Only Bruno Mars, The Weeknd and Justin Bieber have more monthly listeners on Spotify than Taylor Swift. On YouTube, an experimental producer surpasses the most listened to popstar with a difference of more than 40 million people. How is it possible? The answer is in the memes.
If you’ve ever entered the YouTube Shorts hole, although it’s also very common on TikTok and Reels, you’ll have come across some stupid ranking of intrusive thoughts or satisfying moments. They all accumulate tens of millions of views and use the same background sound: a song capable of isolating you from the real world with its mysterious melody. It is neither happy nor sad. It’s right somewhere between the two.
It is also very successful on TikTok, with 4 million videos using the viral sound. On this platform, animal edits are the most common format to pair with Aphex Twin. A compilation with crocodile clips amasses around 13 million likes, while another with adorable owls reaches 15 million.
@petbaby6789 Crocodile World Erha #crocodile #fyp #animalworld #funnyvideos #funny #core #foryoupage ♬ QKThr – Aphex Twin
@pennytheplayfulhamster Owl core🥰😂#owl #owlhouse #owls #owlsoftiktok #owllove ♬ QKThr – Aphex Twin
The song used is ‘QKThr’, released in 2001 by the Irish producer as part of the album ‘Drukqs’. It’s been viral for months, even years, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going out of style. This is the key to understanding how Aphex Twin has 438 million monthly listeners on YouTube Music, unlike Swift’s 396 million, according to official YouTube Music data.
The platform’s monthly audience not only reflects visits to the videos on the artist’s official account, in which Swift earns handily, but also the passive use of YouTube Shorts. This is where Aphex Twin surpasses Swift. If we only took into account the views that the producer has had on his videos in the last month, the result would decrease to 5 million.
That is to say, hundreds of millions of people have the melody of ‘QKThr’ assimilated in their heads, but very little percentage of that audience seems to be aware that Aphex Twin is behind it. In a few years, and despite having been released in 2001, will generations Z and Alpha be nostalgic for an Aphex Twin song?
