The dreaded Spotify Wrapped season approaches

Photo courtesy of Spotify/Wikimedia Commons

Spotify Wrapped has become a very anticipated release in recent years, but that doesn’t mean our social media feeds need to be flooded with the song choices of strangers every year.

Spotify users are eagerly awaiting what might be their favorite day of the year: when Spotify will release their coveted Spotify Wrapped highlights, statistics, and playlists. For those unfamiliar with the platform, Spotify is a popular music streaming service which started this viral marketing campaign in 2016 which has since grown exponentially. 

The campaign is accompanied each year by advertisements promoting the release and encouraging users to get ready. The campaign has had great success for multiple reasons, particularly the fear of missing out (FOMO), which is a common phenomenon. If people choose to listen to music on a different platform all year, then they will not receive a Spotify Wrapped and will not be able to compare with their friends and participate in the fun.

Each user's Spotify Wrapped will typically contain their top five musical artists, top five songs, and other statistics varying from what genre of music they listened to the most and exactly how many times they listened to a certain song. Spotify will also create a customized playlist containing a user's top 100 most listened to songs of the year, which is my personal favorite feature. 

As a long time Spotify user, I have always enjoyed receiving my Spotify Wrapped each year, but what I do not enjoy is seeing every single person that I know on social media reposting their statistics on Snapchat, Instagram, and even Facebook! I hate to be the one to break the news, but nobody cares who your number one artist on Spotify was, and nobody wants to see you repost your entire Spotify Wrapped. 

Saying that nobody cares may be a bit harsh—your friends may be interested to see if you have some of the top mutual artists or any other similarities. But that is why you should just text your friends instead of posting it for hundreds of other people to see. 

Part of the reason I find these posts to be so annoying is because it has become a trend to try and “flex” listening to more underground artists, or really anyone who is not played on the mainstream pop radio. But listening to some random underground artists does not make you cool, especially if you try to brag about it! 

I have had years where my number one artist was Taylor Swift, and years where my number one artist only had one album on spotify. But I know that no matter what, I had a good time listening to my music throughout the year and that is all that matters. I choose my music each day based on my mood, and it changes drastically.

This constant posting of music puts pressure on individuals to conform to certain stereotypes in order to fit in, or even stand out. Instead, each person should be encouraged to listen to whatever music fits their mood for the day, and not worry about what people might think of them if that song pops up on their Spotify Wrapped. 

While I have very strong opinions against the reposting of Spotify Wrapped statistics, I realize that it does provide an opportunity to connect with those who share the same musical style, which is why I think that everyone is allowed one—yes, only one—repost of their Spotify Wrapped on social media. This excludes posting it on a private story or sending it to a group of friends. One post is more than enough to portray whatever message you may have. Anything else is just greedy and I will not stand for it. 

Any day now Spotify Wrapped will be released, and until then I wake up every morning in suspense as I log onto social media and begin scrolling.