Ever since Spotify Wrapped’s inception in 2015, it has only grown in popularity. Spotify Wrapped allows users to review data from their listening history over the past year, including information that ranges from their top artists and songs to how many minutes they spent listening to music. This year, Spotify Wrapped was released Dec. 4, which was later than its typical publication.
According to The New York Times, many people agree that this year’s Spotify annual report fell flat compared to years prior, and some said it felt “impersonal.” Unlike previous years, the 2024 did not include users’ top music genres listened to.
Instead, 2024’s Spotify Wrapped included AI-generated information about users’ music evolution based on artists they listened to across the year. Their musical development was siloed off into different categories with made-up names. One of these classifications was called Pink Pilates Princess — including artists such as Chappell Roan and Charli XCX.
Senior Maya Acutt said she was somewhat disappointed with her Spotify results because the data didn’t fully represent her listening experience.
“I thought that [Spotify Wrapped] gave less details. I also don’t know if it was completely accurate,” Acutt said. “I was surprised by my top song, ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want‘ by The Smiths, because I do listen to that song a lot, but I didn’t realize that I listened to it that much. I thought I listened to other songs more.”
Acutt said she still enjoyed looking over her summarized listening experience. She said Spotify Wrapped is still something that she looks forward to every year, and she always anticipates seeing her results.
“I was checking every day. Last year, it came out Nov. 29, but this year it came out way later, and I was getting so annoyed because I love Spotify Wrapped. I think about listening to music in anticipation of Spotify Wrapped,” Acutt said. “Throughout the year, I wonder how many minutes I’ll have on Spotify Wrapped, and I always try to get more than the year prior. It’s like a competition with myself.”
Each year, the layout and design of Spotify Wrapped changes. This year, there were vibrant pixelated shapes and colors over a black background. Senior Olive Poulos said she thought the layout looked too futuristic and AI-generated.
“I felt like the monthly music evolution was kind of weird and very obviously AI-generated,” Poulos said. “The [categories] had long titles, and it looked a lot more futuristic than it had in the past. I liked the old designs better.”
Poulos reflected on her overall feelings about Spotify Wrapped. She said knowing that Spotify’s yearly report is released at the end of the year influences what she listens to.
“I’ve had some bad Spotify Wrappeds in the past because I would fall asleep every night to a certain artist, and that would mess up my overall Wrapped,” Poulos said. “Now I’m more careful about how long I listen to music because it affects my Spotify Wrapped.”
Sophomore Charlotte Joe said she is most excited by Spotify Wrapped’s surprise factor. Unlike Poulos, Joe said she enjoyed the new music evolution feature.
“My favorite part about Spotify Wrapped is being surprised by what’s on it,” Joe said. “There are many things I could have predicted, but some of the songs surprised me. I had no idea how many times I streamed ‘Bags‘ by Clairo. I also love how Spotify gave themes of each month throughout the year to reflect changes in music taste.”
Acutt said Spotify Wrapped is a way for her to show her music preferences to her friends. “It’s really fun to see how my music tastes evolved throughout the year,” Acutt said. “I love getting my Spotify Wrapped.”
