Spotify Wrapped – A Harmonious Holiday Tradition
Published on Dec. 2, 2024 at 5:31 p.m.
By Rhodes Reddick.
With the holiday season quickly approaching, most people can’t help but get excited about their favorite yearly traditions being right around the corner. While some look forward to advent calendars or holiday parties, others like myself get antsy about the reveal of their Spotify Wrapped.
Similarly to an annual report, Spotify Wrapped is your year in review — listing a user’s top songs, artists and podcasts over the course of the year.
Spotify Wrapped is a unique tool that changes the perspective of privacy. While some people fear the release of their data, no one hesitates posting their Spotify year in review … unless you are like me wondering how you found yourself in the top 0.01% of an artist’s listeners.
Since launching in 2016, Spotify Wrapped has dished out personalized, data-driven insights of its users’ listening habits for each year. More impressively, in my opinion, the program has grown to be a sharp public relations tool for Spotify due to easily shareable and attractive graphics, while simultaneously cementing customer loyalty across social media platforms. Who knew someone’s music tastes could say so much about their character?
Perhaps the most likely reason Spotify Wrapped is so prolific is because of its shareability. Since 2022, Spotify has provided pre-made visuals that are optimized for sharing on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. With one click, you can upload a summary of your year in review. In 2021, Spotify reported that 120 million users accessed their Wrapped.
This organic sharing is PR gold for Spotify; each and every Wrapped post in itself is a marketing of the service to that person’s network. They are testimonials where one voluntarily advocates Spotify to friends and followers.
Significant earned media coverage comes with this form of user-driven promotion every year. Spotify releases its own Wrapped that features top songs and artists among all users.
Spotify positions Wrapped strategically as an annual tradition that listeners look forward to as the year draws to a close. By releasing Wrapped in early December, Spotify taps into the broader theme of year-end retrospectives and New Year reflections, placing the campaign within this timely and relevant context. This yearly holiday creates a shared experience across listeners as they look forward to posting and comparing their summaries with friends.
While I am feeling confident Taylor Swift will be my top artist for the second year in a row, I am eager to see who else will be at the top of my list!
