[hipshaker]

We have had “hit factories” for quite some time now, suggesting at least there is some kind of musical output that helps the process of wow-ness upon first listen.

Sure, that formula does not always work on the moving targets of changing times and tastes, but i would argue that we actually do have a somewhat defined framework of that absolute sound (which has been around for some decades now). It’s calles pop music, now a genre unto itself. Yeah, you may not WOW every living human on earth every time with great accuracy, but we have McDonalized music enough to small-wow millions at a time on a first listen basis, just by virtue of being made using quite narrow musical frameworks using rythm, scales, chord progressions, arrangement etc