sped-up songs: good or bad?

digging deeper than initial reactions

I had been thinking for a while that Tik Tok blowing up 15 second bits of songs or, even worse, popularizing sped up versions of songs was a Bad Thing. I can’t remember where, but I’ve seen it compared to the early 2000’s when artists were trying to make songs catchy enough to be ring tones. I think this is the ugly little sister of that phenomenon because a Tik Tok has an even shorter longevity (in terms of how long it sticks around and sometimes even the length of the sound bit) than a ring tone. I wanted to find out if this was truly a Bad Thing.

One of the first events that made me realize the true reach of the sped-up song phenomenon was seeing it make its way to Spotify. I remember being shocked that Lana del Rey released “Say Yes to Heaven” and being even more shocked that she released the regular and the sped up version. I don’t blame artists for doing this once a sound blows up because I would want that extra revenue too. However, I do wonder how they feel about having to do this. Do they mind? This Billboard article includes quotes from artists who appreciate sped-up versions of their songs because they can “create careers and reignite careers.” They say how the added popularity of speeding up or pairing up tracks can help launch someone into a well-known artist and bring streams to the original song.

There’s also a downside to blowing up for one song. This article by the catalyst news explains the uncomfortable experience of going to a concert for an artist that has a viral song and seeing how the crowd only reacts to that song. I’ve seen it in person, and it clearly weighs on the artist. It’s annoying to be reduced to one song that spontaneously blew up, and, with crowds that can be straight up rude to the artist, they can become visibly upset on stage. I saw The Garden in 2021, and the band did not look like they were having fun (for good reason — there is so much discourse about how their fans make the concerts a not-so-terrific experience). I feel like it would be even worse if they were bigger fans of the sped-up version of the song.

The first thing that sped-up versions of songs reminded me of was remixes. This allusion is made in that same Billboard article linked above (I'll link it here again just in case), but they point out how now the power of creating the remix is invested in the fans, not the industry. The article puts in a quote from a label exec, saying “It’s about what you’re offering the user base to say, ‘Hey, you’re an intelligent consumer. Here are the stems [individual audio components] for our songs. Do what you want to it.’” I think this can be a good thing because of the freedom it gives the consumer. It adds a level of uniqueness to the way something is consumed if it’s more malleable in the first place. Sometimes, according to the article, those people can even be paid to make popular remixes because it creates exposure. The article ends by saying that, while sped-up versions have mostly stayed localized to apps like Tik Tok, they could permeate other platforms like radio in the future.

Digging deeper into the phenomenon, this music radar article discusses “nightcore” as the antecedent to the sped-up trend. They explain how nightcore speeds up songs and often plays the music over anime art. The article also notes how, emerging in the ‘00s, it was one of the first genres created on the internet. With the idea in mind that it’s been an appreciated genre for decades, it makes sped-up Tik Tok sounds a bit more credible. However, as the article notes, sped-up songs could just be another way to lure you into obsessive scrolling and shorten your attention span, causing you to stay on the app. I think the two are simultaneously true.

This next point is, in my opinion, the most important in deciding my opinion about sped-up songs. This why now article captures some interesting downsides. The first is that, by deleting pauses and other devices used to tell a story, some of the original meaning in the song is lost. If you’re listening to music in order to feel or understand something, then speeding up a song can work against that. Additionally, they make the point that certain types of artists sound different naturally, such as jazz singers, and speeding up songs can mold them into conformity when they had a more unique style at their normal tempo. This consistent, sped-up style can make everything kind of the same, losing what makes certain people special. Plenty of artists and fans appreciate non-conformity, but then that aspect of their music is taken away from them by others.

After some research, I feel less disdain for sped-up songs. I can understand that I can’t completely hate on the trend without hating on its precursors of a similar nature, such as nightcore. However, I don’t think I will ever be a fan of sped-up songs. I feel more strongly drawn to the point of losing artistic integrity while increasing conformity compared to the points of people getting to be more in control of the music they consume. I think, like everything, this trend is fine in moderation because of how it can boost viral artists. However, I also think Tik Tok struggles immensely with moderation, being practically unable to practice it ever. Like all trends, this might die off, at least in the mainstream. And, like all trends, you can decide if you do or don’t want to participate. Hopefully this article at least made you think a little bit more about why you do or don’t participate, giving you the opportunity to do so more mindfully. Writing the article has definitely had that effect on me.

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What did you think about this article? I’d love to hear people’s thoughts.