Each year around December, excitement grows for reasons other than the holiday season. Yes, we all come together to celebrate the release of our Spotify Wrapped- and what a glorious, joyous time it is for many. Plus, it's a great opportunity to expose which type of person you are: an Apple Music user or a Spotify user.
Spotify Wrapped can teach you a lot about yourself and others. It reveals the top artists, albums, and songs both globally and in the United States, as well as your individualized playlist filled with your top songs of the year. Mine, unsurprisingly is Noah Kahan (and he occupies four of my five top songs).
It can remind you of songs you swore you only listened to once, yet they expose you as the kind of listener you truly are. Somehow, One Direction was my top artist for years beyond their indefinite hiatus...some people never change!
At the Spotify Wrapped 2023 event yesterday, we got the chance to answer all of your questions for this year's Wrapped! Let's dive in.
When Can I See My Spotify Wrapped 2023?
In one of the greatest rivalries of all time, Apple Music released their Wrapped dupe called Replay a day earlier than Spotify...but today, November 29, is when your 2023 Spotify Wrapped graces the app.
@trendpr Spotify Wrapped is trying some new things this year 👀 #2023spotifywrapped #spotifywrapped #2023wrapped ♬ My Love Mine All Mine - Mitski
What's New To Spotify Wrapped This Year?
This year's theme was "Wrapped, Or It Didn't Happen." In a world of AI, Spotify wanted to celebrate what's real: embracing the real moments you experience through music. They wanted to encapsulate the year we've had as listeners, so we can appreciate the different cultures and sounds that have been brought to us.
You'll see more moving parts during the campaign, with bolder colors, and bigger digital productions across the world. But there's more to your Wrapped than just a special playlist based on your listening data. For the first time, you'll be able to view it on your computer as well.
A revolutionary feature is Me, In 2023, where you're assigned one of twelve listening personalities to tell you a bit more about yourself. For example, I'm an Alchemist, which means I create more playlists and listen to them more than the average user. This, obviously, is not shocking as I curate a Weekend Playlist for this website.
There's also SoundTown, which matches you to a city where you'll likely meet people who have similar music taste to you. The excitement doesn't stop there, you'll be able to see which month you listened to your Top 5 Artists the most and use the Blend feature to see how you and your friends match up.
Who Were The Top Artists and Albums In 2023?
Global:
Artists:
- Taylor Swift
- Bad Bunny
- The Weeknd
- Drake
- Peso Pluma
- "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus
- "Kill Bill" by SZA
- "As It Was" by Harry Styles
- "Seven" by Jungkook and Latto
- "Ella Baila Sola" by Peso Pluma
United States:
Artists:
- Taylor Swift
- Drake
- Morgan Wallen
- The Weekend
- Bad Bunny
- "Last Night" by Morgan Wallen
- "Kill Bill" by SZA
- "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus
- "Eslabon Armado" by Peso Pluma
- "Boys A Liar Pt. 2" by PinkPantheress and Ice Spice
- Un Verano Sin Ti by Bad Bunny (4.5 billion streams)
- Midnights by Taylor Swift
- S.O.S. by SZA
- Starboy by The Weeknd
- Mañana Sera Bonito by Karol G
- One Thing At A Time by Morgan Wallen
- S.O.S. by SZA
- Midnights by Taylor Swift
- Heroes and Villains by Metro Boomin
- Dangerous by Morgan Wallen
What Were The Top Podcasts?
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- Call Her Daddy
- Huberman Lab
- Anything Goes With Emma Chamberlain
- On Purpose With Jay Shetty
POPULAR NEWS
Actually, Spotify Does Pay Their Artists
After Universal Music Group, the largest record label in the industry, took all their artists' music off TikTok after failure to reach an agreement on AI usage of their artists and safety...people are now more than ever looking into how artists are treated on platforms where their music is the main focus. For TikTok, it's detrimental- they tried to punish UMG, and now they're paying the price.
At the 2024 Grammy Awards this Sunday, there were tons of controversial moments: should Taylor have brought Lana Del Rey onstage, should this person have won, what was that person wearing? But one of the more subtle digs was taken by host Trevor Noah, who commented on the UMG-TikTok battle by including another well-known streaming platform,
"Shame on you, TikTok, for ripping off artists. How dare you do that? That’s Spotify’s job!”
Without artists and their music, there would be no streaming platform to be had...and Spotify knows that, which is why they've been tracking their royalty payments to the music industry though their Loud & Clear report. The Loud & Clear report comes out every March and shows exactly how Spotify pays it back. According to their site,
"Nearly 70% of that revenue is paid back as royalties to rights holders, who then pay the artists and songwriters, based on the agreed terms."
This means that whatever Spotify is making from these artists and labels, and their music, they're making sure it gets back to them. It should be a mutually beneficial experience: one where both the artist and their representation trust that their work will be valued and protected (and thus, properly compensated), and where the platform also gains traffic from an artist's fans.
Today, Spotify announced that they've paid labels over $9 billion to give us a glimpse of their Loud & Clear report. In an exclusive statement to Popdust, a Spotify spokesperson states,
"Spotify paid record labels and publishers – which represent artists and songwriters – more money than ever in 2023: $9B+. That figure has nearly tripled over the past six years, and represents a big part of the $48B+ Spotify has paid since its founding."