Spotify Wrapped is Spotify’s annual end‑of‑year tradition that gives users a personalized summary of their listening habits. It highlights your top songs, artists, podcasts, genres, and even your total minutes spent listening to music.

   You might wonder how Spotify collects all of this information. The answer is simple: tracking begins on January 1st. When you create an account and agree to the Terms and Conditions, you give Spotify permission to store your listening data throughout the year. Once November arrives, the tracking period ends, and Spotify compiles everything into the colorful, story‑style presentation we’ve all come to know.

   Each year brings new features, and 2025 is no exception. This year’s Wrapped introduced Wrapped Party, an interactive game to play with friends; Listening Age, which compares your music taste to others in your age group; Clubs, which assign you a listening “role;” and the long‑awaited return of Top Albums. Podcasts also received upgrades, including Fan Leaderboards and Clips, which feature messages from your top podcasters.

   As usual, the most popular genres were pop, hip‑hop/R&B, and rock. But what did change this year was Spotify’s partnership with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group, Merlin, and Believe to develop “responsible AI products” for music. Many fans were uneasy about a major streaming platform collaborating with AI. On top of that, there have been concerns about low artist payouts, and backlash for running controversial “ICE Recruitment” advertisements.

   These issues led many users to cancel their subscriptions or boycott the platform entirely, arguing that Spotify had become politically insensitive. Some artists like Xiu Xiu, Massive Attack, and Deerhoof pulled their music from the service in protest.

   To get a sense of how students felt about this year’s Wrapped, I asked a few DHS seniors for their thoughts. I asked who their top five artists were and whether or not they liked Spotify Wrapped this year.

   Molly Neuzil, a fellow Crimsonian member, shared her top artists of 2025:

• Mac Miller
• Malcolm Todd
• Germ
• Pierce The Veil
• Kendrick Lamar

   Molly said, “I really liked the Wrapped this year. All of the designs were really nice, and it didn’t seem (to me) that they used any AI. The only part I thought was odd was the ‘Age is just a number,’ it took me back for a second like, ‘what?’”

   Next, I talked to Dylan Reed, another Crimsonian staff member. His top artists were:

• Billie Eilish
• Lana Del Rey
• Doja Cat
• Laufey
• Pink Floyd

   Dylan said, “I did like Spotify Wrapped. But I dislike how they presented the music age with the quote ‘age is just a number.’ Also, I felt that my minutes weren’t right. I was, however, extremely happy with my top artists and albums.”

   Finally, I spoke with Addison Smitley, whose top artists were:

• Radiohead
• Cosmo Sheldrake
• Roar
• Jeff Buckley
• TV Girl

   Addison said, “Spotify Wrapped was very fun this year and felt less random. I enjoyed the new features, like showing how many times you listened to songs in your ‘Top Songs 2025’ playlist. I also enjoyed finding out where I placed in global listeners for my top artist (#20 out of 45.3 million for Radiohead!). Compared to last year’s Wrapped, where every feature felt rushed and sloppy, this year is definitely an improvement.”

   Now that we’ve heard from others, here are my thoughts. Like Molly and Dylan, I wasn’t a fan of the phrase “age is just a number” when referring to your Spotify listening age — it could’ve been phrased better. I also wish there were more color options when sharing your top artists. Some people (like myself) care a lot about color schemes, so having more choices would be a nice addition next year. Other than that, I really enjoyed this year’s Wrapped. It felt accurate, fun, and thoughtfully designed. And like Addison, I loved being able to see my top songs in playlist form.

   Here were my top artists:

• Stray Kids
• i-dle
• TWICE
• Charli XCX
• Lana Del Rey

   Spotify Wrapped is something many people take seriously. Some even spend hours listening to their favorite artists to shape their Wrapped to how they like. The trend has spread beyond Spotify. YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Duolingo, Discord, and Google have all created their own versions. Wrapped‑style recaps aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and how people feel about that may be a topic for a future article.