Spotify users everywhere are used to seeing the influx of social media posts at this time of year; showing off graphics and stats about their music taste and favorite artists. Spotify Wrapped; the annual summary given by the app about your individual streaming habits has become a huge part of the music-listening experience.
As shares and reposts begin to flood people’s feeds after this year’s release, it begs the question: How did Spotify Wrapped become so highly anticipated, and what has it done to promote Spotify as a platform?
The first concept of a ‘wrapped’ came in 2015, with the release of a feature called “Year in Music,” which included less meticulous data and rather a general summary of your yearly music and artist streams. The intent behind this feature was to be used as a marketing tactic, encouraging users to show off their statistics with others via social media. This name was swiftly changed to the now renowned Spotify Wrapped in 2016, entrancing users with their fascinating streaming statistics and eye-catching graphics to coincide.
Over the years, Wrapped has evolved to bring many unique features to an annual recap of one’s listening habits. For example, in 2018 we saw the introduction of comparing astrology signs to your streaming habits, creating an even more immersive and unique experience for users, as well as capitalizing on the popularity of astrology throughout the past two decades. 2018 also saw the launch of Artist Wrapped, which was akin to Spotify Wrapped, however, it focused mainly on statistics of their own music performance on Spotify.
These innovations gained popularity rather quickly, becoming one of Spotify’s most enticing features; one that noticeably causes a huge spike in downloads during the month of December. Non-Spotify users seeing their friends and others on social media posting their statistics created a feeling of exclusivity for those using other platforms, which is why many have given up their former streaming services to make the switch to Spotify.
Though the ingenuity of a feature has likely brought millions of users to Spotify over the past several years, many argue that in recent times they’ve been let down from the Wrapped recap they expect every year. One user on Reddit said they were “disappointed in the limited amount of stats we get this year” and yearned for more in-depth statistics such as specific numbers of listens for their top tracks and artists. Many share the same sentiment as this user, and with other streaming services releasing similar features, this may negatively impact the state of Spotify Wrapped if user experience is not improved.
My Rewind by Apple Music, a feature competing with Spotify’s Wrapped, has seen major improvements in recent years, thus climbing the charts alongside Spotify as the most used streaming service trailing right behind Spotify. Though not perfect, My Rewind is not receiving the same critiques claiming that the feature has downgraded, unlike Spotify. This poses the question if Spotify Wrapped may lose its spot as the most notable yearly music recap, succeeded by Apple Music’s My Rewind.
Despite some negative feedback, Spotify Wrapped is a feature loved by many and yearned for year after year. One fluke Wrapped won’t destroy the empire that Spotify has built for themselves, with help from their Spotify Wrapped feature. Their influence is impressive, and not backed by any other services unlike Apple Music, which is backed by a large corporation full of various services and other profit areas. Spotify hopefully will take the critiques given this year, to produce an even better Wrapped, full of all the statistics users look forward to year after year.
