Every year, around late November to early December, Spotify users receive their yearly recap of what they have listened to from music, podcasts and audiobooks. Some are surprised. Some are disappointed. Or some are simply unfazed. Whatever happens, it always seems to strike a buzz on social media. Students of State High post their wraps on their stories on Instagram and Snapchat.
Spotify Wrapped includes personalized data from each user like top songs, artists, albums, genres, and different elements of the listener’s profile. This year, Spotify introduced users’ calculated listening age and “clubs,” which assigned users into six groups based on listening interests. These clubs include: Club Serotonin, Cloud State, Cosmic Stereo, Full Charge, Grit Collective and Soft Hearts.
This year, there was also a decrease in the usage of AI due to last year’s backlash over the overuse of AI. This year, they brought back top genres that were removed during last year’s wrapped.
Some listeners were surprised by their wrapped. Many believe it may have been inaccurate. “It happened last year, and this year too, where my wrapped is almost entirely music I listened to within the first couple months of the year,” senior Frank Statham said.
The data is estimated to be pulled from late October to mid-November, meaning the last month before the wrapped comes out does not count towards the recap. Also, short songs generate more plays, which increases their likelihood to appear on listeners’ wrapped rather than longer records. Listening to playlists created by Spotify can also skew the top songs. Background listening can also make a big impact. If people listen to music while sleeping, working or cleaning, that still directly contributes to recap.
Although some listeners disagree with their data, some listeners think it represents their interests. “I would say it’s pretty accurate, though I definitely listened to my top artists earlier in the year, they were definitely the artists I listened to most,” senior Bruno Sanzotti said.
This year, Spotify also broke the record for most engagements with 250 million in less than three days. This includes lots of students at State High who show off their wrapped every single year.
A schoolwide survey shows that Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, and Billie Eilish showed up the most on students’ wrapped. Soft Pop and Pop Rap also come out on top as the school’s top genres. As clubs were also introduced this year, the survey also showed that Soft Hearts Club was the most popular listener group at State High.
When looking to the future, Spotify Wrapped is unpredictable. In the new year, some like to pay attention to their listening habits after reviewing their recaps from the previous year, and some don’t. “I think that’s the fun of it, not knowing what’s gonna be on it,” freshman Alyssa Woskob said when reflecting on her wrapped this year.
Nevertheless, the social media aspect of Spotify Wrapped is one of the biggest media events of the year. It urges listeners to pay attention to their listening patterns, whether it’s received well or not. Listeners always know that at the end of the year, Spotify Wrapped has new features to recap interests.
