When Spotify Wrapped launched in 2015, it took the world by storm. Every year since, millions of Spotify users eagerly await the deep dive into the artists, podcasts and songs that defined their year. The good, the bad and the downright ugly.
Last year when we were all busy doing nothing, Wrapped became a time capsule of our collected boredom and misery. Listening to music alone with no judgement made for a very humbling experience. With some very unexpected top artists in our Wrapped. Most of us are seemingly *still* haunted by the listening choices we made when we were 14.
Spotify Wrapped’s effectiveness lies solely in presenting itself as a digital diary. A small corner of the internet where we can think back and pinpoint specific points of time because of the music we were listening to. Nothing hooks an audience quite like playing on good ol’ nostalgia.
We decided to look at the potential longevity of Spotify Wrapped, why it’s so effective and how Spotify has revolutionised music streaming!
So here it is, four ways Spotify Wrapped broke the internet:
It Created A LOT of UGC
Spotify currently has over 172 MILLION premium subscribers worldwide. When Spotify Wrapped is released every December, millions of people share their top listens across social media. The aesthetically pleasing aspect of Wrapped makes for great UGC (user-generated content) and creates a huge talking point, usually reaching the top trend on Twitter worldwide.
Wrapped is inherently shareable. Not just for users who want to show off (or laugh about) their top listens, but also for Artists. Artists receive a recap of their year, which they can then share with their own fans.
In terms of data alone, Spotify Wrapped is a stroke of genius. Spotify has created a cohesive all-channel campaign that takes advantage of user-generated content. The UGC is used for advertising, which drives new and existing users back to their app. This then creates more data and becomes a cycle, putting them at the forefront of music streaming.
Spotify Dominated Global Music Streaming
Spotify has cemented itself as the leader in music streaming, holding the majority share of the current market. With the introduction of Spotify Wrapped, they’ve definitely created a strong brand presence and trusted reputation. According to Statista, in 2019, Spotify became no.1 in music streaming. And, was ranked on Forbes as one of the most reputable brands!
The Wrapped campaign has been so effective because it has managed to create a sense of competition and achievement without actually using incentives. With a combination of personalised data gift-packaged with a colourful aesthetic, Wrapped has indeed unleashed Spotify’s potential and made its presence known.
Apple Music? We don’t know her.
Spotify Wrapped Tells a Story
Music and storytelling go hand in hand. When Spotify Wrapped approaches, everyone braces themselves for their *main character* moment. We suddenly become the protagonist in a production written and directed by Spotify. Whether you spent the year crying to Adele or somehow found yourself listening to Bo Burnham on repeat, Wrapped almost feels like airing your personal diary and takes absolutely no prisoners.
This storytelling is a crucial reason as to why Spotify Wrapped is such an effective campaign. By looking at other users’ top artists and how many minutes they’ve spent streaming, the element of FOMO builds up on social media. Everyone begins manically posting their top songs or genres for no reason other than wanting to share it – Welcome to the Internet!
The element of the Top Fans feature creates competition between users whilst simultaneously acquiring new users to sign up. These users will then stick around – usually for the whole year because they want their own Wrapped story and main character moment too. Why wouldn’t you?
It’s Got an Unrivalled Music Library
Compared to other popular music streaming apps, such as Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon Music and so on, Spotify offers an extensive (and competitive) music library. Currently, Spotify boasts over 70 million tracks – with over 40,000 songs added each day, whereas competitor Amazon Music only has 40 million.
Every year, when Wrapped is released, Spotify app downloads unsurprisingly increase across the board. In America alone, there was an increase in app downloads of 21% in the first week of December. That’s a lot of people realising they’re late to the party.
In 2020, streaming services across the board met an all-time high, with nowhere to go, many people turned to podcasts and listening to music. This resulted in Spotify, with the help of Wrapped, achieving their highest year on record, netting €7.85 billion. All in all, Spotify is consistently outdoing its music-streaming rivals via genius marketing strategies.
To sum up, it’s Spotify’s world, and we’re just living in it. We can’t wait for Wrapped day in the office!
Contact dmt via our get in touch page to ask about our services in paid social and PPC ads, email marketing… Or even to just send us your own Spotify Wrapped.
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