Are Pop Lyrics Getting More Repetitive?

Morris analyzed the repetitiveness of a dataset of 15,000 songs released between 1958 and 2017 that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 using the same algorithm that compresses gifs. This algorithm detected the repetition of lines and parts of words and removed them, reducing the overall size of the song. After compression, the average song was reduced by about 50-percent, concluding that pop songs getting indeed more repetitive. The analysis is accompanied by a series of beautiful charts that detail not only the way the algorithm works but also the conclusions that can be drawn from the analysis