That's a Wrap!

For the last blog of the season, I thought it would be fitting to write about a certain end-of-year summary that many look forward to: Spotify Wrapped! 

Spotify’s logo

Every year, on an unannounced date, Spotify releases a summary of each user’s listening habits over the course of that year. The report provides users with information about the top albums, artists, songs, and genres they streamed over the previous months. This includes unique information like the percentage of listeners each user falls into for their most streamed artists. Last year’s Wrapped also provided fun, personalized touches like messages from each user’s top-streamed artists, a “Me in 2023” section that revealed 1 out of 12 total listening characters based on each user’s specific tastes and habits, a “Sound Town” section that matched each listener to a town based on their listening preferences, and more. Each section of information is displayed in creative, aesthetically pleasing designs. The numerous graphics are easily transferable to social media platforms, encouraging them to be shared. This allows users to post these cute graphics on their accounts and show others what they’ve been listening to, turning the report’s release into somewhat of a community event. 

Spotify Wrapped playlist covers from 2016-2023

The release of this year’s Spotify Wrapped was recently hinted at on Spotify’s social media accounts. A video posted to its Instagram page featured the company’s logo stylized in 9 different designs. Users have theorized that each design could be based on notable releases from the past year. The coffee-themed logo and light blue background matches the cover art of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit single “Espresso.” The water-themed logo could be referencing Billie Eilish’s trending album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, with the dark blue background and bubbly effects matching the underwater aspect of its cover art. The simple green and black logo matches the aesthetic of Charli XCX’s album BRAT. 

Spotify’s Instagram post hinting at this year’s Wrapped

Spotify’s logo designs and their inspiration

The genius aspect of this campaign is its shareability. Encouraging users to share their unique, personalized Wrapped invites them to create user-generated content. Some users simply post the graphics to their accounts to share their listening preferences. Others may also post content such as reactions, memes, skits, and more that aim to be relatable or funny. This content raises awareness about the company and increases conversation about the campaign. It garners attention all over social media and promotes the company without Spotify having to pay users to talk about it. It also creates a sense of community among users of the platform and makes them feel like they’re somewhat part of a club. This can entice non-users to switch to Spotify to receive this exclusive report and become part of the community. The constant talk of users awaiting their report also builds anticipation, making Spotify Wrapped a notable moment in the end-of-year holiday season!