# What Is Selection Process For Song Clips In iTunes?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-selection-process-for-song-clips-in-itunes/514885>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 23, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-selection-process-for-song-clips-in-itunes/514885 "2009-10-23T18:41:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Clovernook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Clovernook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clovernook)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-selection-process-for-song-clips-in-itunes/514885/1 "2009-10-23T18:41:12Z")

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What is the criteria for the thirty second snippet of song that iTunes offers when one previews a potential purchase of music? Is there some algorithm to determine the “hookiest” portion of the song? Does Apple employ some folks to listen to each song and figure out the best parts?

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**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-selection-process-for-song-clips-in-itunes/514885/2 "2009-10-23T19:32:52Z")

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> [@Clovernook](#):
>
> What is the criteria for the thirty second snippet of song that iTunes offers when one previews a potential purchase of music? Is there some algorithm to determine the “hookiest” portion of the song? Does Apple employ some folks to listen to each song and figure out the best parts?

Nope. I believe it picks a point from somewhere between 30-60 seconds into the song, and plays the snippet from there. At least, based on my experience, where the sort of music I listen to tends to have long lead-ins, and I always only ever hear the lead-in, never somewhere in the middle.

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**Author:** ![Clovernook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Clovernook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clovernook)\
**Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-selection-process-for-song-clips-in-itunes/514885/3 "2009-10-25T18:32:51Z")

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Interesting. That wouldn’t seem to optimize popular songs from being selected, though.