The Meme Music Boom: 'Old Town Road' Phenomenon

In April, a TikTok creator mused, "Did I just write the song of the summer?" Girl on Couch's "Looking for a man in finance" song spawned hundreds of remixes, and won her a record deal. While it might seem remarkable that a five-second TikTok sound can command the attention of pop music kingmakers, the industry has been capitalizing on internet memes for decades. Endless Thread takes a crash course in internet meme pop music history.

Credits: This episode was produced by Grace Tatter . Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski. The hosts are Amory Sivertson, Ben Brock Johnson, and Grace Tatter.