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Around early December each year, Spotify likes to surprise us with Wrapped. It’s always exciting to see the charts and stats that summarize our music obsessions over the concluding year. While Wrapped is cool for reminiscing and sharing what we streamed the most, I think it misses a couple of important highlights of the listening experience.
Spotify Wrapped Is Great For the Most Part
I love Spotify Wrapped—I really do. It has nailed a lot of things with this feature. It breaks down your top artists and favorite tracks and even tosses in some playful insights into things like your “listening personality” (I’m apparently a “Voyager,” whatever that means). And yes, it’s great to see how many hours I spent listening to that one song I swore I wasn’t obsessed with. It’s all fun, colorful, and shareable—perfect fuel for social media flexing.
Here’s the thing: as much as I enjoy the nostalgia trip, I’ve always felt like Spotify Wrapped misses a key part of my musical journey—the part where I discover new music. I mean, sure, they tell me about my top artists and tracks, but what about recognition for all the new artists or genres I stumbled upon, even if I listened to them just once, twice, or even thrice?
The New Discovery Gap
One of the best things about using Spotify is that it’s not just a platform for playing your favorite songs—it’s also a treasure chest for musical exploration. Think about it: how many times have you gone down a rabbit hole after discovering an artist you’d never heard of before, only to find yourself obsessed with their entire discography? Or maybe you stumbled upon a new genre you had no idea you’d like. For me, that’s where the magic happens.
It’s that feeling of finding something new that resonates with you. And sure, Spotify’s Daylist and Discover Weekly playlists do a solid job of surfacing tracks I might enjoy, but those discoveries don’t really show up in Wrapped. There’s no celebratory moment where Spotify says, “Hey, you discovered 30 new artists this year! Here’s a badge, a high-five, and a playlist of all the cool stuff you found.”
For example, I didn’t listen to much jazz in previous years, but this year, I got into Marcus Miller, and now I think I’m deep into bebop. Also, I’ve always been a die-hard rock fan, but while trying to study, I found out that I have a soft spot for lo-fi hip-hop. Those kinds of discoveries are huge, and I think they deserve a shout-out.
And Let’s Talk About New Releases
Another thing I’d love to see in Wrapped is a focus on new songs that dropped during the year that I might’ve missed but would have liked. There’s already so much music coming out all the time that it’s impossible to keep up with everything. Yes, I know Release Radar helps with this, but I imagine if, at the end of the year, Spotify could say, “Based on what you listened to, here are 10 new songs released this year that you totally would’ve loved but didn’t find.”
It’s like when a friend recommends a new album that’s so like you, and you’re left wondering how you missed it. Wouldn’t it be awesome if Spotify Wrapped gave you that same nudge? A “What Could Have Been” playlist of sorts. Instead of just looking back, it would also look ahead—or at least sideways—to help you discover music that’s brand new but still right up your alley.
So, Spotify, if you’re reading this, I’m just asking—how about adding these two highlights to my year-end Wrapped? Pretty please!
