2023 Music Meme Mania

365 days of viral moments

Things can get really weird in the week between Xmas and New Year’s Day. Here at The Cadence, we found ourselves falling into the unlikely depths of TikTok — a space we generally avoid — and discovered a whole alternative reality of music hot takes that we had barely considered.

So to officially wrap up the holiday break, here’s a 2023 flashback as seen through the eyes of Gen-Z.

CONCERTS

There’s no denying that Taylor Swift’s record-smashing Eras Tour was the biggest music story (live or otherwise) of 2023. And if you were wondering how more than a million people ponied up well over a grand for tickets, you weren’t the only one.

@kurttocciSwiftly going broke (Taylor's Version) 😅 #taylorswift #erastour #comedy #funny #humor #meme #fun #pov #music #viral #video #trending #lol #foryou #fyp

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Unfortunately, top-dollar tickets didn’t always translate to the best behavior from fans. 2023 saw a spate of items being thrown at artists while they performed. Some were entertaining like the 36G bra picked up onstage by Drake, but many were not, like the cell phone that whacked Bebe Rexha in the eye or the tossed beer that made Cardi B retaliate by hurling the mic at the offender — both of which made national news.

Fortunately, the fad seemed to subside as quickly as it came about. But if throwing things onstage comes back in 2024, let’s hope it’s like Lil Nas X at Lollapalooza.

@goatgodduketv6Who Through Adult You At #lilnasx #performance #foryou #funnyvideos #saucysantana #lgbtq #lgbtqtiktok #worldstarhiphop #countrymusic #popmusic

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If the throwing of things does continue, we might be left with nothing but virtual concerts, like this show in Thailand that caught fire on #tiktokcringe because of fan’s screaming when the animated VTuber revealed his eyes from under a mop of anime hair.

@beewix0w0reload #animememe #tiktokmeme #concert #virtualyoutuber #vtuber #vtuberclips #vtubers #memestiktok #anime

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But we’ll keep going to concerts no matter what because, well…

@concertminds.shopcatch me at a concert x #concertlover #konzertliebe #concertmemes

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STREAMING

From layoffs to royalty updates, there was a lot of transformative things taking place at Spotify in 2023. But as witnessed on TikTok, the biggest story of the year was the rumor that a person could make $1,200/month streaming their own 30-second song on Spotify.

@financiallyfreegwenMore info👇🏻 Spotify will pay you per stream, so when you’ve got that 30-sec single popping the charts on repeat all day this adds up! Royalties are 💸. This is money owed for recordings streamed on Spotify. Who’s giving this a go? For the best side biz that avgs me 1-3k/day, comment “GUIDE” and ill make sure you get it. Make sure to follow for more income tips ‼️ #onlinejobsworkfromhome #howtomakemoneyonline #workfromhomejobs2023 #blowthisup #sidehustlesformomss

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Daniel Ek quickly chimed in to clarify “That's not quite how our royalty system works.” This trouble is that nobody seems to know exactly how Spotify’s royalty system works. This leads us to wonder how this TikToker managed to listen to 792 days of uninterrupted music in just one 365-day year, according to his Spotify Wrapped.

@kleb0gI HIT MY GOAL OF ONE MILLION!!! This will likely be the last time I break #spotifywrapped #greenscreenvideo

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Regardless, Spotify remains the world’s largest music streamer, despite competing with much bigger tech conglomerates for the prize. How is this possible? In a market where product and pricing are almost identical, it comes down to pure branding. Clearly, Apple Music has a problem in that regard.

@ktpineapple__Bet ya drink oat milk too dont u😭 #spotify #applemusic #elderemo #elderemotiktok #music #itsnotaphase

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TECH

Not that Apple has much cause for concern. Not when the top two trendiest headphones of 2023 both came out of Cupertino.

@giadinhmichael#capcut

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And with the much higher margins earned from selling Airpods Max and Beats Studio Pro Wireless (at $549 and $349 respectively), Apple Music continued to use its platform to push spatial audio.

@whats.the.word.t @whats.the.word.t ♬ Flashing Lights - Kanye West

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Meanwhile, off in Gen X land, we’re still geeking out over Wing’s-era Paul McCartney revealing that the 60s proto-synthesizer Melletron threatened Musicians Unions during the Beatles prime.

thevinylfactory

A post shared by @thevinylfactory

But we wonder how organized labor feels about this street performer who went TikTok viral with more than 45M views across the platform.

@retrobusker#supermario #busking #busker #streetperforming #dublinbuskers #gamer #street #streetart #streetgig #streetmusic #piano #keyboard #synth #streetmusician #nintendo #funny #mario #classic #mariofanart #retrogame #retro #underwater #fundraiser #uk #supermariobros #overworld #level1 #mariomovie #letago #cardiff #supermarioallstars #supernintendo #alcaholics #antisocial #bully #scumbags #alcaholics #mario1 #nes #1985 #nintendo

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Jokes aside, 2023 was the year that genuine concern over AI music came into the conversation.

@ehevehevwhwbrjfbevevevwFreddie Mercury Billie Jean #freddiemercury #queen #rock #music #aicover #fyp #michaeljackson #mj #pop #70s #80s #ai #kingofpop #billiejean #thriller #singing #rip #cover #moonwalk #tiktok #song #viral

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But we’re certain that no AI, no matter how brilliant, will ever come up with something like this.

@ellingson.tvThis is probably the most divisive thing that I’ve ever posted. People either love or hate the squeaky sound, the beat, the concept, or the time that they spent watching this. Many people comment that their pets react to the peep noise. It’s just something that I put together for run on Easter 2023 and I didn’t realize how many people would have feelings about it. Here it is again with a little narration. #avart #AudioVisualism #videoart #realtime #vfx #synthesizer #moog #moogmavis #subharmonicon #mother32 #glitcharts  #newmedia #experimental #peeps #marshmallow #easter #crafts #howto #demo #process #diy #imagineering #peppersghost #notactuallya #hologram #reflection #practicaleffects

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Have a safe and happy New Year!