From the 2024 Archive
What Changed When Discovery Moved From Radio to Playlists
The gate became an algorithm, the opening seconds gained power and genre borders became easier to cross.
Radio asked whether a song fit beside the last one. Playlists ask whether a listener will stay. Both systems reward familiarity, but they measure it at different speeds.
The shift changes writing from the first bar. Intros shrink, vocals arrive sooner and production communicates genre before the lyric has time to. At the same time, an artist can move between Christian pop, folk and Gospel without waiting for one format to approve the crossing.
Discovery became more open and more impatient at once. The most interesting records understand both facts.
