• Billy Slugboom

  Economics Editor

Louder vocals, faster tempo, shorter duration. Artists are increasingly releasing sped-up or slowed-down versions of their songs. This one I hurried and slow down The songs do very well. They are often listened to millions of times.

Take the strike for example. escape By British singer Raye, which has been streamed over 830 million times on Spotify. She also sped up the song. This I hurried The release now has nearly 280 million streams.

It generates additional income, as the revenue on Spotify is between 0.3 and 0.5 cents. Which in this case means between 0.8 and 1.4 million euros of additional turnover. In addition, streams of the accelerated version are also counted towards the position of the original song in the charts.

Fast songs have been hugely popular on TikTok for years, with users giving songs a different beat and uploading them themselves. Last year, the four most-used songs on the app were all I hurried Songs. “It works best on TikTok,” says Malou Miedema of online music platform 3voor12. “That’s what the quick dopamine rush is all about.”

Artists and labels are now responding to this. For example, Billie Eilish released her new album this year not only in a “regular” version, but also in a sped-up and slowed-down form. She says she was already a fan of slow-motion songs at a young age. Also artists like Ariana Grande, Madonna, Lana Del Rey Singles were released at an accelerated pace.

Dutch artist Klein John is also taking part in this trend. “On TikTok, you only have twenty seconds to grab someone’s attention. So I thought: I’m going to speed things up a bit.”

It’s also a cheaper way to rename the same issue. Previously, this was done with a remix or, for example, an acoustic version, but for this, the company has to pay the musicians and rent a studio. “You see now that labels are faster I hurried “The version is more of an official remix,” says Medema.

Experts also see a growing need for listeners to do something with the music themselves. “In the past, you just made music and that was it,” says Arjen Mollema, president of the trade association for artists, songwriters and producers (BAM). “Now the consumer wants something with it.”

Speeded up versions can also provide a revival of old songs. There is also an unofficial speeded up version of Somewhere only we know From Ken also tens of millions of tables.

But this version was not uploaded by the artist himself. Often I hurried and slow down Songs are put on streaming platforms by unofficial accounts and have a large number of listeners. For example, a user named “Sped up nightcore” on Spotify has over 7.5 million monthly listeners.

PEX Technology Company Investigation Last year, at least 1 percent of all songs on streaming platforms were speed-modified. Spotify and Apple Music could not provide a statement on the amount of songs that were modified.

“Officially, it’s not allowed, because you have to pay the fees,” says Medema. “But on the other hand, it’s not new. The smuggling culture is decades old.”

Not everyone is a fan of the trend. For example, Raymond van Vliet, owner of Amsterdam music label Cloud 9, says he won’t release remastered versions of songs. “The song is supposed to be what it’s supposed to be.”

“It’s sometimes a bit sad” for artists when a new version becomes more successful than the original, admits Mollema of the Pop Composers’ Trade Association. “Even though you’ve often put a lot of pain and effort into it. You’ve sometimes thought for hours about the rhythm of the song.”

Meanwhile, brands are also looking for new ways to grab attention.”I hurried “It’s almost normal again,” Littlejohn says.