Why Do Some Songs Fade Out at The End?

No one seems to know how that pop music convention began. But my favorite explanation is that the fade is a great solution for artists or arrangers who can't come up with an ending to their songs.

I always thought that the fade created the illusion of a live celebration that the listener has cut in on and is simply continuing after we've cut out.

Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant the hook line in listeners' brains.

Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant the hook line in listeners' brains.

Or maybe the fade is a marketing tool devised to plant...