Here’s to You : A Love Letter to Spotify Wrapped

Music operates in the space between personal and public. What did you listen to with your loved ones this year? What did you listen to when you were alone? Every year, one short collection of graphics tells you the story of your year through the music you streamed – Spotify Wrapped. It delivers us a visual experience for enjoying in both private and public spaces. First, you watch alone reminiscing on the year, then share to strangers and friends. By now, weeks have passed since our screens lit up with the vibrant colors of our Spotify Wrapped.

It need not be said that this digital event is popular beyond any other social media rewind feature. Even if you happen to be a person who turns their nose up at the Swedish app and prefers the likes of Apple Music or YouTube Music, chances are you’ve still seen the bright geometric memes that have come out on your timelines.

Recently, socials have been a-buzz with think pieces on how results are warped by an image obsessed consumer base. Despite this–maybe even because of this–I think there is beauty in what Spotify Wrapped represents.

THE SPOTIFY SURPRISES

My favorite part of waiting for my Wrapped to drop is imagining what features they might add to it. It’s not just top artists and songs, but vibrant art and the parts in-between. The parts where the look back goes beyond the data. In years past, they’ve shown listeners their audio aura – connecting your clicks with the spiritual.

This year they added in a personality sorter, comparing your listening habits and giving you a “Music Personality”. Seeing your friends receiving the different options, it’s a special fuzzy feeling to remember we all interact with the world of music differently.

THE CONSCIOUS

There is a particular base who will curate their listening to please the crowd on socials once the time to share your results comes. Whether its hyper-focusing on one artist to come out in the top percentage of their listeners, genre hopping to get quirky varied results, or diving too deep into the musical pits to earn obscure indie points – there are many who manipulate their music consumption to posture online.

Most of these listeners who hyper-curate lives by a certain truth, they want to be perceived a specific way. But this adjustment to fit to a desired aesthetic can bring about real music listening patterns. In your search for the obscure, you find a band whose discography deserves more support. When repeatedly streaming one artist, you gain a deeper knowledge of their sound and appreciation for their talents and quirks. The conscious listeners get more out of music than we give them credit for.

THE UNCONSCIOUS

Every person is guilty of forgetfulness, but this isn’t a flaw–it is a human reality. There are days of your year you will never recall again. Even in those days, you streamed. For the digital generation, music is a part of our daily lives. Music fills our lives in all the liminal spaces. Our walks to class, trips on a bus, dish-washing hours, study dates, and more. These are the moments Spotify Wrapped can bring back to us. The random day you remembered an artist you used to love. The day that one song hit entirely differently. These moments may be lost to you, but the data remembers.

THE END

When we pull out our headphones and scroll to our favorite playlists, it’s a movement so common it goes without ceremony. Here lies the reason we love Spotify Wrapped – it delivers a personal little celebration of you and the musical decisions that made your year. It is as free flowing or as confined as you make it. Spotify Wrapped is who you were this year. This is why we are ready for next year: we wait in fond anticipation for the special icon to appear.