Kira O’Boyle
It’s that time of year again, Spotify Wrapped season. With the 2023 wrap-up having just come out on 29th of November, Impact’s Kira O’Boyle gives a rundown on what stats you can expect from your Wrapped, its new DJ feature and the impact Wrapped has had on social media.
When is Spotify Wrapped?
Coming round once a year, it may be one of the most anticipated days across the globe for music listeners. Christmas has come early – Spotify Wrapped is here. If you are a music lover and Spotify user, Spotify Wrapped will be one of your most highly awaited days of the year, and after an eager wait from app-users, the platform has finally reported back to us about our 2023 listening habits with way more technology and analysis than ever before.
Last year saw Spotify Wrapped arrive on the 30th of November, whilst previous years saw it come in the first week of December. This year’s Wrapped has come slightly earlier than expected on the 29th of November and Spotify really knew how to keep users waiting, stating on their website, that “the artists you loved most. The songs and podcasts you had on repeat. And lots more. Keep listening, and we’ll get in touch when it’s ready”. Users even fled to their Instagram comments, commenting “don’t be shy just release it now, I’m going insane” and have jokingly told the platform to “stop teasing”. Spotify Wrapped has successfully got music listeners around their little finger.
What is Spotify Wrapped?
Spotify Wrapped first began on the app in 2015 as a “Year In Music” feature and has evolved since into an in-depth, analytic report of its users’ yearly musical and podcast consumptions. Spotify counts every song you have streamed for as long as you have listened to it for over 30 seconds. The app supposedly tracks their users’ listening behaviours all year round, until the end of October. However Spotify was quick to shut down any rumours, and confirmed that they count streams beyond 31st October, so those guilty pleasures you thought you could get away with may come back to haunt you. Every listen counts towards the top 5 that we wait restlessly all year for: your top 5 artists, tracks, and most listened to genres. The app doesn’t leave it there, Wrapped also tells you the exact number of minutes you have spent listening to music, the number of different songs and artists you have explored and even if you have made it into the top percentages of listeners for certain artists. If you have any secrets, Spotify definitely knows them.
This year has seen a brand-new feature called ‘DJ: Wrapped’, your very own personal AI DJ
Spotify Wrapped is usually slightly different in their features every year, however, 2023 has seen the app step to a whole new level. This year has seen a brand-new feature called ‘DJ: Wrapped’, your very own personal AI DJ within your music library to take you through a personalised radio show based on your listening habits. In addition to this, the app has also created a special section for Spotify Wrapped within listeners’ music profile, making the yearly round up even more personalised.
So why is Spotify Wrapped so popular?
The success of Spotify Wrapped every year can give credit to the features user-generated content. Users are at the centre of Spotify Wrapped and really allows them to feel part of a community of music listeners. It is almost a self-reflective journey of our year, where we can tie all our listening behaviours to our experiences of the past year, and who doesn’t love to learn about themselves? With exact details and personalised playlists unique to your listening, Spotify Wrapped really does leave you thinking that the platform knows more about you than you do.
Making the day of Spotify Wrapped a social phenomenon
Spotify wrapped has almost become a competition between users, as the platform encourages users on Instagram to hope that they are in the “0.01% of a certain artist this year”. It has become a day of the year filled with comparing and sharing your most listened to songs and artists amongst friends and family, as well as on social media, making the day of Spotify Wrapped a social phenomenon.
Wrapped has also revealed this year’s most listened to artists and tracks in the UK. Unsurprisingly, artists such as Taylor Swift, Drake, Harry Styles and SZA have all contributed to the UK’s top listening habits.
The app has ranked the most streamed songs of 2023 in the UK:
- Dave, Central Cee – Sprinter
- Miley Cyrus – Flowers
- SZA – Kill Bill
- PinkPantheress, Ice Spice – Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2
- Raye, 070 Shake – Escapism
As Spotify would say… this time next year?
Kira O’Boyle
Featured image courtesy of David Pupaza via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes made to this image.
In-article video and image courtesy of @spotify via instagram.com. No changes made to these images.
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