Tag: 2024 Wrapped Landing Page

We’re Commemorating a Decade of Spotify Wrapped With Our Best and Boldest Wrapped Yet

Since its inception, Spotify Wrapped has continued to evolve, and every year it reaches more fans around the world. Over the past decade, we’ve learned that our users crave a unique, personalized way to reflect on their listening habits each year—and artists and creators want to learn more about how their fans streamed. 

Whether it’s building a seamless experience that makes it easier than ever to engage with Wrapped, delivering global data stories through the lens of local culture, creating real-life experiences that surprise and delight, or introducing fresh and unique ways for users to engage with their year in listening, we’ve continually innovated and iterated Wrapped so that we can keep offering a unique perspective on emerging trends—catching the beat before it goes mainstream.

“Our annual thank-you to fans around the world, Spotify Wrapped has become deeply ingrained in the lives of music fans worldwide,” said Marc Hazan, Vice President, Partnerships and Marketing at Spotify. “What started as a look back at the music and audio that defined the year has become a global cultural phenomenon in its own right, a moment driven by the passion of hundreds of millions of fans. We’re thrilled to debut 2024 Spotify Wrapped to more fans than ever before this year, celebrating the hundreds of millions of ways that they’ve streamed.”

Here’s what we’ve accomplished in that time:

2015

We launched a first iteration of Wrapped, bringing together the best of our previous end-of-year retrospectives in a three-tiered global campaign: Spotify’s year in review (top lists), fans’ year in review, and artists’ year in review. This set the tone for the Wrapped experience fans have come to know and love, attracting more than 5 million unique users to called Spotify Year in Music.

2016

We rebranded the “Year in Music” as “Wrapped” and launched the fast-growing “Your Top Songs” playlist. As a result, we differentiated our moment from other brand retrospectives.

2019

We built Wrapped directly into the Spotify app, maximizing self-discovery.

2021

We debuted Audio Aura, Wrapped Blend, and videos from fans’ top artists, enhancing self-expression and product awareness. 

2023

With new features like Sound Town and Me in 2023, Wrapped engaged a record 227 million monthly active users.

This year’s Wrapped campaign is all about celebrating the ways artists and creators have shaped fans’ lives one note, one voice, one idea at a time. 

How 2024 Wrapped came to life

As we mark a tenth year of Wrapped, we’re enhancing the experience with features like Your Music Evolution and Your Spotify Wrapped AI Podcast and introducing a bold and vibrant design to every element of the campaign.

We’re always striving to elevate how Spotify Wrapped comes to life visually, exploring fresh and exciting ways to serve up our biggest campaign of the year. This year, Spotify Wrapped will reach fans in 184 markets around the world, and its design has something for everyone, everywhere. 

The 2024 Wrapped design is the result of a tremendous collaborative effort, and we’re incredibly proud of the final outcome,” said Rebecca Lim, Global Brand Design Director at Spotify. “While we say this every year, this year’s design truly stands apart from anything we’ve done bef

ore. It’s bold, vibrant, and full of elements that are guaranteed to catch the eye.”

This year’s Spotify Wrapped design is inspired by the ways pop culture thrives in a beautiful cycle of reinvention, constantly evolving and surprising us. Unexpected genres emerge and merge, timeless influences meet fresh ideas, and what once was niche now shapes pop culture. This insight inspired an art direction that loops, transforms, and celebrates the energy of this unique moment in time. Vibrant color combinations, playful layouts, and lively animations bring the design to life.

2024 Wrapped exemplifies the culmination of Spotify’s evolved brand identity, reflecting a more expressive and open Spotify at the center of culture. Earlier this year we introduced a new typeface—Spotify Mix—and to tease the campaign, Spotify positioned its logo with unique imagery on social media and in other marketing inspired by 2024’s biggest musical moments. 

“The final design direction evolves in a dynamic, high-energy color palette that celebrates the year’s momentum,” said Rebecca. “Layers blend and shift, creating something entirely new that scales exponentially. The bold, attention-grabbing ‘hyperloops’ of 2 and 4 propel us forward in vivid technicolor, symbolizing our journey toward the future. This motif, combined with a striking logo lockup, establishes Wrapped as the definitive stamp of what’s to come.”

Fans, artists, and creators will see the 2024 Wrapped design reflected across the in-app experience, across social, and on billboards around the world.

From Data to Strategy: How Artists Can Make the Most of Their 2024 Wrapped

Spotify Wrapped is beloved by fans, but artists also cherish the experience. For them, it’s a unique opportunity to forge personal connections with their fans, celebrating those who streamed them the most and highlighting the tracks that truly resonated. In 2024, Wrapped for Artists returns with even more impact—featuring personalized data stories and visuals that reflect how artists engaged with their fans this year.

“This year, it was important to us that we curate a Wrapped experience that highlights the unique ways artists are willing to share more of themselves with their fans,” says Zach Burton, Associate Manager, Product Marketing at Spotify. “Features like Clips and Canvas invite artists to express themselves in a whole new way, and I’m so excited for artists to see how their biggest fans engaged with their art. And of course, to see them share it with all of their fans worldwide who made it possible.”

Curious what Spotify Wrapped has in store for artists? For the Record asked Zach to give up even more details.

What can artists expect from their Wrapped this year?

We’ve continued to innovate our data stories for artists so they can gain even deeper insights about their audiences and the growth they’ve had on Spotify each year. It wouldn’t be Wrapped without the crowd favorites, so we’re bringing back popular data stories like total listeners, top fans, top track, and the gains an artist made this year compared to last year. We’re also introducing two brand-new stories: the addition of an artist’s top-three-performing Clips, and the new release story, which highlights the artist’s biggest release week based on week-one streams. If an artist set up a Countdown Page in 2024, they’ll also see how many presaves it generated towards that project.

Also, when we began ideating on what this year’s Wrapped for Artists could be, we knew we wanted to give artists and their teams the freedom to move around within the microsite. That’s why we’re introducing a global navigation menu that allows artists to progress through the experience at their own pace and seamlessly navigate to the data points that matter most to them.

Additionally, we optimized each data story for sharing, introducing a brand-new array of share cards featuring individual cards for each data story. This allows artists to share results with their fans at any given point in the experience, rather than having to wait until the end to only share their Wrapped summary data points. This will be especially helpful to people who manage multiple artists.

What about songwriters and producers? What can they expect from their Wrapped?

Similar to artists, songwriters and producers who have an active Songwriter Page have access to their own microsite where they’ll receive a recap of their year on Spotify and Wrapped summary cards to share on social media.

It was a huge year for songwriters and producers in the industry, so we’re also taking our social campaign up a notch this year and bringing some new concepts to life—like capturing live reactions of songwriters receiving their Wrapped results, and celebrating the overall journey in a way that empowers the whole songwriter community.

How does Wrapped help artists connect more deeply with their fans?

Clips are a great way for artists to speak directly to the fans who kept them in their rotation all year long. We’ve incorporated Clips from artists into Wrapped for the past two years, and this year, we gave artists three new prompts for their messages to fans: 1) Reveal which song you’ve loved performing this year, 2) Drop the real meaning behind one of your new songs, and 3) Tell a story about writing a track.

These prompts give fans a chance to relive their favorite moments with artists’ music while looking forward to what’s coming next. Clips uploaded ahead of the Wrapped launch have the opportunity to be featured within the main data stories and a video feed for top fans. After Wrapped, artists’ uploaded Clips will be featured across Spotify—on their artist profile, the Now Playing view, Release Pages, and Home—so artists can keep reaching potential new listeners, connecting with fans, and driving streams and saves.

What advice do you have for artists in terms of using the data and insights from their Wrapped?

Wrapped for Artists provides valuable insights about artists’ biggest fans and most popular content, which could help power their future strategies. After learning more about how they showed up in 2024, artists can consider using some of Spotify for Artists’ tools to develop their fan base even further in 2025. This could mean expanding the audiences they saw strong engagement with, or learning from the visuals and releases they had the most success with when developing new release strategies. We’re excited to see how artists will translate these insights into meaningful strategies next year and beyond.

Ready to explore your Wrapped for Artists? Head to Spotify for Artists.

To learn more about this year’s campaign and experience, check out our 2024 Wrapped hub.

From Breakout Pop Stars to Country Crossovers, Here’s the Scoop on 2024’s Biggest Music Trends on Spotify

Music has always been at the heart of the annual Spotify Wrapped experience, offering fans a unique reflection of the year gone by. And 2024 was quite the year, showing up with its own set of trends, moments, and movements that redefined the music landscape.

A new batch of pop stars has entered superstardom, country is reaching new heights of popularity, and indie acts are achieving global streaming success: It’s been an exciting year for music. But what are the real stories behind the trends? Which genres surprised us, and which artists broke through the noise?

To unpack the musical moments that defined 2024 on Spotify, For the Record sat down with two of our editorial experts: John Stein, Head of North American Editorial, and Astrid Storm, Senior Project Manager, Global Editorial.

Happy Wrapped! Level with us: Which 2024 music trend surprised you the most?

John: Country seemed to further extend its dominance and reach in 2024. We had superstars like Beyoncé and Post Malone release incredibly successful albums in the genre, and we saw breakout moments from Dasha with “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)” and Shaboozey with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”—the latter on pace to crack a billion streams in less than eight months. The sonic reach of the genre continues to impress on a global level.

Astrid: It’s also been really exciting to see how Afro house has captivated audiences worldwide. The genre has moved from street parties in Lagos to clubs in Mykonos and beyond. This summer’s hit “Move” by Adam Port, Stryv, and Malachiii is a perfect example of the blend of pop and Afro house, racking up more than 370 million streams to date. As a genre, Afro house is hitting the mainstream alongside Afrobeats and Amapiano, which are still resonating globally. Our dance editors are doing a brilliant job showcasing this trend in playlists like Umami, Tantra, and Afro House Pulse.

What about emerging genres or subgenres—what stood out to you both this year?

John: Each year we’re seeing listeners explore new spaces and discover new genres and artists. I’ve loved seeing hard techno have a moment in the dance space this year. It’s high bpm, aggressive, and makes you want to sweat in a packed club. An artist like Sara Landry is a prime example.

Also, the continued emergence of alternative country, folk, and Americana-leaning artists has been amazing to see. We house a lot of them in our playlist Homegrown, and in 2024 we saw the true audience potential of the genre and community.

Astrid: What we now know as “sexy drill” really had a moment in 2024. New York icons like Ice Spice, Chow Lee, Bay Swag, and Cash Cobain—who is widely considered the genre’s pioneer—paved the way for sexy drill’s explosive rise. Yet, it was artists like Don Toliver with his hit “ATTITUDE” and Belfast’s Jordan Adetunji with “KEHLANI” who propelled the sound to new heights on the charts. Artists from both hip-hop and R&B are now embracing sexy drill across the globe. In October, our hip-hop editors launched the Sexy Drill playlist, both a celebration and reflection of the growth in this sound.

How about your favorite music trend of 2024? 

Astrid: One thing that took me by surprise this year was our rock editors opening my eyes—and ears—to the world of hardcore punk. In the wake of the pandemic, hardcore has made a global comeback, still becoming more diverse and striking a chord with younger listeners like myself. Bands like Turnstile, Speed, Scowl, DRAIN, High Vis, and Drug Church are at the forefront of this movement, capturing mainstream attention. Our playlists like The Breakdown and Hardcore Rising are helping me dive deeper into the adrenaline and raw energy of this subculture.

John: My favorite music trend of 2024 was pop star (re)emergence. It had been a slow couple years for emerging pop artists, but this year we had huge breakout moments for Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, among others. Not only did each of these artists have huge songs, but their albums resonated as well. For the first time in a while we had multiple huge albums all taking off at once. I think you could confidently say it was the year of women in pop, and our top albums list showcases that as well.

Social media influences everything these days. How did you see that reflected in music trends and discovery in 2024?

John: We’re not seeing the massive influx of viral tracks as we have in past years. What we are seeing is more dedicated fandoms emerge and create virality—Charli xcx’s BRAT summer meant that many tracks on her album had viral moments and lifespans beyond the release moment. In general, we’re seeing more depth of listening for artists and genres than the flash-in-the-pan moments of the past few years.

Speaking of influential forces, how has Gen Z influenced the music landscape this year?

Astrid: Something myself and our indie editors are excited about—which is particularly popular with Gen Z women—is “fantasy/theatrical indie.” It’s characterized by bold, expressive storytelling and worldbuilding, often with a darker, witchy tone. Think the mythical folklore of Yaelokre, or the baroque-pop renaissance of The Last Dinner Party, or the visceral narratives of Paris Paloma. For me, it follows in the lineage of otherworldly, slightly left-of-center stars like Björk and Kate Bush, but with a very modern twist.

John: Gen Z’s openness to music from any place and any time in history continues to shape the landscape at large. The fact that shoegaze, a genre that emerged out of the U.K. counterculture in the late ’80s, could have so much influence on American teenagers in 2024 really speaks to this. Shoegaze Now is one of the playlists where we’ve seen this discovery happen.

Turning to our influential editorial playlists, how did these shape music trends this year?

John: We’re always at the forefront of new trends, working to establish new genre spaces, introduce listeners to emerging artists, and provide context for listeners. Our Afro Ritmo playlist is a good example—the list encapsulates the crossover between the Afrobeats and reggaeton genres. Fans of individual artists might not even be aware of the cultural influences, but you feel this melting pot of sounds as you listen through the playlist. 

You’ll also find an editorial Watch Feed featured on the playlist on mobile, a new feature that provides editor-written context on artists and tracks on the playlist. This is a very exciting new strategy for our editorial team. Editors spend all day, every day, listening to new music, researching the best new artists—it’s time we talk about those discoveries directly with listeners. On your mobile device, you can tap the rectangle under the Afro Ritmo playlist to read track reviews directly from the experts.

Let’s pull out your crystal balls: Any music trends you’re predicting here for 2025?

John: I think we’ll continue to see more and more new subgenres emerge. 2024 was probably the most sonically diverse year for popular music in history, and I don’t see that changing in 2025. The monoculture will never be what it was, but people are still looking for points of connection: brat summer, the Eras Tour, “Not Like Us.” These moments that cut through will be bigger than ever in 2025—look out for holiday listening to grow even more next year.

To make a more specific prediction, it feels like a ripe moment for confessional, theater-kid, pop-rock-inspired artists to emerge—imagine if Gavin Degraw and Lady Gaga had a baby, and they were addicted to their phone. Benson Boone, [the animated musical series] Hazbin Hotel, and Olivia Rodrigo are all clues for Gen Z preferences, from my perspective.

Explore your personalized 2024 Wrapped and learn more about this year’s campaign and experience on our 2024 Wrapped hub.

Everything You Need To Know About Your Music Evolution

This year, you grew and transformed, and your musical journey reflects this evolution. Did you start the year with some Pink Pilates Princess Strut Pop and transition to a Surf Crush Beach Reggae phase in August? Were you all about Wild West Slow Dance Country before moving into your Sweater Weather Softcore Indie era?

Whatever your journey looked like, 2024 Wrapped is celebrating Your Music Evolution, revealing the musical phases that uniquely defined your year. Users will receive up to three distinctive musical phases, which are based on hundreds of thousands of unique descriptors, genres, and artists.

Each phase features artists drawn from your listening this year, and each has a uniquely crafted title to capture the essence of that phase. 

How Spotify picked the phases of Your Music Evolution

Several special factors went into creating Your Music Evolution, including the amount of time you spent listening to an artist or genre, peak listening months, and distinctiveness, which means spotlighting a genre that stood out from your usual listening patterns. 

  • Spotify combined machine learning with human curation to associate descriptors and genres with different tracks. These descriptors then informed your musical phases. 
  • While the Your Music Evolution data story may not encompass every musical moment of your year, it aims to reflect some of the most significant ones, revealing your unique journey and evoking 2024 memories through music. 
  • To be eligible for Your Music Evolution, you will need to have streamed at least three tracks and one artist per music category over the course of the year. 

In addition to Your Music Evolution, you will also receive a custom Your Music Evolution 2024 playlist in your Wrapped feed on Home. The playlist includes familiar favorites along with new songs that we think you’ll love, related to your unique musical phases. 

Each year, Spotify Wrapped celebrates the millions of ways our fans show up for the artists they love, and with Your Music Evolution, we’re offering an exciting new way to relive your biggest moments of the year.

Explore your personalized 2024 Wrapped and learn more about this year’s campaign and experience on our 2024 Wrapped hub.

The Art and Science Behind Spotify Wrapped

Spotify Wrapped is officially here, and with it comes your highly personal look back at how you soundtracked your year. 

We know your year in review evokes all the feels, but perhaps you’d like a bit more insight into all the ways your listening and our lists come together. From the skilled team of music editors who help develop Wrapped to the ace engineers who are evolving our tools to better fit your listening habits, it’s truly art and science working side by side. 

We caught up with JJ Italiano, Spotify’s Head of Global Music Curation and Discovery, and Molly Holder, Spotify’s Senior Director of Personalization, to reveal more about the magic behind Wrapped.

Happy Wrapped launch to you both! First, how does our annual experience highlight the work of both our brilliant tech team and the expertise of our editorial team? 

JJ: The work of Spotify’s editorial experts is grounded in a deep understanding of music culture. We are always working as a global team of music editors to identify and amplify trending songs, stories, and artists to the user—and, crucially, to contextualize those moments in curated playlists or other editorial offerings to help users form a deep, lasting connection to the track or artist. 

Spotify Wrapped gives listeners a chance to look back at the artist and track connections they’ve made over the course of the year through their personalized Wrapped list while also exploring some of the songs and artists that helped define the year in music culture more broadly through our editorial end-of-year Wrapped playlists.

Molly: The beauty of Wrapped is how much it reflects each individual user. Whether it’s your top song, total minutes listened, or favorite artist, 2024 Wrapped celebrates how you listened this year. 

We believe that great personalization fuels discovery: We’re powering nearly 2 billion music discoveries every day, connecting listeners with artists and genres they might never have found otherwise.

In addition to the work JJ and his team are doing, we’re excited to launch several brand-new personalized Wrapped features this year. From innovations like Your Music Evolution to the expansion of our AI-driven tools (such as AI DJ, AI Playlist, and Wrapped AI Podcast), users will have even more ways to explore the songs that defined their year.

JJ, can you share more about how the work of Spotify’s editorial team influences what users discover throughout the year, culminating in what shows up in their Wrapped? 

JJ: Over the course of the year, our editors around the world are constantly monitoring new music and cultural trends to identify important rising tracks and artists. We look at a vast range of qualitative and quantitative signals both on- and off-platform which inform our editorial decisions. 

We also continuously monitor in-playlist performance to understand what tracks and artists users are responding to. This helps signal what tracks should be added to more playlists. Your Wrapped may be comprised of artists that you’ve discovered anywhere on Spotify, including our editorial surfaces.

Molly, building on that, how do Spotify’s algorithms use those editorial selections to enhance personalized recommendations outside of Wrapped to ensure our users are discovering new music all year round? 

Molly: Spotify personalization is a mix of giving you what you like while pushing you a bit outside your comfort zone, too. We learn about what you like based on the ways you interact with Spotify, and our personalization technology takes into account a number of signals that you, as users, provide. For example, as you add songs to a playlist, listen to an entire song, skip a song, or engage with an artist, it sends us clear signals that help us tailor our programming to your taste.

But it’s also our job to determine when we should introduce you to something new. That’s when we consider certain additional factors, such as signs of popularity and how other users are engaging with tracks. We also rely on our editorial team, who play a crucial role in curating playlists and, through their knowledge, intuition, and expertise, help teach our machines. 

Recommendations are shaped by a number of signals, each contributing to the decision of whether a track should be suggested to a user. While these signals are weighted differently, listener satisfaction is always a priority, and we only recommend music we think listeners will want to hear. For more information on the most significant inputs that drive our personalization, you can learn more here.

How does Spotify use both human curation and algorithms to combat repetitiveness in recommendations?

Molly: Finding the right balance between familiarity and discovery is incredibly difficult. One reason is that music is different from other formats. On other platforms, you may consume a piece of content once and then never revisit it again. On Spotify, you can listen to the same song dozens of times, so we know that some repetitiveness is good.

But we don’t just paint by numbers. We listen to our users and the descriptive way they are saying they’d like to see us better balance familiarity with discovery, new with old, music with podcasts and audiobooks. We take that qualitative feedback to heart just as much as we weigh the quantitative signals when we make decisions about what to tweak in our algorithms. 

Can you share how human expertise and algorithms have worked together to propel a song or artist to success on Spotify?

JJ: One of this year’s most compelling examples would be Charli xcx’s BRAT album and the associated cultural moment, “brat summer.” Our editors were able to hear the album early and identified it as one of the top stories of the summer to come. As the album rollout and cultural conversation accelerated and branched off into new tracks and trends, our editors worked to reflect each moment rapidly and participate in the conversation holistically throughout our editorial surfaces.

BRAT not fitting neatly into any one genre gave us the opportunity to stretch our genre remits and work collaboratively to support her across multiple playlists and destinations on platform. Not only did Charli land on the cover of our New Music Friday playlist on album release day, but also on the covers of hot girl walk, Party Hits, and hyperpop, which helped us target the music to audiences outside of her traditional genre lanes. Watching the data allowed us to find more places for BRAT to be discovered on platform, and served to the right users.

Molly: As I mentioned, recommendations are powered by data. But there are instances—like when an artist releases a new track—where there’s little to no listening data available.

In those cases, we look at additional factors, such as signs of growing popularity. For example, if a song is climbing the charts, it becomes a valuable signal for our recommendation algorithms. 

Another key factor is input from JJ’s team, whose cultural expertise helps identify songs they believe our users will enjoy. And this year, we’ve seen some amazing breakout success from artists all over the world. Check out our 2024 Wrapped top lists to see what our listeners have deemed the songs, artists, and albums of the year! 

Explore your personalized 2024 Wrapped and learn more about this year’s campaign and experience on our 2024 Wrapped hub.

Taylor Swift Takes the Crown as Spotify’s Global Top Artist of 2024

Spotify Wrapped is here, and with it we are recognizing the fans, artists, and creators who shaped 2024. With millions of talented artists on Spotify, one has risen to the top to be crowned this year’s Global Top Artist: Taylor Swift.

This is the second year in a row that Taylor has taken the top spot. With more than 26.6 billion global streams, 2024 has been another record breaker for Taylor as fans flocked to her Taylor Swift | The Eras tour and streamed her latest album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY, in historic fashion.

To thank the Swifties who have championed Taylor and helped skyrocket her to the top, Spotify is sharing a series of unique experiences related to the star.

  • Global Top Artist Badge: For the first time, Spotify is crowning the Global Top Artist by adding a Wrapped badge to Taylor’s Spotify profile, marking the inaugural year of this annual distinction and a new expression of the top honor.
  • Easter Egg Experience: When listening to Taylor’s songs on Spotify, Swifties will encounter some unique surprises. A custom mini-animation tailored to the eras of her discography will be displayed on the Spotify Play Button, providing a complementary visual experience. Listeners will find Sparkles for Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Seagulls for 1989 (Taylor’s Version), and more. The easter eggs will begin rolling out today.
  • Global Top Artist AR Friendship Bracelet on Snapchat: It wouldn’t be a Taylor Swift celebration without friendship bracelets. Available exclusively on Snapchat in augmented reality, Swifties across the world will find special 2024 Wrapped bracelets, featuring a Global Top Artist Badge charm, via an AR lens. 
  • Recognition Around the World: We’re also debuting special billboards in cities around the world to celebrate how Swifties in each country streamed Taylor’s albums. These billboards will be featured in New York City, Toronto, Jakarta, São Paolo, Manila, Mexico City, London, Berlin, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Miami.
  • Your Artist Clips: Fans will receive a video message from Taylor included in their personalized Wrapped experiences, rewarding loyal fans who listened all year long. 

Earlier this year, Taylor released THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, a surprise double album that racked up records on Spotify. On April 19, it was the first album in Spotify history to have over 300 million streams in a single day, and it became the most-streamed album in a single day in 2024. Additionally, the album broke another record on release day as “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” became the most-streamed song in a single day in Spotify history. And finally, on April 22, Taylor’s THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single week.

Did Taylor make it onto your list of Top Artists? Explore your personalized 2024 Wrapped and learn more about this year’s campaign and experience on our 2024 Wrapped hub.

Our Wrapped for Creators Experience Toasts 2024 Podcast Listening

More than half a billion people have listened to a podcast on Spotify as part of their daily routines since 2019, proving that the medium is a favorite for listeners. And with more than 6 million podcasts on the platform, it’s clear that creators feel at home with us.

As the year comes to a close, our Wrapped experience celebrates the milestones, trends, and special creator/fan connection we saw with podcasts in 2024. For the first time ever, we’re introducing Your Podcast Clips so podcast fans can enjoy end-of-year messages from some of their favorite podcast creators, and we’re highlighting some of our top lists—breakout creators (more than half the podcasts that charted in 2024 were not on the charts in 2023!), top video podcasts, most anticipated podcasts, and more—for listeners in our Wrapped podcast editorial hub. We’re also giving podcast creators a chance to learn more about their audiences and milestones from the year with our sixth-annual Wrapped for Creators.

Let’s look back at what was trending in the podcast space in 2024 and what creators can expect to find in their Wrapped for Creators experience.

Trending…trending…1, 2, 3

Niche audiences are at the heart of podcasting. True crime buffs have Crime Junkie, Reddit lovers turn to Smosh Reads Reddit Stories, and sports fans get their fix with The Bill Simmons Podcast. The great thing about listeners’ having millions of shows at their fingertips on Spotify is that they can find like-minded individuals or experts talking about practically any subject of interest on a podcast.

As the podcast space continues to grow, we’re seeing the format evolve and video podcasts grow in popularity—in the past year, there’s been an 88% surge in users’ consuming video podcasts. With more than 300,000 video podcasts on Spotify, we’re giving fans a new way to enjoy their favorite shows, allowing them to feel like they are in the room with the host. The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Her Daddy, and Gemischtes Hack are three of the top video podcasts globally for 2024.

Personalized Wrapped experiences for creators

As podcast fans indulge in the revelation of their 2024 listening habits, creators can also dive deep into personalized data with Wrapped for Creators. This experience offers millions of podcasters a unique opportunity to celebrate their milestones from the past year and discover how their podcasts resonated with fans across the world. 

“Wrapped for Creators helps podcasters better understand their global audiences, celebrate their fans, and see the macro trends that shaped our year,” said Jordan Newman, Head of Content Partnerships at Spotify. “Video has officially taken off, comments are fueling creator and fan connection, and more and more shows are gaining global fan bases.”

Creators will receive data stories about their growth from the past year, their top episodes, fan engagement trends, and more. 

If you’re a creator looking for your 2024 Wrapped, you can access your custom “Wrapped for Creators” experience through the Spotify for Creators dashboard, regardless of where you host your show. 

Explore your personalized 2024 Wrapped and learn more about this year’s campaign and experience on our 2024 Wrapped hub.

The Year in Audiobooks and How We’re Celebrating Spotify for Authors With a Special Wrapped Experience

From building a richer, more dynamic experience for listeners to expanding the data and promotional tools for authors and publishers, we’ve continued to keep “reading” top of mind on Spotify this year. And now, as we reflect back on 2024, it’s time to see what resonated with our listeners and how Wrapped for Authors has provided authors and publishers valuable insights into their work.

What listeners loved

It’s been a year since we launched Audiobooks in Premium, and both new releases and back-catalog titles from buzzworthy authors gained audiences across every genre on Spotify. If you’re looking for new audiobooks to add to your queue, discover the top global and U.S. audiobooks of 2024 here.

This year, we’ve also seen the boom of page-to-screen novels reflected in audiobook listening on Spotify. Colleen Hoover’s romance novel It Ends with Us and Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West are examples of acclaimed books that found their way to the big screen, and listens skyrocketed. James Clavell’s historical novel Shōgun saw a resurgence in popularity this year as its television adaptation kicked off in February. Other popular television shows based on books are George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood and Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton

Check out the Wrapped Audiobooks hub on platform for more listening inspiration with playlists for Breakout Authors, Best Narration, and more. 

Wrapped for Authors

This year marks our first-ever Spotify Wrapped for Authors experience, giving eligible publishers and authors the opportunity to reflect on their achievements from 2024 through personalized data stories. Authors will receive insights about who their listeners are and how their audiobooks resonated with fans around the world, from the most popular time of day for consumption of their titles to the percentage of their audiences who started listening to an audiobook because of one of the author’s other titles. 

For the Record talked with Rebecca McGuire, Manager for Audiobook Partnerships and Licensing at Spotify, to learn more about this year’s inaugural Wrapped for Authors.

What can authors expect to find in their Wrapped for Authors experience? 

When we take a step back, there’s a lot to celebrate with audiobooks in 2024! We carried that spirit into the Wrapped for Authors experience; it’s a fun way to recognize authors, their work, and their fans. For the first time, publishers and authors can get access to their own personalized, one-of-a-kind data stories that give them a sense of how their audiobooks resonated with listeners around the world this year.   

How does Wrapped help authors connect more deeply with their fans? 

Spotify is very committed to helping authors build deeper connections—that commitment comes through in all of the tools and experiences we offer to our partners. For example, we launched Countdown Pages for audiobooks this year, which allows fans to presave upcoming audiobooks and count down to their release, which we know helps build hype and leads to more week-one streams. Wrapped for Authors is an extension of that work, providing the perfect opportunity for authors to learn more about and thank the fans who have listened and come along on their journeys! 

What are some of the biggest Spotify audiobook highlights from the past year?

There is so much to celebrate. First, we’ve expanded audiobooks to more markets so more listeners around the world can benefit from our Audiobooks in Premium offer. We’ve launched powerful new tools for authors and publishers, including the recent addition of Spotify for Authors, our platform for them to gain marketing tools and insights on Spotify. And, as I mentioned earlier, we’ve doubled down on bringing authors and publishers closer to their fans. I had the privilege of attending our recent fan event in New York City with Coco Mellors of Blue Sisters, and it was very rewarding to see the magic between an author and her most devoted readers and listeners. Now I look forward to seeing how our partners across the industry enjoy their Wrapped for Authors experience. 

What was the most memorable audiobook you listened to in 2024? 

It was undoubtedly Dolly Alderton’s Good Material. I listened to it when it was first released in January, and I am still thinking about Jen and Andy and their hilariously tragic relationship woes that were masterfully brought to life by narrators Arthur Darvill and Vanessa Kirby. To me, the sign of a great audiobook is when you can’t imagine reading it in any other format. I literally laughed out loud while listening to this audiobook, and I am now a firm believer that Dolly’s snappy and hilarious dialogue simply must always be listened to! 

And while there were certainly too many great audiobooks published in 2024 to count, I also love that back-catalog titles are finding great success on Spotify, creating pathways for authors to gain new audiences and giving listeners the ability to enjoy books of all kinds, right where they already are. 

If you’re on the hunt for your next great audiobook listen, check out our first-ever Global Top Audiobooks in Premium of the Year list, led by 2024’s buzziest author, Sarah J. Mass, and her A Court of Thorns and Roses series (a series that I have personally listened to about 12 times). There are some great picks on there! 

Explore your personalized 2024 Wrapped and learn more about this year’s campaign and experience on our 2024 Wrapped hub. Eligible authors can work directly with their publishers or Spotify reps to get access to their Wrapped for Authors experience.

Hear From Some of Spotify’s Top EQUAL and GLOW Ambassadors of 2024

As we unveil 2024 Spotify Wrapped, a celebration of the fans, artists, and creators that defined the year, we’re thrilled to spotlight two global initiatives: EQUAL and GLOW. These programs amplify the voices of talented women and LGBTQIA+ artists through local and global playlists, partnerships, activations, and more. With EQUAL, we’ve continued our mission to foster equity for women in the music industry, while GLOW has shined as a beacon for inclusivity, celebrating the diverse contributions of queer artists and creators.

In 2024, we supported more than 200 ambassadors with increased editorial and on- and off-platform support, and generated more than 51 million discoveries through EQUAL and GLOW playlists. We also hosted more than 20 activations worldwide—from launching South Africa’s GLOW playlist during Pride Month to honoring the pioneering U.K. artist SOPHIE in her hometown; from running EQUAL networking and educational events in Mexico and Japan to planning charity galas in Italy and Spain.

“These programs are very special because of the immense global network and opportunities they represent,” said Bel Aztiria, Lead, Social and Equity Music Programs at Spotify. “At Spotify, a large team of us work on the programs as part of our core responsibilities, supporting the mission globally while honoring each market’s culture and needs. We maintain a constant pulse because we believe these communities are to be supported and celebrated year-round. This mission is ongoing, and while there’s still much to achieve, we’re proud to continue showing up globally to drive meaningful change.”

So without further ado, check out our top EQUAL and GLOW ambassadors of 2024 and hear from some of them about their standout year and the impact of women and queer artists.

Most-streamed artists within our EQUAL global playlist 

Having just debuted this year, South Korean girl group ILLIT has already captured the hearts of fans.

“We have had the privilege of spending a truly joyful year connecting with our fans,” they said. “One of the most fulfilling and memorable aspects of this year has been the overwhelming love that ‘Magnetic’ has received from fans worldwide. We were also deeply honored to receive several prestigious awards for the song.”

ILLIT

As for Mexican pop star DANNA, her happiest moment of 2024 was the release of CHILDSTAR.

“This album changed my life and has transformed me as a person and as a human being,” she said. “It was very special that [my fans] received it so beautifully and loved it as much as I do. Thank you for giving me this moment—I love you. You’ve made this the best year so far, and I can’t wait for everything that’s coming!”

DANNA

Turn up the volume on women artists with our EQUAL global playlist.

Most-streamed artists within our GLOW global playlist

For the Record had the opportunity to catch up with Slovakian alt-pop sensation Karin Ann, Italian electronic dance music duo Giolì & Assia, and Belgian electro-pop artist Mustii about their whirlwind 2024, the importance of representation, and more.

What were some of your 2024 highlights?

Karin Ann

Karin Ann: Putting out my debut album, through the telescope, was a big one. I also played SXSW for the first time, I shot my first indie movie, I had a cameo in Suki Waterhouse’s music video, and I got to do an incredible European tour with mehro. I played a show in Turkey and I also played in Canada for the first time while opening for renforshort. And obviously I became a Spotify GLOW ambassador. It was a crazy year full of amazing things.

I also just released a surprise cover of one of my all-time favorite songs, “Wicked Game,” to end the year. I decided to include a cover of that song on my set list while touring and the response has been absolutely insane. So many people came up to me after the show and asked me if I was going to release it, and even after the tour people continued to message me about it, so I decided to do it as a little treat for everyone who’s shown me so much love and support.

Giolì & Assia: Our live tour all around the world with special sold-out shows in cities like New York, Toronto, and more, but also our first back-to-back set with the legend Black Coffee in Ibiza.

Mustii

Mustii: The music video release of “BEFORE THE PARTY’S OVER,” which was the first single from my upcoming album, THE MAZE, and also my Eurovision entry for Belgium. People’s reactions were so touching and amazing! THE MAZE is a new era for me—this album is so personal and queer, and I’m really proud of it.

Which queer artists have you listened to the most this year?

Karin Ann: Reneé Rapp, Chappell Roan, and The Last Dinner Party.

What do you wish for queer artists in the years to come? 

Karin Ann: It’s so important, now more than ever, to have representation in media and to continue being brave and proud and show other queer people that there are safe spaces for us. I hope we never stop creating safe communities for people and that more amazing new queer artists will arise.

Giolì & Assia

Giolì & Assia: To see them headlining all major festivals in the world, but also to keep being so unapologetically queer and authentic—more and more!

Mustii: That we can hear their voices louder and louder, that they continue to spread freedom, self-love, to create some new doors and new ways against obscurantism and narrow-minded souls. Now more than ever, we need them so much.

What do you have planned for 2025?

Karin Ann: Where would be the fun in revealing my secrets like that! I love to be a little mysterious. I do have some very exciting things in the works, though, so people should keep their eyes peeled.

Giolì & Assia: Lots of new music, of course, and cool new live experiences for our fans!

Mustii: I’ll promote and play THE MAZE on several stages and festivals. I will also come back to theater as an actor, so it will be a year full of music and acting. I can’t wait!

Stream our GLOW global playlist to discover more talented LGBTQIA+ artists.

Explore your personalized 2024 Wrapped and learn more about this year’s campaign and experience on our 2024 Wrapped hub.

Your Spotify Wrapped AI Podcast Is Here To Help You Reconnect With the Music That Defined Your Year

Each year we help fans dive deeper into their Wrapped, and this year we’re debuting a fresh way for them to do just that. For the first time ever, Spotify is unveiling Your Spotify Wrapped AI podcast, built with Google’s NotebookLM

With this personalized Audio Overview, fans can immerse themselves in the top songs, artists, and genres that soundtracked their year all delivered using generative AI by two dynamic hosts. From uncovering the unique ways you listened on Spotify to exploring the inspiration behind one of your favorite tracks, Your Spotify Wrapped AI podcast brings you even closer to the music that soundtracked your year.

Your Spotify Wrapped AI podcast will be available in English for eligible Free and Premium users for a limited time across the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and Sweden.

Ready to start listening? Follow these easy steps.

How to get Your Spotify Wrapped AI podcast

  1. Navigate to your Wrapped feed on Home and tap “Your Spotify Wrapped AI podcast” to start listening.
    • You can also find it via Search by typing in “Your Spotify Wrapped AI podcast.”
    • Or click the link to your Top Songs 2024 playlist (only available to Premium users). 
  2. Text/SMS your podcast to your friends by tapping the share icon to download the audio clip to your mobile device. 
    • You can also send the link to your podcast directly to your friends so they can listen to their own!
  3. Enjoy your show! (Heads up: By sharing this podcast you’ll create a public link!)

At Spotify, we’re uniquely positioned to transform your audio experience. With the Wrapped AI podcast, you can now experience your year in listening in a whole new way.

Explore your personalized 2024 Wrapped and learn more about this year’s campaign and experience on our 2024 Wrapped hub.