So I've been gradually picking up the new Beatles remasters, listening to all my favorite recordings, all cleaned up and crisp...

...and I began to notice how long the songs are. 2:10. 2:24...

Yeah, sure I knew the EARLY Beatles songs were short and sweet...but most of the songs on the White Album manage to stay under three minutes as well, and they're action-packed! Hmmm, how did they do that, I wondered...

And I've also been recording a lot of old cover songs...guess what? Most are under three minutes.

So I thought I'd post this as a discussion topic: have you thought much about your song's length?

If you aspire to getting a cut, the music industry wants 'em short and sweet, make no mistake about that. You won't be getting your first cut with another seven minute "Hey Jude" or "Like a Rolling Stone". Maybe one of the best songwriting lessons we can give ourselves is to learn how to embrace economy. How to put the most hooky goodness into the smallest package.

I used to think 3:30 was a reasonable goal for most songs we write for today's markets, and the 4 minute mark signaled the danger zone. Now I'm feeling more inclined to shoot for under 3...

http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman