It’s that time of year again: Spotify Wrapped is here, inviting users to reflect on their listening habits from the past year while sharing insights on social media. This year’s edition launched on Wednesday, generating a wave of posts as users disclosed their most-played songs and artists of 2024.
Among the new features introduced is “music evolution,” which enables users to explore their shifting music preferences throughout the year. This tool presents personalized, niche music profiles that capture users’ taste in different “phases.” Additionally, listeners can track their longest listening streaks for their favorite artists.
Spotify has also released a personal AI-generated podcast that summarizes users’ listening activities. Leveraging Google’s Notebook LM application, this innovative podcast technology gained popularity for its capability to create engaging summary podcasts featuring realistic hosts.
As usual, Spotify shared a list of the most-streamed global artists, podcasts, and authors. Leading the pack was Taylor Swift, who has enjoyed a prolific year fueled by her Eras Tour and the release of “The Tortured Poets Department.” She achieved a staggering 26.6 billion streams, making her the top artist of the year. The Weeknd and Bad Bunny followed in second and third place, respectively. Despite controversy surrounding the alleged inflation of streaming numbers for Kendrick Lamar’s diss track aimed at him, Drake still secured the fourth spot among the most-streamed artists, with Billie Eilish placing fifth.
While “Not Like Us” was absent from the top global songs chart, it claimed the position of the second most-streamed song in the U.S. with over 928 million streams. The most-streamed song globally for the year was Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso,” amassing over 1.6 billion streams.
On the podcasting side, shows like “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “Call Her Daddy” by Alex Cooper, and “This Past Weekend with Theo Von” were among the top five globally. Highlights of the year included notable interviews with President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Finally, Spotify introduced its first global audiobooks list, following the addition of 15 free hours of audiobook listening for Premium subscribers last year. Sarah J. Maas topped the chart with her book “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” and secured the third spot with its sequel, “A Court of Mist and Fury.”
This year’s Spotify Wrapped not only celebrates musical accomplishments but also showcases the power of personal reflection in our listening experiences. With innovative features, listeners can delve deeper into their musical journeys, making 2024’s Wrapped an intriguing occasion for artists and fans alike. As technology continues to evolve, it’s exciting to envision how these developments will shape the musical landscape in the years to come.