Conductor Kaspar Mänd: three-minute format turns people into rabbits

Conductor Kaspar Mänd criticized radio's three-minute format, saying it damages people's ability to engage deeply. In an interview with Teater. Muusika. Kino, he emphasized that brief stories delivered in fragments do not give listeners time to truly encounter the content.

Conductor Kaspar Mänd expressed concern in an interview with the magazine Teater. Muusika. Kino about the short-form formats dominating contemporary media consumption. According to him, society is increasingly pressured by the three-minute radio logic, which leaves listeners no time to think more deeply.

Mänd noted that the paradox lies in how a story often ends before the listener has a chance to engage with it properly. Such fragmentation does not cultivate attention span; rather, it trains people to accept brief experiences as the norm.

"If we keep serving things up in granules, the person eventually becomes a rabbit," said Mänd, pointing to the danger that the habit of deeper concentration may diminish.

The conductor's message reflects a desire to protect longer, more demanding artistic experiences that require patience and commitment from the listener. In Mänd's view, choosing a more complex format does not mean dismissing audience preferences—rather, it is a path for people to discover their true potential.