When will it launch, and other questions answered

Mark SavageMusic correspondentBBC Sabrina Carpenter’s seventh album Man’s Finest Pal, launched in August, was among the many yr’s most streamed musicAnticipation for this yr’s Spotify Wrapped is rising, after the corporate launched a loading web page for the service on Wednesday.The annual occasion provides listeners a abstract of their listening habits during the last yr – from their favorite artists to prime podcasts.Rival streaming providers YouTube and Apple Music have already launched their very own recaps, with followers sharing their statistics throughout social media. (Full disclosure: Haim have been my most performed artist, and my prime album was Kendrick Lamar’s GNX).This is every thing you’ll want to find out about Wrapped, and how you can discover your individual personalised abstract.When is Spotify Wrapped being launched?Wrapped normally seems within the week after Thanksgiving, so the launch might actually be any minute now.Spotify posted a touchdown web page on Wednesday, telling customers they’d “get in contact when it is prepared”.Final yr, the gates opened on 4 December. However, in 2023 and 2022, followers might get entry in late November.How do I see my statistics? Getty ImagesLady Gaga’s Mayhem is likely one of the albums which might characteristic extremely on customers’ Spotify WrappedAnyone with a Spotify account – even a free one – can entry their stats instantly from the Spotify app.On the touchdown web page, the corporate advises customers to replace their app to the newest model to make sure the most effective expertise.When you’re in, Spotify will current a carousel of slides, with insights into your favorite songs, prime genres and most-played podcasts.How is Spotify Wrapped calculated?It is a magical time of yr, however there isn’t any wizardry concerned in Wrapped. Simply spreadsheets. Final yr, for instance, Spotify calculated your Wrapped statistics by logging your entire listening information from 1 January to fifteen November. Any track you performed for 30 seconds or extra was counted in direction of your “favorite track” rankings. Offline listening, which occurs once you obtain a track to your system, is counted towards your listening information provided that you reconnect to the web.Spotify then generates a playlist of your Prime 100 songs. The chart is calculated by play depend, moderately than whole time listened.Equally, your “prime artist” might be determined by the entire variety of songs you performed, moderately than the time you spent listening to them.Spotify additionally releases charts of the most-played artists total. Final yr, the winner was Taylor Swift. Count on the identical in 2025.Why is Spotify accumulating all this information? Appears creepySpotifyThis is how 2024’s Spotify Wrapped lookedAt probably the most primary stage, that is how musicians receives a commission. Each track that is performed on Spotify is logged, and royalties are paid out to musicians on a professional rata foundation – though there is a long-running argument that streaming does not pay sufficient to anybody however the greatest pop stars.Spotify additionally has a vested curiosity in making you keep on their app so long as doable – particularly free of charge accounts that appeal to promoting income. So that they research the songs that individuals like, and those that individuals skip, to encourage longer listening classes.In a weblog put up final yr, Spotify’s senior director of personalisation, Molly Holder, added that monitoring folks’s listening habits additionally helped Spotify introduce them to new music.(Warning: Chilling company communicate incoming)”Our personalisation know-how takes into consideration quite a lot of alerts that you just, as customers, present. For instance, as you add songs to a playlist, take heed to a whole track, skip a track, or interact with an artist, it sends us clear alerts that assist us tailor our programming to your style.”Why has Wrapped develop into such a phenomenon?Taylor Swift’s The Lifetime of a Showgirl was one of the high-profile releases of the yr, however was solely launched in OctoberTo quote Carly Simon, we’re so useless, we most likely suppose these songs are about us.For a extra thought of perception, here is Kelvin Wong, a senior lecturer in psychology on the Swinburne College of Expertise.”We as human beings have this actually basic drive in direction of self-reflection and understanding who we’re,” he advised ABC Information. “And music is commonly a very good reflection on that. It displays previous experiences that we have had, the feelings that we have skilled throughout these occasions, and all these issues actually inform who we’re we now have been throughout this yr.”That is additionally why individuals are so eager to share their Spotify stats on social media.In case you are within the prime 1% of Olivia Dean followers globally, you may be capable to connect with different super-fans around the globe. “That basically sparks that sense of belonging, which is a very basic human drive,” stated Wong.Do we discover out what celebrities take heed to, as nicely?Getty ImagesAriana Grande continuously options in folks’s Wrapped… together with her brother’sAbsolutely! In earlier years, musicians have posted their very own outcomes on social media, and celebrated their greatest followers.In 2022, the pop star Marina (previously Marina and the Diamonds) even revealed she’d been named her personal most-played artist of the yr.”That embarrassing second if you find yourself your individual prime artist however you may’t work out why and you then realise that you just used Marina Spotify playlists to do vocal heat ups to each evening on tour,” she wrote.Final yr, Miley Cyrus shared that Britney Spears had been her prime artist – a undeniable fact that lined up neatly together with her 2009 hit single, Social gathering In The USA.”A Britney track was actually on all yr,” she posted.Frankie Grande introduced that he’d listened to greater than 7,600 minutes of his sister’s music in 2024, placing him within the prime 0.05% of her listeners. “Eternally and at all times,” he captioned the put up.In the meantime, soul legend Dionne Warwick expressed concern at followers who’d obsessed over her music in 2022.”If I’m in your Spotify Wrapped let me know,” she posted on social media.”Most of my songs are unhappy and I’m hoping you are okay. We will discuss it.”I do not use Spotify, what about me?Getty ImagesPractically each streaming service now provides their very own model of Spotify Wrapped.Apple Music’s is arguably the most effective. As a substitute of ready til December, it updates weekly all year long, and creates a working playlist of your favorite songs and artists. A bit like their health app, it additionally rewards you with “badges” once you hit sure milestones, resembling 10,000 minutes of listening, or 500 artists performed.To entry it, register at replay.applemusic.com.YouTube Recap does not simply appraise your music tastes, however all these bizarre cat movies you watched in the midst of the evening as an alternative of sleeping. In accordance with a press launch, the providers “uniquely highlights pursuits, deep dives, and moments you explored this yr, based mostly in your watch historical past”. Primarily based on these stats it can additionally categorise you into certainly one of 11 “character varieties”.Should you’re ready to face that horror, the hyperlink is youtube.com/recap (restricted availability in some nations).Different streaming providers who’ll forged a watch over your habits embody Deezer, Soundcloud (launching on 3 December) and Amazon Music.