Streaming's Temporal Disruption: Why Taylor Swift Has No Mega-Hits

Music streaming has reshaped pop culture over the past 20 years, pulling songs from their original temporal contexts. Platforms like YouTube and Spotify place the Beatles alongside Beyoncé in the same playlists, erasing historical boundaries. In his 2011 book Retromania, British music journalist Simon Reynolds argued this leads to temporal confusion and a turn toward the past. Old hits now experience revivals through series, biopics like Michael, documentaries, or TikTok trends—examples include Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill, Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, and Reinhard Mey's songs. The article questions how retromania and marketing strategies affect contemporary music, noting that Taylor Swift lacks a single mega-hit despite her dominance.