Spotify Wrapped 2020: Soundtrack to the End of the World

If one thing can be unanimously agreed upon by everyone, barring the likes of Jeff Bezos and investors in Pfizer, 2020 has been one hell of a ride; emphasis on the 'hell'. What a brief bit of respite from the doom and gloom it was when, early this morning, Spotify users awoke to find their smartphone apps telling them that their personal Spotify Wrapped was now available to watch: a personalised review of your year-long listening habits, favourite tracks and most-listened-to artists. A phenomenon that flew under the radar in years gone by, the now hotly anticipated annual event has been the most consistently talked about and tagged phrase across social media today.

It's a bit of fun ultimately. Wrapped will tell you quirky factoids like which new genres you've explored, how many hours of your life you've forfeited to conspiracy theory podcasts and how you're in the top 0.5% of global Frozen II soundtrack listeners thanks to car rides with your two-year-old. Spotify is making an increasingly bigger deal of this marketing ploy every year, and with a great deal of success. Users share their listening data on social media, comparing with friends and having a jolly good time, no doubt inspiring envious fury in patrons of Apple Music and dealing a heavy dose of FOMO. 

Flashback: reliving one hell of a year in music

2020 however, has been far from ordinary. Of all industries straining under the conditions created by COVID-19, the music industry has suffered more than its fair share of hardships. No surprises then, that Spotify’s annual campaign has made a point this year of recognising the resilience and fortitude of those working in music, from the artists themselves to those working behind the scenes and in the world of live gigging, who have arguably suffered even greater.

It's easy to be cynical about this kind of thing. After all, Spotify has seen subscription numbers soar in the last 12 months and has experienced relatively little disruption since the COVID outbreak. But on this occasion, the streaming giant cannot be accused of parroting empty gestures; throughout the pandemic, it has recurringly offered financial support and promoted campaigns taking grassroots action. Earlier in the year, Spotify teamed up with the National Independent Venue Association, founders of the #SaveOurStages to raise much-needed funds for venues on the brink of permanent closure. 

“This is our way of showing gratitude for the vital role music venues have played in artists’ lives, and through a donation, help the venues stay resilient until it’s safe to enjoy live music again,” the creative director for Spotify, Dan Brill, said in an email to users. 

It's not just the campaign itself that's adopted a change in tone this year: it would seem that our collective listening habits look different too. With many countries encouraging work-from-home practices across industries, playlists designed to improve concentration, calm and efficiency have seen massive spikes in popularity. Podcasts that promote home fitness, mental well-being and positive lifestyle habits have also experienced significantly greater listenership.  

Elizabeth Munn, a musician that has worked with Artist Management Services on school projects in the past, hosts her own guided mediation podcasts and spoke to us about how lockdown and working from home habits has taken her part-time hobby to a place she never expected: 

"I started the podcast as an experiment and never had any ambition to turn it into a serious part of my work. Listenership spiked in late April and has steadily increased since then. My last guided meditation has been listened to over 25,000 times! I'm in the process of upgrading all my recording equipment to take it all more seriously next year and start my own YouTube channel. I've had interest from advertisers which is crazy! This was only supposed to be something I'd share with family and friends!" 

Your top songs and artists revealed

Speaking to colleagues and fellow Spotify users at the office this morning, we enjoyed sharing our listening data and making jokes at one another's expense for certain guilty pleasures and noticing the effect having children has on results: being in the top 0.5% of Peppa Pig listeners is an achievement not to be sniffed at. An interesting take away from the conversation was that, despite the wealth of listening options available on streaming platforms like Spotify, we all gravitated towards the same comforts – artists, albums or songs that carry a certain amount of misty-eyed nostalgia and comfort. Perhaps the wild nature of the year we've had played a part in this appetite for the familiar is possibly a simple and correct assumption to make.

Wrapped 2020 has given us all a stark reminder of the rollercoaster we've been on this year: a ride with more perilous drops and stomach-churning spins than any other. It's also reminded us of the way music remains a constant companion, and whether we’ve spent the year delving into exotic new genres or revisiting old favourites, keeping the tunes going while the world descends into chaos seems like as good a response as any!