A stage musical requires a high amount of friction to lose retention. A viewer has to overcome caring they spent good money on a ticket, the time traveling to the theatre, and the imposition to the people around them if they leave any time other than the intermission.
A recorded work is a low friction medium. All a listener needs to do to opt out (of the thing they’re likely streaming for free) is swipe.
This doesn’t mean that the different mediums have contrasting quality considerations, only that the acceptability of how a story develops and breathes changes.
Thinking about retention with specificity is important—someone finishing your project is a prerequisite for them caring about it.