A Recap of This Years Music Culture Phenomenon.
Every year millions of people wait for the moment Spotify Wrapped is released for viewing. Listeners everywhere are excited to find their top artists, genres, and podcasts of the year, as well as the top artists globally.
Spotify describes wrapped as not only a recap of the year but an experience that helps users understand their musical journey. This year some new and exciting features were added. Amongst these features was a brand new listening age feature, which predicts users ages based on their listening habits. If someone listened to a lot of classical music they may have had a high listening age, while new age rap garners a younger age. Northern High school student, Fitz Human received an estimated age of 65 years old. “I’m an old soul, so it makes sense I would be older, but I was really surprised by how old I was” said Fitz. Other new features included a top artist race, which shows who you listened to most through times of the year.
Spotify wrapped has officially been released. The top artist for 2025 was Bad Bunny who brought in 19.8 billion streams on his songs. Taylor Swift was the second most listened to artist breaking her prior two year streak of being the number one artist. For the podcast listeners Joe Rogan Experience remains a formidable force in the industry remaining the top podcaster of the year. Kpop has gained a massive following as a result of more popular Korean shows such as K-pop demon hunters. Pop music continues to be a driving force in the music industry. With 713 million active listeners Spotify is a unifying force within the music community allowing listeners to share their tastes with others using various features. One of the underdogs in the podcasting industry is the 67 podcast which has a decent following but is growing to eventually conform into the space of power it deserves.
The beloved feature doesn’t come without controversy though. Spotify has taken heat in the past about the data collection that goes into wrapped. The concept of the year’s recap is based on surveillance and collecting information about you. The information is then sold to third parties, that users don’t want to have access to their private information. Another recent controversy stems from 2024 Spotify Wrapped. Users who were initially excited to view their recap were met with an AI podcast talking about their wrapped. The use of AI in wrapped showed an example of a place where computers were replacing genuine human beings, upsetting many. Spotify is no stranger to AI controversy. Popular artists such as King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard left the platform in 2024 when Spotify CEO, Daniel Elk, made a 693 million dollar investment in AI attack drones for the military.
Despite the controversy the social media hype surrounding Spotify wrapped continues to grow, serving as a free marketing campaign for Spotify. Critics argue that Spotify has leveraged the human desire for expression and belonging, turning personal data into a shareable format.
