Spotify Wrapped, Wrapped
Spotify Wrapped, Wrapped
Feeling attacked or attacking others may be a symptom of this phenomena
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Spotify lovers’ favorite time of the year rolled around last week. Spotify Wrapped dropped – a roundup of users’ listening habits.
Spotify Wrapped has long been the topic of conversation at the end of every year as people share artists and genres they loved. Certain genres or habits become the source of ridicule. Meme after meme follows.
One thing was different this year. Spotify added geographical locations based on similar music taste. I, for example, got Fort Collins, Colorado, because people there listen to Hippo Campus, Del Water Gap, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. I was sad to be left out of the Big Three, though.
Many users received Burlington, Berkeley, and Cambridge as their recommended cities. That sparked a rivalry and a meme fest1, blowing up the internet with perceived stereotypes of the three places.
I wish I could fit all the memes into this newsletter, but they’re aplenty. Spotify Wrapped has become both ironic and a source of pride. One artist or song can be representative of humorous character flaws or unforgivable entirely. People joke about changing their listening habits to influence their Wrapped because of embarrassing taste, and yet, they still share their data anyways.
Spotify has found the best way to stroke their users’ ego and keep them around. I’ve talked before about how the platform’s algorithm represents strategy others should be emulating. Spotify becomes deeply individualized, to a fault. (If you haven’t discovered private listening sessions yet, here’s your hint).
When my dad considered switching us to Apple Music, my family was abhorrent. What would we do without our Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year? And what about all of our tailored playlists? I can’t imagine leaving the platform now.
Personally, I will not be sharing my Spotify Wrapped this year. Why? You’ll never know.
My weekly roundup:
🎶 What I’m Listening To: My Spotify Wrapped!
🎞️ What I’m Watching: Waiting for Part 2 of The Crown, Season 6 🙏
🔎 What I’m Reading: Just finished Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yaros
📱 What I’m Scrolling: Taylor Lorenz’s meme account
Read the full Gen Z Dictionary here.
Meme fest: When the meme goes viral, inspiring more memes