Four big questions re: music in 2023:
1) What were the most popular songs?
2) Who were the most popular artists?
3) Which genres are growing the fastest?
4) Which tours generated the most revenue?
Flashback: Billion Dollar Tours And The Economics of Modern Music
Big question #1: What were the most popular songs?
Most popular songs of 2023 according to Billboard:
1) “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen
2) “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus
3) “Kill Bill” by SZA
4) “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift
5) “Creepin’” by Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage
Mr. Screen’s familiarity score: 60%
Video: Year on TikTok 2023
@tiktok Join us as we look back on 2023’s most memorable trends, creators and moments with our community: let’s scroll back to the best of this YearOnTikTok!
Most popular songs of 2023 according to Spotify:
1) “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen
2) “Kill Bill” by SZA
3) “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus
4) “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma
5) “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” by PinkPantheress, Ice Spice
Mr. Screen’s familiarity score: 40%
Video: SPOTIFY | 2023 Wrapped – Taylor Swift Global Top Artist of the Year
Most popular songs of 2023 according to TikTok:
1) “Collide (more sped up)” by Justine Skye
2) “Cupid – Twin Ver (Sped Up Version)” by FIFTY FIFTY
3) “Her Way (Sped Up)” by PARTYNEXTDOOR
4) “Favorite Song – Sped Up” by Toosii
5) “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” by PinkPantheress & Ice Spice
Mr. Screen’s familiarity score: 0%
Most popular songs of 2023 according to YouTube:
1) “Favorite Song” by Toosii
2) “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus
3) “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma
4) “La Bebe (Remix)” by Yng Lvcas, Peso Pluma
5) “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen
Mr. Screen’s familiarity score: 40%
Quick math on top 5 song lists for 2023:
1) 12 different songs appeared in the top 5
2) No song appeared in all 4
3) Average song appeared on 2.4 lists
Why this matters: Now, time spent with music is fragmenting across platforms and genres. We listen to different music on the radio, Spotify, and TikTok.
Big question #2: Who were the most popular artists?
Most popular artists of 2023 according to Spotify:
1) Taylor Swift
2) Drake
3) Morgan Wallen
4) The Weeknd
5) Bad Bunny
Most popular artists of 2023 according to TikTok:
1) Selena Gomez
2) Natalie Jane
3) Ice Spice
4) Meghan Trainor
5) Ariana Grande
Big question #3: Which genres are growing the fastest?
Music genres with the highest growth rate according to Activate Consulting:
1) Latin – ↑ 31%
2) Country – ↑ 17%
3) Other – ↑ 16%
4) Rock – ↑ 14%
5) R&B/Hip Hop/Pop – ↑ 11%
FYI: People are tattooing Spotify bar codes on themselves…
Big question #4: Which tours generated the most revenue?
Highest-grossing worldwide tours of 2023, according to Pollstar:
1) Taylor Swift – $1B
2) Beyonce – $580M
3) Bruce Springsteen – $380M
4) Coldplay – $326M
5) Harry Styles – $291M
Quick math on concert revenue for a top 100 artist (% growth from 2019):
1) 14,600 tickets sold (↑10%)
2) $106 average ticket price (↑ 9%)
3) $1.6M in ticket revenue per show (↑ 20%)
