There’s a popular belief that modern songs are shorter because people—especially young people—have shorter attention spans.

Makes sense, right? TikTok. Streaming. Clicks. Scrolls. No patience.

Turns out… wrong.

A recent data dive from Stat Significant analyzed 150 million song streams and listener behavior. What they found is more interesting—and far more relevant to fundraising than you might think.

There is a relationship between age and the length of songs people prefer. But it’s not about short attention spans. It’s about cohort effects—the music you grew up with in your formative years. Teens today grew up on short, streaming-optimized songs. Boomers grew up with 3-minute radio-friendly singles. But the sweet spot? Gen X and Millennials. Their teen years coincided with longer tracks, and they’re the ones sticking around for five- and six-minute songs today.

That insight kills the “young people just won’t pay attention” narrative. And it raises three big red flags for fundraising.

1. You’re misdiagnosing the age effect.

Fundraisers love either blaming decline on “the next generation” or pinning hopes and aspirations on them.  They’re less loyal or more desiring of “authenticity”.  Pick your trope.

But the song data reveals something deeper: what looks like an age effect is actually a cohort effect. Preferences are shaped early—and they stick. So yes, a 25-year-old today behaves differently than a 65-year-old. But when that 25-year-old turns 65, they’ll still prefer shorter songs. Or shorter videos. Or fewer appeals.

That’s not a generation problem—it’s a product of when and how their behavior was shaped.

Fundraising is stuck looking at age and labeling it destiny. Instead, we need to understand when and why behaviors formed—and adapt accordingly. That means real segmentation rooted in identity and psychology, not birth year.

2. The system—not the person—got shorter.

Streaming didn’t make listeners crave shorter songs. It made artists deliver shorter songs. Why? Because the economic incentives changed. You get paid per stream, not listen time.  Show me the incentive and I’ll tell you the behavior.

Fundraising has undergone the same systemic shock. Our streaming service is called donor acquisition. And instead of writing better songs, we made them shorter, cheaper, and more gimmicky.

Today, 88% of donor acquisition uses one of three tactics: matching gifts, premiums, or faux member cards. And the rest of the program is hypertargeted to people already labeled donors and “direct mail responsive”, which in co-op speak really just means check writers.

That’s the equivalent of writing 2-minute songs because it’s cheaper and Spotify counts the play. We’re designing for the system, not the listener. And the result? A shrinking universe, rising costs, and lower ROI.

We didn’t shrink because people stopped caring. We shrunk because we built a system that rewards shallow engagement over long-term connection.

3. There is no perfect length. Only the perfect match.

Back to the song data: the idea of a universal “perfect length” doesn’t hold up. Some songs perform great at two minutes. Others at six. It all depends on the listener—and whether the music fits their expectations, preferences, and emotional state.

Fundraising doesn’t get this. We build appeals, journeys, and cadences like we’re producing for Top 40 radio. Everyone gets the same “3-minute track”—same messaging, same frequency, same channel, same ask—regardless of who they are.

But the behavioral science is clear: if you want long-term giving, it has to feel autobiographical. It has to reflect something about me. That’s where identity and personality come in. That’s why tailoring works—not because it’s clever, but because it matches who I am with what you’re offering.

The music industry is slowly waking up to the fact that there’s more than one way to hold attention. Fundraising needs the same awakening. If we stop chasing conversion and start designing for commitment, we won’t need to guess the “right” length—we’ll know the right fit.

Fundraising isn’t failing because donors are broken. It’s failing because the model is.

We’re stuck in a 3-minute-track mindset—one-size-fits-all, optimized for platform metrics, and stripped of nuance. The result is a donor experience that treats everyone the same and surprises no one.

It’s time to stop writing for the system and start writing for the listener.  Let’s give them something worth sticking around for.

Kevin

P.S. Want to learn how to write for the listener in real, practical ways?  Join our free learning webinar, Register here.