Businesses can’t afford to overlook the power of user experience (UX). Whether it’s a website, a mobile app, a physical product, or even a customer service interaction, every touchpoint shapes how people perceive a brand. I believe mainstream media in America has lost sight of the importance of UX within content creation. Content is often created and designed to have attention-capturing capabilities and a focus on generating revenue by keeping the audience entertained. 

In 2025, the oversaturation of media industries has led to a focus on achieving specific ratings/performance rather than creating authentic content. This trend reveals that media/content creation designed with attention to detail regarding the users’ experience will stand out and maintain higher levels of authenticity.

One industry trend that exemplifies this is the change in song duration for popular music over decades. 

There is no isolated reason for this music trend. However, the biggest factor over that timespan is the change in how artists earn revenue. Today’s music market is driven by streaming. Artists generate revenue through how many times their song is played. This makes it so they are incentivized to design their music to generate the most listens rather than design their music as an artistic vision. 

Focussing on authenticity is one of the best tools to combat other music that has more streaming-friendly traits. Taylor Swift’s song All Too Well (10-minute version), is an example of a highly successful song that relied on authenticity. This song is a longer, more honest, and detailed release of the original All Too Well, which was 5:28 seconds. The 10-minute version hit number 1 on the Billboard Top 100, making it the longest song ever to hit that mark. 

The biggest challenge with this is that we are not all Taylor Swift, and I can guarantee that if I made a 10-minute song, no one would listen. But if I am not Taylor, how do I convince stakeholders to let authenticity shine? 

Getting stakeholders to buy in is extremely important in any situation. However, “The evidence about how user experience research drives innovation, acceptance, productivity, and profit has not made its way to all stakeholders” (Understanding Your Users). The reality is that authenticity is essential to creating beautiful media. However, the problem arises that authenticity is not a guarantee for success, while content designed to be attention-capturing is a guarantee. 

In simple terms, “no industry is totally immune from the revenue impact of customer experience” (Understanding Your Users). The superpower of authenticity is that it is the only thing that guarantees a genuine connection between the product and the user. While creating authentic content doesn’t guarantee success in the short run, it paves the way for creating deeply impactful user experiences, which no industry is totally immune from.