Your Spotify Wrapped Isn't Social Currency Anymore: Here's Why

"Every year during late November and early December, our Instagram stories are plagued with Spotify Wrapped posts of people you haven't heard from since middle school or individuals who randomly log back in online to declare to the world that they are the top 0.01% of an artist no one has ever heard of. Spotify Wrapped used to be a social holiday, an annual ritual of showing off who has the more niche top five or who amongst your friend group is the true Swiftie."

"Now, it feels more of a passive-aggressive reminder about the songs you hyperfixated on during your March mental breakdown. As the algorithm becomes more transparent, and the idea of our digital identities continue to be more performative, Wrapped has seemed to have lost its cultural capital. Spotify Wrapped first launched in 2016 as an end of the year summary that offered users information on their listening habits of the past year."

"From then on, they expanded every year to include artists, more detailed metrics and behavior of listeners, and then a cultural leap occurred in 2019. Artist Jewel Ham, then an intern for Spotify, created a concept of Spotify Wrapped through stories, which turned it from a data-driven report to an interactive social event of the year. For just a week in December, users are able to flaunt their niche taste and participate in the collective ritual of sharing online."

Spotify Wrapped began in 2016 as an end-of-year summary revealing individual listening habits and expanded yearly to add artists and detailed metrics. In 2019 a stories-based format turned the feature into a social event, enabling users to showcase niche tastes and use listening data as personal branding for a week each December. The feature transformed taste into digital currency and a mode of social signaling. Over time the novelty faded, and Wrapped became predictable and performative. Increased algorithm transparency and heightened performativity of online identities, along with social exhaustion, reduced its cultural capital.

Read at Her Campus