The release of Spotify Wrapped has become a highly-anticipated end-of-the-year event for nearly every Gen Z Spotify user. But does the pressure to share one’s data with friends online and in-person make us listen to music inauthentically?
A Trend Nine Years Strong
Spotify Wrapped was born in 2015, as Spotify’s “Year in Music,” which provided users with a simple overview of what they’d been listening to that year. In 2016, it became officially known as “Wrapped,” and its release has garnered more and more attention every year since. While Wrapped began as a straightforward overview of Spotify users’ top songs and artists, its features have been getting more extensive and complex in its last few iterations.
Creative Features of 2023
2023 saw the introduction of a few new features to Spotify’s yearly roundup. One, entitled “Me in 2023,” assigned listeners one of twelve characters based on their listening habits. Many of the characters in question represented a variety of sci-fi and fantasy archetypes, such as “Alchemist,” “Vampire,” and “Shapeshifter” as well as a few more generalized labels like “Collector” and “Luminary.”
Another new aspect of Wrapped from 2023 was “Sound Towns,” which told listeners which geographic location best matched up with their taste.
With such creative additions to this last yearly release, 2024’s Wrapped will certainly be showcasing even more exciting new ways for listeners to engage with their musical data this year.
The Flip Side of Data Sharing
As Wrapped becomes a more ubiquitous trend, sharing one’s personal recap on social media begins to feel almost mandatory for active Spotify users. Wrapped’s graphic design in recent years has even been formatted like an Instagram story to encourage quick and easy posting.
Because of this pressure to post, listeners are starting to feel the need to cultivate an impressive summary of their musical habits. Wrapped has become more than just an end-of-the-year celebration. It’s now something Spotify users have to think about all year long.
“Fixing” Your Wrapped
Spotify has been releasing Wrapped earlier and earlier in the past few years. From 2018 to 2021, listeners got access to their roundups at the beginning of December. But in 2022, Wrapped dropped on November 30th. And last year, November 29th was the day to open up Spotify and take part in complete social media chaos.
With the unknown day of release growing nearer and likely occurring some time this month, fans of Wrapped have begun working hard to tailor their listening. For many, the beginning of November is the time to seriously lock in and turn their Wrapped around. It seems everybody wants the opportunity to be proud of their curated taste.
The October Rumor
Claims that Spotify stops collecting data for Wrapped at the end of October frequently appear on social media. Though this rumor was debunked by Spotify’s official Twitter account in 2022 and again in 2023, the claim still circulates occasionally on sites like Twitter and TikTok.
Even though November isn’t really a “free month” for Spotify users, there remains a consensus that a Wrapped-less period would provide a comforting space for people to enjoy their guilty pleasure songs without being reported on at the end of the year.
So if Wrapped is really such an exciting internet holiday, why does it stress us out so much?
The Social Media Persona
Everyone wants to seem cool on social media, right? Maybe it’s as simple as that. The pressure to share our Wrapped online, from both other social media users and Spotify itself, is getting to us. Still, with all the discussion around “fixing” Spotify Wrapped before the end of the year, there never seems to be a consensus on how to do so.
Though there might be artists or songs that we’re afraid to admit we listen to often, it seems that Gen Z in particular doesn’t have one unanimous idea about what “good” music taste is. Spotify does, after all, offer an incredibly diverse array of genres and artists. Popular music certainly still exists (see Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Charli XCX for this year), but in the age of streaming, good taste is more subjective than ever.
Social media definitely plays a role in Wrapped reception, both good and bad. But sharing your musical data with people you know off the internet can be just as mortifying. After all, Wrapped release day is certainly just as big on college campuses as it is on TikTok. So, do anxieties around Wrapped go deeper than just social media?
What Reflects Our Real Selves
Students frequently listen to ambient music to study. Others play hype songs at the gym. Some like to fall asleep to music. Many people listen to specific artists or genres when they’re feeling sad or heartbroken. But do these songs really reflect our taste? Or who we are?
This is the issue that Wrapped sometimes presents. Listening to one song over and over again while we’re at our worst doesn’t necessarily mean we want that song to be our top song of the year.
Primarily, Wrapped fans want their yearly recap to make them feel good, not to remind them of a sad weekend or a day spent studying to the same playlist over and over.
The Spotify algorithm directly relates the frequency with which we listen to songs or artists with our enjoyment of those songs/artists. But maybe it’s not so straightforward. Wrapped can reveal our most shameful sides, but it can also be an inauthentic representation of overall taste.
Though the idea that certain artists or genres are embarrassing to listen to is definitely still prevalent in online culture, a great deal of Spotify’s Gen Z audience just wants their Wrapped to reflect their year at its best.
Taking the Good With the Bad
Still, there is something to be said for embracing whatever Wrapped has to offer. A recent TikTok trend sees users exposing the allegedly embarrassing results they predict for this year’s review. Whether that’s a specific Ed Sheeran song, a nostalgic phase, or an obsession with Glee, Gen Z is beginning to own up to the music they’re really hooked on.
@k.t_parker Maybe the creature was Matthew Morrison all along #glee #matthewmorrison #spotifywrapped #gleecast #suesylvester #trending #fyp ♬ Originalton – offlain
Even if Spotify’s summary of our data doesn’t really reflect who we are or what music we feel defined our year, it’s all in good fun. At the end of the day, Wrapped is a very successful Spotify ad campaign. So, if you’re going to take part at all, why not share your heartbreak songs, study music, and cringe-worthy faves?
@zadiefrog hot people listen to hamilton #hamilton #spotifywrapped #2024 #linminuelmiranda #fyp ♬ Originalton – offlain
Still, for those unconvinced, statsforspotify.com displays the top artists, songs, and genres for any Spotify user at any time. So if you’re one to monitor your own habits, this site can help you edit your Wrapped into something a little more Instagram-worthy.
