Tag: Spotify Singles

Relive Your Year in Music With Spotify Wrapped 2018

December 6, 2018

From the first song you streamed at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 to the year’s hottest Spotify Single and everything in between, much of your year has been defined by what you listened to. Whether you celebrated your country’s football win with the sounds of “We Are the Champions,” or paid musical tribute to the legendary Aretha Franklin, your highs and lows are neatly recorded. So as you reflect on the past year, Spotify’s Wrapped is here to look back—and listen—with you.

Back by popular demand, Wrapped allows you to rediscover and share the music and podcasts that formed your personal soundtrack in 2018. Enter the site to enjoy a customized, interactive experience based on the music you’ve listened to this year.

For example, you can guess, then check, how many total minutes you streamed. Explore the number of new artists you discovered, your most-played songs and artists, and your top genres—and then share your results to your Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds with your personal Wrapped share card. Spotify Premium users will get to go a little deeper, with access to additional insights about their year in listening.

This year, we are also giving some Premium users a chance to take part in our global campaign by offering them the chance to see their share cards up in lights. If your Wrapped share card is worthy, submit it when prompted through the Wrapped site where it could be featured on billboards in key iconic locations around the world, including NYC’s Times Square, London’s Piccadilly Circus, and more.

Additionally, a number of our Premium fans within the U.S. received an exclusive early-access sneak peek of their Wrapped 2018 top artist in the form of a custom-made personalized puzzle. Once completed, the puzzle revealed whom they spent quality time with this year. Top artists included Halsey, Lana Del Rey, and others.

After previewing their Wrapped, users will also be able to enjoy Tastebreakers, a personalized playlist that introduces you to new music from genres and artists you don’t normally explore—but ones that your personal taste profile hints that you’ll like.

And the fun doesn’t stop there. With the launch of 2018 Artist Wrapped, we’re tipping our hats to artists too—giving them access to their own individualized Wrapped microsite. Artists and their teams can enjoy facts about fan listening throughout the year, including most popular songs by month, total fan hours streamed, how many fans they’ve gained this year, and more. By logging in to Spotify for Artists, any artist can discover how their music connected with fans across the globe—as long as they had music on Spotify and at least three listeners before October 31.

Who was your top artist of 2018? To find out, go to spotify.com/2018. The site is rolling out across markets in the coming days. Then, relive the best of your favorite artists and albums in a personalized playlist, or browse through the most-streamed songs and artists this year here.

Whether your top genre of 2018 was hip-hop, alternative rock, country, or ASMR, all we can say is: That’s a wrap.

*In all markets except the Middle East and North Africa

‘Bells Will Be Ringing’: It’s Christmas Singles Time

November 19, 2018

It’s holiday season—don’t fight it!—and we’re once again unwrapping a playlist of festive covers. Spotify Singles: Christmas Collection features 15 new tracks recorded by an eclectic mix of artists in our studios in Nashville, London, and New York City.

Included in the mix is John Legend singing the Jackson 5’s “Give Love On Christmas Day,” Meghan Trainor performing “White Christmas,” Nina Nesbitt crooning “Oh Holy Night,” and the classic “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” getting a jazz spin from Tony Bennett and Diana Krall.

“‘White Christmas’ has always held a special place in my heart because I sang it with my high school jazz band back in Cape Cod,” says Trainor. “It was nerve-wracking to perform for my peers, but when everyone reacted so loudly I realized I would remember that moment for the rest of my life. I will also always remember seeing this little green light in the audience and it was actually my mom recording the whole thing. She’s the best.”

Spotify Singles: 1 Billion Streams (And Counting)

August 6, 2018

At Spotify, we realized that helping you discover new music wasn’t enough: We wanted to have a hand in the creation of the next great hit. That’s why we created Spotify Singles, as a nod to the good ‘ol days of 45’s, b-sides, and CD singles. Recording these tracks also opens up the opportunity for artists from across genres to join us in our uniquely inspiring Studio to record a new take on one of their top songs, as well as a cover by their own favorite musician or group.

Now, in under two years, we have hours of exclusive content from 185 (and counting!) of your favorite artists that you can’t hear anywhere else. And thanks to you, those 380 singles have been streamed, collectively, one billion times.

That’s pretty impressive from our point of view—but we’ll let the numbers speak for themselves.

Listen as your favorite artists perform their Spotify Singles recordings in the Complete Spotify Singles playlist.

The ‘Otherworldly Magic’ Behind First Aid Kit’s New Spotify Singles

July 12, 2018

Klara and Johanna Söderberg, the guitar-toting sisters behind Swedish indie-folk band First Aid Kit, are no strangers to a good cover song. In fact, the 27- and 25-year-old duo encountered internet fame due to their chilling acoustic rendition of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.” Now, as established performers in their own right, the sisters bring their unique style to every note and lyric—and record covers that impress even the original band that wrote them.

As they’ve grown in popularity—the two have garnered over 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify—they try to perform at least one cover at every live show to pay tribute to their influences and challenge themselves by playing something new.

Recently, the sisters had the opportunity to record one of their hit songs, as well as a new cover, at the new state-of-the-art Spotify Studio in Stockholm. We sat down with the Söderberg sisters to cover everything—their reason for recording Kate Bush’s ethereal 80’s pop-synth classic “Running Up That Hill,” a common misconception about folk music, and the way magic has emerged in their lives and in their music.

Q: What was it like to record in the new Stockholm Spotify Studio? What was unique about the opportunity?

A: We had a blast! The studio is beautiful. It truly has everything you need recording-wise. We felt very spoiled to get to go in there and play around, do whatever we wanted in such a luxurious environment. It was very freeing. We are super happy with the results; we think the performances really came through and that the sound is fab.

When we recorded the Spotify Singles we only had a couple of hours, which makes for a really special energy in the room. It’s a little scary, because you know you’re not coming back to change anything, but there is also something exciting about that.

Q: Tell us about the new version of your song “Fireworks”—what distinguishes it from the album version, and why did you want to make a new recording like that?

A: We wanted to release a stripped-down version of “Fireworks” to parallel the more lavish arrangement on the record. We think the song works really well this way, and the song melody and the lyrics really come through. We wrote the song this way, and it reminds us of the original demo we made for the song in our home studio in Stockholm where Klara is on acoustic guitar, Johanna is on bass guitar, and our father Benkt is on electric. We also got help from our dear friend and touring companion Sebastian Ring. He wrote the beautiful string arrangement you can hear in the background. It was played by a Stockholm-based string quartet.

Q: What did you cover for your Spotify Single, and why?

A: We wanted to cover an artist we hadn’t covered before. Kate Bush is new territory for us and was a fairly recent discovery. She’s so powerful in her expressions, so unique in her lyrics and performances. She’s got something magical going on.

Covering “Running Up That Hill” is an homage to her. “Running Up That Hill” is known for its cool arrangement, with the ’80s keyboards and heavy toms. We wanted to strip it down and focus on the amazing song melody and the lyrics hidden behind all of the production. We did our own folky-rock take on it instead.

To us the song is about gender, about how we’re taught to see things differently depending on if we’re born a man or a woman. How it can be really difficult to understand each other, and how much easier things would be if we could switch sides for a while.

Q: What cover would you like to tackle that you haven’t attempted yet?

A: When it comes to covers we’re up for anything, and we’ve already covered all kinds of genres, from an electronic act, like Fever Ray’s “When I Grow Up,” to heavy metal, like Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” We’d love to try a Fleetwood Mac or Stevie Nicks song. We’ve attempted them before, but because the originals are so good, it’s tricky. It’s a thin line between sounding like a bad karaoke version and attempting something new with a song. One day we’ll get there though.

Q: What’s the biggest misconception about folk music you’d like to dispel?

A: That it has to be soft and polite! Folk music should be played loud and be performed with lots of emotion and conviction. It’s OK to be angry in a folk song.

Q: When you were young, you both thought you could be witches. Did that influence your music video for “My Silver Lining,” or your choice to cover “Running Up That Hill?” How is music like magic?

A: Yes, haha, that is true. Many of our songs have a dark and mysterious vibe to them. We’ve always been drawn to witchy imagery in our videos and artwork. Maybe it comes from spending hours watching “Charmed,” “Sabrina The Teenage Witch” and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” as kids. Or maybe we truly are witches.

Music is definitely magic! We don’t quite understand it and we don’t try to. Writing and performing songs is almost a spiritual experience. The way we connect when we sing together sometimes feels otherworldly.

Listen to First Aid Kit’s new Spotify Singles here.

Taylor Swift Records “Delicate” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” for Spotify Singles

April 13, 2018

Hot off the heels of her vertical video release for “Delicate,” Taylor Swift is back with two new Spotify Singles – special acoustic renditions of “Delicate” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” which were recorded at The Tracking Room in Nashville, TN.

Taylor said, “Delicate” is a song about the vulnerability that immediately surfaces in all of us the minute we meet someone we want to like us. We think about everything they might’ve heard about us, every reason they wouldn’t want us. Every step forward toward that other person scares us, but it thrills us too. Delicate is about the balancing act of the rush and the fear, and hoping it’s really worth it to take that chance.” In addition, Taylor chose “September” for sentimental reasons. She’s always loved the classic tune by Earth, Wind & Fire, written by Maurice White, Al McKay and Allee Willis.

Taylor is a fan of Spotify Singles. Swifties will remember that she incorporated two Spotify Singles tracks on her personally curated Songs Taylor Loves Spotify playlist.

Taylor’s newest Spotify Singles couldn’t come at a better time. As the singer prepares for the Taylor Swift reputation Stadium Tour starting on May 8th in Glendale, AZ, the new recordings are sure to excite fans while they gear up for the concert with their own Taylor-inspired playlists.

Fans can check out Taylor’s two new Spotify Singles HERE.

12 Hours with Spotify Singles Producer Bryan Grone

April 9, 2018

Presiding over a recording session with a rock-and-roll legend would be a dream come true for most music fanatics. But it’s both a dream come true and a regular day at the office for Bryan Grone, Spotify’s head of audio production and executive producer of Spotify Singles.

Through Singles, a program Grone helped create, Spotify invites everyone from the biggest names in music to unsigned acts to record two songs for the streaming service—an original and a cover tune.

A graduate of the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Grone himself sings, plays the drums, guitar, piano, bass and other keyboard instruments. No wonder he was tasked with tricking out the in-house studio that Spotify built in 2016.

“I’ve personally curated every piece of gear,” Grone said. “It’s all the stuff I dreamed of owning my whole life, but didn’t have the scratch to buy.”

On a recent Friday, Grone produced a session for a childhood idol: Jack White. Here’s how the day went.

Photo credit: Spotify

 

7AM: Wake up. It was a more hustled morning than usual. Jack’s crew was arriving at 9 a.m., which is not super rock-and-roll. We usually start sessions a little closer to noon, but Jack was playing a show that night, and he had to be at the venue in the afternoon.

Usually, I would go the gym and play with our puppy for a little bit in the morning. But I just did some pushups, scratched the dog’s head, took a shower, took coffee to go, and got on the subway.

8:50AM: Get to work. On a normal day, I get in around 10 a.m. I guess I have a desk somewhere out amongst all the people, but I always go straight to the studio and spend my entire day there.

My engineers arrive around the same time. We check in on the day and see what’s coming up, whether it’s preparing for a session or doing some mixes. But on Friday, we hit the ground running, excited about Jack coming in.

Photo credit: Spotify

 

9AM. Setting up. I spent the first couple of hours liaising with the band’s crew. I was also overseeing a photo and video team, figuring out how they could capture some b-roll content for us without getting in Jack’s way.

We set up all the equipment the night before. We do production calls before each session, so we have an idea what the artists are going to be doing. When they walk in, I want them to feel like everything is already figured out.

I take a lot of time to explain to the crews why we’ve set up the way we have. They’re often laser-focused on reproducing the setups they do for every promotional opportunity. But we approach these more like recording sessions than live shows. The artists can do multiple takes, we can do overdubs, we have isolation booths so we can get a clean vocal, etc.

In this case, the crew liked the setup. They spent most of their time fine-tuning the settings on the guitar amps, bass amps and drums, because all the members of this band are pretty hypersensitive to sonics.

10:45AM: Spotify, meet Jack. Jack has a four-piece band—a bass player, a drummer, and 2 keyboardists, and they all arrived within 10 minutes of each other. They had never rehearsed the second track, so they spent about an hour on that.

Musicians feel at ease when they come into the studio. The lights are very low and cool and vibey, and there are great old rugs and all this vintage gear.

The organ player, Neal Evans, was really excited to see our 1962 Hammond organ, which I picked up last year from Custom Vintage Keys in North Hollywood. You can get a keyboard with organ sounds on it, but nothing replaces the sound and feel of an analog instrument.

Photo credit: Spotify

 

12PM: We’re rolling. When the band was done rehearsing, they went straight to work on their original track, “Over and Over and Over,” which was from the album released that day, “Boarding House Reach.” They did a loose, very frenetic and emotional version of that tune.

It was pretty amazing to have Jack playing out of the amp that I bought for the program I built. He is maybe the only artist whose fan club I paid to be in as a kid.

When I’m sitting in the room, I also have my producer hat on, thinking about what I’m hearing and what I could recommend. I vibe out each artist to get a feel for how much they are interested in additional creative input. A lot of them are, once they know that we’re the ones who built this and know all the gear by heart.

This time, there wasn’t a lot of room for feedback because it was almost like a jam session. Nor was there anything I would have said, because everything sounded amazing. So, I was just checking in on them, making sure everyone had water and seeing how they felt about each take.

They were done recording by about 12:45, which is pretty fast. I’ve had bands in here for 12 to 13 hours.

12:45PM: It’s a wrap. A lot of times, the person taking video at the session will do an interview with the artist after the session. Given my relationship as a fan and my relationship to Jack’s manager, they requested that I do it. We talked about his approach to recording this album, what they had recorded at the session and why, his relationship to the cover song he chose, and what makes a great studio experience. The interview went about 15 minutes, and then we wrapped.

I rarely ask for photos with artists because I’m just not that guy. But I also think if there aren’t things in this business that still make you nerd out in the way you would have when you were a kid, it’s time for you to move on. So, I tastefully waited until the end and asked for a photo. I got a really good one.

Then, I escorted Jack out of the building. I’m really cautious about the artist’s experience here. When the artist is out the door and back to their car, then I can exhale a little bit and revel in the experience.

1:30PM: Catching up I hadn’t eaten yet, so I grabbed some lunch, which Spotify brings in every Friday. After that, I had a quick debrief with the engineers and the videographer to make sure everybody was on the same page in terms of the next steps for postproduction. I made sure Jack’s crew got everything they needed off to the venue, and then I caught up on some work emails.

Photo credit: Spotify

 

4:30PM: Coaching time. I have a professional coach, who I spend 45 minutes a week talking to over Skype. It’s been a great opportunity to have conversations with an unbiased third party in a way you can’t necessarily with your wife or friends or coworkers or anybody else.

6:30PM: The fun continues. It was time to call it a week. We were fortunate to be able to segue our day with Jack into an evening with Jack. He was playing at a club called Warsaw in Greenpoint, and his management arranged for myself, the engineers and a couple folks from Spotify who worked on the session to go. So we all hung out and got drinks beforehand in Greenpoint at the Keg and Lantern.

9:15PM: Jack White, live and in concert Jack played for 2.5 hours, ripping through stuff from his new record and a bunch of stuff from all his previous bands—The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather. I wasn’t really keeping track of time, but all of a sudden it was 12:30 or 12:45 a.m., and my ears were ringing and it was time to call it a night.