Hey Mark:

Another interesting thread... and a great observation... especially regarding the Beatles. I always use the same 3 to 4 minute target Colin mentioned. Alot depends upon the genre in which a song is being written but the 3 to 4 minute mark is fairly standard in Country music.

I've always been concerned about songs that fall short of the three minute mark... but I'll begin to reconsider if I think the strength of the song is sufficient to deliver the goods.

Thanks for this interesting topic.