Case Study: Spotify Wrapped

Spotify Wrapped launched in 2016 as a year-in-review feature, offering users a visually appealing summary of their most-listened-to artists, songs, and genres. I’ve recently sat down with the thought of potentially switching from Spotify to Apple Music, motivated by the fact that Spotify doesn’t pay their artists. But eventually my moral and ethical conscience stood no chance and gave in to paying my Spotify subscription for a few more months. “Spotify is just much more social” said by one of my friends who was a loyal Spotify user.

“#SpotifyWrapped hashtag that trends annually on X and has 66.5 billion views on TikTok.” (Forbes)

Wrapped is pretty amazing honestly, when it first came out at least. It’s an AI powered music personality categoriser designed for social sharing. As brands move into the modern world’s focus on lifestyle and real communities, they must find a way to incorporate their product into a core part of our lifestyle, and Spotify wrapped does this by entering our modern culture by their social and community-based marketing. Here is mine from last year:

Wrapped leverages Spotify’s data analytics to create hyper-personalized listening insights, transforming raw numbers into emotionally resonant narratives. By treating listening habits as a form of self-expression, Spotify wrapped taps into users’ desire to showcase their unique tastes. Their most-streamed songs and artists, reinforcing personal identity. And people love a good sense of personal identity, it's the reason why we used to do Buzzfeed quizzes and believe in astrological signs. I know a handful of people who would play undetectably quiet music on spotify overnight just to modify their wrapped statistics. So spotify is really capitalising app usage from our conciseness of how we appear to others. Still funny to think about though, this phenomenon. But it is definitely impressive how a feature influenced a strange, common behaviour in our world.

Everytime we share our Wrapped it’s free marketing. It’s encouraging other Spotify users to do the same, and it’s giving non-spotify users massive FOMO. Spotify Wrapped is designed to be instantly shareable, with visually engaging, mobile-friendly graphics perfect for Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. The aesthetic, colorful layouts make Wrapped posts eye-catching. These features like “Top 5 Artists” and “Top 5 Songs” spark discussions, comparisons, and memes, encouraging users to engage with each other’s Wrapped posts, which leads to community building. Rather than relying on traditional ads, Spotify Wrapped turns users into brand ambassadors — genius! Millions of people share their Wrapped summaries voluntarily, providing massive unpaid exposure. Even competing brands (like Apple Music) feel compelled to make similar products to join the conversation, amplifying Wrapped’s cultural significance.

Wrapped is a perfect example of the power of authenticity, community, and personal branding in modern marketing. It transforms listening data into a culturally significant event, making users feel both individually recognized and connected collectively. Spotify Wrapped proves that the most effective marketing isn’t always about direct promotion—it’s about empowering users to promote the brand for you. By entering people’s lives and social interactions, defining the culture of the time. Wrapped isn’t just a feature, it’s a cultural moment, really. One that ensures Spotify remains at the heart of digital music conversations.