If you don’t snag a listener in the first few seconds of your song, you might as well forget about it. The statistics are there in black and white. Studies show that in the first 10 seconds, you have around 89.61% of your audience’s attention. By 20 seconds, it’s down to 80.41% and at 30 seconds, only 66.16% remains. From there, it just gets worse.
Rules of Engagement
Knowing the 60 second music rule, Spotify has made that quick connection part of their strategy. To qualify as a paid stream, a song must be played at least 30 seconds. Other platforms have adopted the same or similar requirements because they realize the importance of a good first impression.
The way people listen to music has changed. Decades ago, listeners were almost a captive audience of a radio station. Music fans bought albums or CDs to hear their favorite tunes and generally listened to them in their entirety. Now, the music scene is like everything else – instantaneous. So if you want to go places, you’ll have to dive in and sink or swim.
A Little Psychology
First impressions are a matter of neuroscience. To prevent total overload of information, the brain must instantly decide if material is worth processing or not. If there’s not an immediate connection, it disengages. Even when there is a connection, the brain continues to evaluate the importance of the information. Your music is on borrowed time from the minute it begins to play.
One of the very first decisions your brain must make is if the stimuli contain any signs of danger. That’s where “fight or flight” comes in. Anything, even music, perceived as threatening will cause it to immediately seek a way out. On the flip side, stimuli perceived as good is taken in. Armed with a little psychology, you can make neuroscience work for you, not against you.
The brain a playlist of favorite things to engage in. Add these factors to the beginning of your music for the most optimal chance of hooking your listener:
- Your brand identity has a lot to do with gaining trust with the public. When you’ve taken the time to establish your identity through storytelling and other methods, you are more likely to retain your audience throughout an entire song.
- The brain loves things that are familiar such as repetitious rhythms, lyrics that are easily recognized, and songs that get played a lot.
- Instant recall. Music that makes listeners remember a mood, emotion, or event stands a good chance of total engagement. It pulls up memories within storage areas of the brain which results in more extensive engagement.
- The more of the brain your tune interests, the more it will become involved. This can be achieved on sensory, emotional, and intellectual levels
The Clock is Ticking
With no time to spare, the pressure is on for music artists to engage with their listeners immediately. Every second counts. Here are some terrific tips to captivate your audience’s attention in a heartbeat:
- Transport your listener to another place and time. Music is a very effective escape mechanism. It takes us out of the present situation and puts somewhere else. It solves problems. If you are suffering from boredom, listening to tunes stimulates your brain. If you are heartbroken, music helps you to heal. Those who are angry can find constructive outlets though listening to music. When your song offers a solution, you are likely to engage – at least with those whose issue matches up.
- Foreshadow. By design, most songs get to the best part in the chorus. Usually the most memorable part – what listeners sing along to or play over and over in their heads. A chorus typically involves a series of techniques to capture the audience but if your listener doesn’t stick with your music until then, you’ve lost out. Promise them something initially and make sure you deliver. Don’t disappoint. By giving your listeners a hint of what’s to come early on, you have a better chance of keeping them around to experience the rest.
- Dynamic Intro. Another suggestion is to give your listeners an intro that leaves them craving more. Drumroll loops notoriously captivate or the swelling sounds of brass. Whether your intro is wild and wonderful, suspenseful, or strictly entertaining, by using your imagination to start outside the box, you’ve hooked your listener before they have a chance to change their mind.
- Emotional engagement. Mood matters. Grab your listener’s attention with emotion. This is where storytelling and relativity come into play. Make them feel happy, sad, angry, joyous, or however you choose but…make them feel. If you can accomplish that, they won’t want to flip past. They will want to immerse their emotions in your music and soak up all they can.
- The five senses. Drawing your audience in by using the senses makes good sense because it engages the listeners’ brain on multiple levels. Great music should have the sense of sound covered from the get-go. In person or in a video presentation, you can easily pull off engaging in sight but if you don’t have those resources, you’ll need to rely on igniting imagination of sight along with touch, taste, and smell. By creatively causing your listener to use their senses, you’ll absorb their attention.
Pulling Off a Passion Play
As a musician, you don’t want to get bogged down in analyzing your audience so much that you lose sight of what you’re doing. Sharing your soul through your music must remain center stage. Then again, your music career won’t go far if you don’t capture your audience’s attention quick enough to convince them to give your tune a chance.
Balance is what it’s all about. By incorporating suggestions from seasoned musicians, neuroscientists, and even from your audience, you’ll be able to naturally implement helpful criteria into the first 30 seconds of your music so that the rest of it gets heard as well. When passion is at the forefront, everything else will fall together.