Since 2015, Spotify has provided listeners and creators alike with annual statistics based on their listening habits throughout the year. For the average Spotify consumer, their year is presented in a powerpoint style presentation. This presentation details what music genres they listened to the most, who their top artists were, what their most listened to songs were, and much more. For a music creator, their Spotify Wrapped looks a bit different. They can see statistics based on their listeners location around the world, the number of people that listen to their music, how many hours worth of their music is listened to throughout the year, and how many times their music is streamed throughout the year. For a lover of music who tends to use Spotify, this will certainly provide them with an interesting look at their music listening habits over the years.
My Initial Reaction to Spotify Wrapped
For the past two years, I have avidly used Spotify to listen to music. It is my go to app for all of my music needs. I am certainly no stranger to Spotify Wrapped and the information it provides to people who use the app. Prior to ever considering purchasing Spotify in 2017, I remember when that year’s Wrapped came out in December. A few of my new friends were comparing their music stats with each other. I remember thinking the idea of keeping track of your music listening habits was a neat idea. Frankly, I felt a bit left out. The music service I used (Apple Music) did not provide a Wrapped service.
I wanted to know my music stats, be surprised (yet not surprised) by my most listened to artist of the year. I wanted to join the massive conversation of people celebrating and being excited over their music choices. Needless to say, I did end up subscribing to Spotify. I was extremely happy to learn that Spotify even has a student discount which makes the platform even more affordable to college students. It is one of my favorite purchases to date. I use it every day and cannot wait to see my year wrapped come December.
Spotify’s Wrapped Business Goal
There are many possibilities that could be the true intentions of implementing a service such as Spotify Wrapped. However, when I first began thinking about it, my initial thought was that it was used as a marketing tool. More specifically, a word-of-mouth marketing tool. Every year when Wrapped is released, it is trending number one on twitter, everyone is talking about it, and it’s this crazy phenomenon of sharing music with one another. It is the most incredible thing you have ever seen.
Every social media platform is littered with someone posting or commenting about their Wrapped stats. Artists and listeners alike share their gratitude and love of music. Meanwhile, the CEO’s of Spotify sit back and watch the mass public do their marketing for them. Spotify really changed the game with the implementation of Spotify Wrapped. Other mainstream music subscription services such as Apple Music even created their own version of Wrapped.