The Friday File: In 2000, the average Billboard Top 100 song was 250 seconds, it’s since steadily declined and is now 210 seconds. Why? Each time a song is streamed the artist receives roughly half-a-cent/song, not per minute! Moreover, since the royalty is so low, streaming volume is critical making shorter songs much more profitable. The shortest #1 song: “Stay” by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs in 1960 at 1:38.