It’s that time of year, when we all get to find out our most listened to music of 2024.
Spotify Wrapped is a data driven exposition of an individual’s year in music. It has been a viral campaign in 2016 that keeps many listeners eager to find out which artists and songs colored their most recent trip around the sun. With each passing year, it has gotten a little more expansive, with the inclusion of artist “thank you” videos for top listeners, featured playlists, and other fun little expressions of the data.
However, this year, something smelled fishy around the campaign. Some of the artists I was sure would be near the top were no where to be found. And a few of the songs that had become the sole focus of my life for weeks in the Spring were also suspiciously absent. At first, I chocked it up to my own poor memory, but as I spoke with some of my music friends, they shared a similar view of the laziness around this years wrapped.
A music-writer, Brittney (The Reclusive Blogger), had this to say about a surprise appearance by Ariana Grande as her top artist:
I did a little digging, and noted that many features included in last year were absent—such as the music cities, playlists, or top albums and genres. The graphics were also scaled down considerably. Many are blaming the company’s over reliance on AI and their recent massive layoffs for the noticeable change in quality.
Spotify instead relied on clever copy for genres that don’t actually exist. See: Coastal Grandmother Fingerstyle Yacht Rock, Pink Pilates Pop Princess Strut, and Happy Indie Camper Van Rock.
Luckily for you readers, I discovered a website that will track your Spotify data for you and lay out your most-listened to artists of the last 4 weeks, 6 months, and full year. The website is called Stats For Spotify and they will offer you your data for free. Simply link your account to this website. You can also join last.fm, which “scrobbles” (records) all the music you listen to, across numerous platforms, and can give you accurate statistics about your listening history throughout the year (our head writer Bo is on last.fm, and saw a number of his most-listened to artists from last year absent from his Top 100 Wrapped Playlist).
When I got the data from this third party, I noted that much of the pop music I had listened to had been inaccurately promoted, while a lot of the smaller artists that I enjoyed were suspiciously absent from in my data. This begs the question: why are some artists and songs hidden from my rankings while others are being promoted?
As writers for the Indy Review, we try to champion smaller acts who are making their way into the public consciousness. And while I do thoroughly enjoy the catchy hooks of “Please, Please, Please” by Sabrina Carpenter, she does not need any more help that she is already getting.
I encourage everyone to take a look at their raw data and compare it to what is being shown to you on Spotify. Stay curious friends!
The Indy Review 