Creativity Inside the Black-Box...

What probably makes for a great pop song that is likely to generate a high amount of revenue? By great pop song I use "Nothing Else Matters" (Metallica), "Livin' On A Prayer" (Bon Jovi), "Every Breath You Take" (The Police), "Thriller" (Michael Jackson), and "Free Fallin"(Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers). It is my belief that these songs are of distinguished sigificance and will endure changing preferences in the decades to come.

I believe that this can be filtered down to a few simple principles (generally speaking):

1. Under 3:30 in length
2. Singable Vocal Line (not too virtuosic or avante-garde)
3. Repetitive Chorus
4. Predictable, yet exhibiting a somewhat varying structure
5. Interesting textures and instrumentation (not necessarily wizardly shredding)
6. Subject matter that is memorable, and elicits a strong emotional reaction (yet not too intellectual)
7. Not too cheesy
8. Friends with Jon Bon Jovi

Of particular interest to me is principle #4 since this element is often a distinguishing factor between good and great pop songs. For example, "Livin On A Prayer" incorporates all of the above principles (with possible exception of #7, but we must remember it was composed during the 80's), specifically number 4. In the song, principle number 4 is utilized in the outro chorus section where a key change occurs. At that moment in the song the listener would typically expect to hear a straight repetition of the catchy chorus, but instead Bon Jovi modulates to a new key and the listener is transitioned into a new sonic environment.

In summary, this element adds tension and reduces predictability; yet still preserves interest. My hypothesis is that if you were to deeply study the Billboard 100 (on a historical averaging basis) , you would find that the best selling and most enduring songs had principle #4 as a primary driver of their success.

More to come about this subject as I spend more time in thought...