Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ tops new productivity playlist study

With emails, messages and social media competing for attention throughout the working day, choosing what to play through your headphones may be more than a matter of musical taste.

A new analysis by business platform Tide has ranked Taylor Swift’s 2019 track ‘Lover’ as the most productivity-friendly song among nearly 200 popular tracks assessed, giving it a score of 91.3 out of 100.

The research considered four factors linked to concentration: beats per minute (BPM), the number of lyrics, how familiar a song is to listeners and the number of distinct voices featured.

Tide used these measures to develop its own productivity scores, rather than testing how much more work people completed while listening.

The findings come as conversations about workplace focus increasingly extend beyond individual habits to the environments in which people work.

A recent report from Cape {town} Etc on workplace mental health and the pressures affecting employees also examined how working conditions can influence employee wellbeing.

Which songs made the top 10?

‘Lover’ takes first place, with Coldplay’s ‘Sparks’ following at 89.8. Sombr’s ‘Back to Friends’ ranks third, while Harry Styles’ ‘Watermelon Sugar’ and The Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ complete the top five.

The full top 10 is:

The inclusion of ‘Blackbird’ offers a change from the newer pop releases dominating much of the list, as the Beatles track received a high score partly because of its relatively low lyrical count, single lead vocal and familiarity among listeners.

Tide’s analysis also points to a distinction between the most productive individual songs and the artists whose wider catalogues scored consistently well.

While Swift’s ‘Lover’ takes the top song position, Sienna Spiro ranks first among the artists assessed, with an average productivity score of 79.7.

Harry Styles follows with 79.4, while Billie Eilish takes third place on 79.1. Sombr and Coldplay complete the top five.

The 10 highest-ranked artists are:

Spiro’s position is attributed to the tempo of much of her music and the absence of featured artists on the tracks analysed, which Tide considers less likely to interrupt concentration.

What makes a song suitable for working?

Amar Preciado/Pexels

Tide’s scoring system gives weight to tracks with a tempo between 60 and 70 BPM, drawing on research cited by the company suggesting that music in this range may help people study for longer and retain information.

The analysis also considers lyrical load, as songs with fewer words scored more favourably, based on research into how lyrics can compete with the brain’s language-processing demands during tasks involving reading or writing.

Familiarity is another factor. Tide used Spotify streaming figures as an indicator of how widely known a track might be, with familiar music considered more likely to fade into the background rather than demand active attention.

The final measure was the number of distinct artists credited on a song. Tracks featuring fewer lead voices scored better under the company’s approach, as changes between vocalists were treated as a possible source of distraction.

Alongside the music rankings, Rosie Skuse, who is the founder of Molto Music Group and a Tide member, shared practical ways she manages her workload as a business owner.

Skuse said the move into self-employment initially made it difficult to measure how much she had achieved during the day.

‘I found myself in a bit of a lull, going to the office, sitting at my desk and getting to the end of the day feeling like, what have I actually done today apart from switching from task to task?’

Her advice includes identifying the time of day when concentration comes most naturally, whether that is early morning or later in the evening.

She also recommends reducing interruptions, particularly in busy office environments where conversations and notifications can make it difficult to concentrate on one task.

Creating a clear structure is another part of her approach. Rather than moving between several jobs at once, Skuse suggests working through a task list in a more deliberate order.

She also encourages business owners to make time for themselves before starting work, whether through an exercise class, cycling or a morning walk.

Taking a short break when concentration begins to slip is her final recommendation.

‘When I feel itchy and like I can’t focus, I do something else, even if it’s as tiny as getting up, leaving the office, getting a coffee and coming back.’

Skuse says changing surroundings and stepping away briefly can help interrupt a cycle of distraction, rather than trying to force concentration.

Tide has brought its song selections together in a Spotify productivity playlist, offering listeners a starting point for their own work soundtrack.

The research was based on popular global and UK Spotify chart tracks, with data recorded as of October 2026. The company used song tempo, lyric counts, streaming figures and credited vocalists to calculate its scores.

Ultimately, the most useful soundtrack will depend on the listener and the work at hand. A song that sits comfortably in the background during routine tasks may not be the best choice when a job requires close reading, writing or sustained concentration.

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Source: Tide