Meme Music

An essential musical genre of the early 21st century, meme music affects virtually all areas of public discourse, music, and sound culture.

Memes are part of public debates, they fuel political struggles and social movements, and they manifest new cultural trends. In the media constellation of the early 21st century, memes achieve this primarily through music and sound. Meme music as a musical genre is produced, consumed, and distributed on video platforms, instant messenger services, social media networks, and increasingly as part of marketing and television shows.

This book provides an overview of the distinctive performance practices and sound production techniques of meme music, focusing on meme music since 2011, with a particular emphasis on the years of the so-called Great Meme War between 2016 and 2020. The author discusses both recent and historical antecedents, such as the novelty songs or dance instruction songs of the 20th century, but also the tradition of emblemata since the 16th century. The sheer abundance of meme creation and meme sharing then leads to the ultimate triumph of meme music: it establishes a widespread sonic vernacular precisely through its highly snackable genre and the breathtaking speed of its planetary distribution.