It's no question that many of today's hit tracks all sound the same. Pop songs and even many dance music tracks have followed a formula that allows it to guarantee commercial success in the marketplace. In fact, there's now a computer algorithm that can predict if a song will be a hit or not.
The algorithm works so well that you can see just how well it predicted whether Billboard‘s 2015 Hot Dance/Electronic Songs would be a hit or not.
Billboard 2015 Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (via billboard.com)
“Lean On” by Major Lazer & DJ Snake Featuring MØ — 82%
“Where Are U Now” by Skrillex & Diplo With Justin Bieber — 72%
“Hey Mama” by David Guetta Featuring Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha & Afrojack — 72%
“You Know You Like It” by DJ Snake & AlunaGeorge — 63%
“Waves” by Mr. Probz — 68%
“Outside” by Calvin Harris Featuring Ellie Goulding — 82%
“Prayer In C” by Lillywood & Robin Schulz — 65%
“Blame” by Calvin Harris Featuring John Newman — 88%
“How Deep Is Your Love” by Calvin Harris & Disciples — 62%
“I Want You To Know” by Zedd Featuring Selena Gomez — 89%
The algorithm was created by a team at the ANT/OR research group at Antwerp University in Belgium. The algorithm measures 139 different elements of a song such as human emotions, timbre, tempo and length.
So next time you think a pop song follows a formula, there's a good chance it will become a hit.
