It's that time of year again, when we get to see what kind of music we've all been listening to over the last year. Who's going to take the top spot? How many minutes, hours, days, or even months have you been jamming to your tunes? There's not long until Spotify will tell all that — and more.
Spotify first started its Christmas stats buster in 2016, giving users a fun, shareable picture of just how much music they stream. Since then it's taken on a kind of mythical, cult-like status where users post their statistics to X, FaceBook and other social media platforms to show off their listening habits.
We're now just counting down the minutes, live, until Wrapped 2024 drops. But before that, here are just some extra details about Spotify's end-of-year social scheme!
What is Spotify Wrapped?
Spotify Wrapped is very simple, and also loads of fun. It's a series of fun screens that tell you different things about how much you used the green circle over the last year. You find out your favorite artists, your top tracks and your most listened-to albums. It tells you how many minutes you listened to music, and the playlists you spent the most time in. It's all packaged up in an animated slide show, although with Spotify's pivot to video content, we might well see some of that as well.
It's loads of fun, and sharing your stats with your friends can get hilarious — especially if you didn't want anyone to know you've listened to 300 minutes of Bananarama.
How do I see my Spotify Wrapped?
Well, at the moment, you don't — it's not live yet! But, when it is, you'll get a notification from Spotify that says something along the lines of "Your Spotify Wrapped is ready — see who you loved in 2024!". If you don't get the notification, it'll be right in the middle of your Spotify App on the home screen — click that, and you'll see your Spotify Wrapped.
Did you know? Miley Cyrus's "Flowers" was the most streamed track in 2023 — wonder what it will be this year?
Do other streaming services offer something similar?
There are other, similar stat roundups. Apple Music started doing its "Apple Music Replay" which shows you, in Apple's words "the top songs, artists, abums that defined your year". It's not quite as in-depth as Spotify Wrapped, although you do get a playlist at the end of it that you can use throughout the next year.
Tidal offers something similar as well, although it's even less in-depth than Apple Music's attempt. It's a playlist called "rewind", and it shows you the music you've been listening to and who's at the top. This is actually available all year round, although it doesn't show the time you've listened. This is shareable, although there aren't likely to be that many of your friends that also use Tidal.
Did you know? This year's most streamed song so far, The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights", has been streamed 4.59 Billion times — how many of those were you?
What could be on your Wrapped?
We love Spotify Wrapped at Tom's Guide — and we even predicted what we might see on our playlists and slide shows this year. Here are a few highlights:
Malcolm McMillan
Senior Streaming Writer
I don't have to guess what the top song in my Spotify Wrapped will be — I know. I have a 10-month-old child and their favorite song is "Stick Song" by Duggee and the Squirrels from the BBC children's show "Hey Duggee." Getting fussy? "Stick Song." Want to jump around? "Stick Song." I guarantee it's my top song by a country mile, and it likely means Duggee and the Squirrels will be my top artist. But as for the rest of my Wrapped? My money is on lots of Oasis, Idles, Fontaines D.C. and Kasabian, though I hope "Fascist Bob" by the Scottish punk band Soapbox and "Spiked" by the Essex indie band Bilk make appearances.
Jason England
Managing Editor, Computing
With the sight of my top songs playlist, I can make an educated guess of what will be on my Spotify wrapped this year. So I'm going to take a different approach — instead of telling you myself what it will be, I headed to Tune My Music to export my playlist as a text file, followed Erin's guide, and asked ChatGPT to roast my music taste. The result has left me questioning everything:
"This playlist is the musical equivalent of ordering every flavor at an ice cream shop and ending up with a chaotic mess of melted sludge. Jack Harlow and Kid Cudi are here for your cool-kid vibes, but then Four Year Strong and Bring Me The Horizon crash the party with angst so intense it’s practically throwing furniture. Sprinkle in Usher for smooth-talking transitions, only for Beartooth to barge in screaming about their existential crises. It’s like someone couldn’t decide between a mosh pit, a dance floor, or a therapy session—and instead just asked, “Why not all three?” Absolute bedlam."
Mike Prospero
Managing Editor, US
My family shares a single Spotify account, which we tend to use the most on car trips — which means keeping our kid entertained. Ever since she heard "Defying Gravity" on her camp bus this summer, we've had the Wicked soundtrack on heavy rotation in our car, along with other Broadway show tunes, so I'm expecting our Unwrapped playlist to be big on Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and other big hitters from the Great White Way.
So that's who we think is going to make it into our Wrapped 2024 playlists — but what about you? Is it going to be Elton John that tops your list, or Dua Lipa? The B-52s, or Slipknot? There's only one way to find out for sure — and that's to wait for Spotify Wrapped to launch.
Spotify Wrapped FAQs
- Do I need to update Spotify?
Yes, Spotify will need to the latest version. Spotify says its so that you get "the full optimized Spotify wrapped experience".
- Do I need Spotify premium?
No! Like all the best things in life, Spotify is available to everyone. Well, as long as you have some kind of Spotify account.
- When does Spotify count from for Wrapped?
Spotify starts counting in January — although we're not entirely sure if that means there's a dead-spot in December between Wrapped and the start of the count. Maybe not worth risking it and streaming nothing but your most embarrassing faves in December then, just in case.
English (US) ·