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The "TikTok-ification" of Songwriting

Posted by Kiyah Straw at Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 1:45 AM

Have you ever had a certain part of a song stuck in your head because of Tiktok and then that same part goes viral ? We’ve entered the era of the two-minute pop song, where the normal structure of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus has been stripped down to its barest essentials.. And that is what's called  "TikTok-ification" songwriting. A phenomenon from the widely known app Tiktok where your favorite song may be found in 30-40 second video. I personally have noticed how in those short videos usually the chorus of a song is played. But the debate remains: are songs getting shorter because our brains are physically incapable of focusing for longer than a 30 second short or is the music industry simply playing a high-stakes game of "optimization" against social media algorithms? It’s easy to say us as people have the attention span of a goldfish, but is there actually any truth to that ? Well actually there is some truth to it ! Due to the constant rush from scrolling, short-form video content has made us adapt to the modern day rapid-fire transitions. TikTok’s algorithm rewards completion rates and re-watches. If a song is short, catchy, and ends abruptly, a user is more likely to let it loop while reading comments or filming a video which can also push similar videos to that individual's “for you” page. Usually for these 15-30 second audios the bridge(the section that usually provides emotional lyrics/meaning) is the first thing that is cut..Some songwriters are now writing specifically for these 15-to-30-second audios, hoping a specific snippet becomes a viral meme. Some people say this trend is "ruining" music while others see it as a new evolution of the art form. I believe that short songs aren't necessarily bad; they are simply a condensed version of the original song. Our attention spans might be shorter but they are also more selective. Though I believe they are not bad, I will say there is a concern on the emotional aspect/journey of it all. Music has historically been used as an outlet for emotion and releasing any tension you may have. When songs are built as "loop-able" assets for background audio, we risk losing that narrative journey.We are moving away from music as an experience and toward music as a utility, a soundtrack for a 15-second clip of someone making iced coffee or performing a dance challenge. There are really two sides to it. One side is the songwriters who thrive within the short videos and their music fit very well like PinkPantheress, Lil Nas X who have both mastered the state of “TikTok-ification” and the there are others who thrive better with their longer songs being played in full like Adele, Bruno Mars, and many more. A great example of it is Taylor Swift. She has topped the charts with a ten-minute version of "All Too Well," showing that audiences will pay attention if the storytelling is compelling enough. At the end of the day I believe that if really all that matters is how well the storytelling is relayed. I have learned that if there is a good story then there is always an audience out there no matter how much of the song we hear.

 

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