On the other hand, weddings serve a broad age range, often catering to older demographics by playing from a list of well-worn classics (like "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire). Spotify's song scoring may favor newer music that reflects contemporary dance trends.
The Importance of Live Music: The digitization of music distribution offers consumers content abundance in return for a subscription fee. In response, music acts have shifted their revenue centers from record sales to live performances. And what do people like to do at music shows? Dance!! Hip-hop, rap, and electronic music are cheap to produce and easy to promote, thus fetching increased attention from record labels and concert promoters.
Industrialization of Music Production: In 1998, Cher's mega-hit single "Believe" made prominent (and ear-punishing) use of auto-tune. This new-fangled computerized effect became a focal point of the song's appeal and served as a watershed moment for the mechanization of music production. Since then, audio engineering has become increasingly computerized, with major labels adopting digital workflows, while programs like Logic and GarageBand have democratized production for aspiring musicians. Artists have gradually converged on a homogenized sound for hip-hop, rap, and electronic music, utilizing technology to produce optimally danceable beats.
The Rise of Hip-hop and Rap: Sorting through our artists repeatedly featured on the Billboard Charts, it appears Spotify's algorithm categorizes modern hip-hop and rap as the most danceable music genres:
Meanwhile, Spotify’s feature rankings classify traditional pop (from the 1950s and 1960s) and soft rock as the least danceable music format.
How Have Music Vibes Changed?
One temptation when reading the tea leaves of our Spotify data is to say that everything sucks. Music used to work, and now it's broken—what a bummer. The continuous decline in song positivity provides yet another tantalizing data point in support of music nihilism
However, I don't interpret this chart as evidence of music's ever-darkening worldview. Instead, my hot take is that modern music better reflects our complicated everyday experiences. Consider the list of artists deemed highly positive by Spotify's "valence" score:
We can split this roster of musicians into two camps: artists in 1950s America and 1970s dance jams.
1950s America was the age of Leave It to Beaver, I Love Lucy, the Jim Crow South, TV couples sleeping in separate beds, and Joseph McCarthy's Red Scare. Media was overly positive, prohibited from addressing complex emotions or social phenomena, with explicit content facing a militant ban from the airwaves.
1970s dance jams are a relic from the days of disco. These songs induce euphoria, not profound introspection. I have never listened to Donna Summer or Kool & The Gang and thought, "This song is giving me feelz," or "I now possess a nuanced understanding of the human condition." No, I typically listen to these bands and think, "Wow, this DJ is crushing this Bar Mitzvah."
As a means of comparison, consider Blink 182's "Adam Song," which represents a stark emotional departure from the abovementioned music. Released in 2000, "Adam's Song" takes the form of a fictional suicide note and was intended to inspire optimism for those struggling with depression. Many with mental health struggles have cited a profound connection with the song and its ultimate message of hope. I highly doubt "Adam's Song" would make it to the airwaves if released even a few years earlier.
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Thank you Daniel for your insights! Sign up for Stat Significant here:
Matthew’s Final Thoughts
With fewer central sources of yesteryear for music listening pleasure like MTV shows and radio countdown shows, music consumption is decentralized.
I think that new party music will always exist. However, it is harder and harder to discover because of the decentralization of music. You must talk to clients to find out what they want for their event and have a pulse on popular music. The song of the summer could be “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey. But that even depends on your location and what is popular there. Maybe Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us”? Other songs are blowing up that you need to know. For example, “HOT TO GO” by Chappell Roan is the new “Y.M.C.A.” Don’t believe me? See her performance at Coachella.
Chappell Roan Performs 'Hot to Go' Live at Coachella 2024
Watch the crowd and see how they are reacting and interacting with songs. They will “tell” you what will get them dancing.
Have a great day!
Matthew
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