The air is getting cooler and the year is coming to a close, so naturally, it’s many music fans’ favorite time of year: Spotify Wrapped season. Whether you’re a casual enjoyer who simply posts a screenshot of your Spotify Wrapped every year to your Instagram story or an obsessive music snob who secretly tracks their top artists and songs, Spotify Wrapped is the perfect opportunity to reveal the music that shaped your year.
However, you may be one of many passionate music lovers, such as myself, that feel unincluded when Spotify Wrapped drops.
Whether you have the beloved Apple Music Family plan, take advantage of a different music service’s student discount, support your local hometown’s aspiring rapper on SoundCloud or simply just picked a streaming service other than Spotify, Spotify Wrapped might cause you to feel left out. You’ve maybe been asked by a friend who your top artist was on Spotify and had to embarrassingly reveal that you actually don’t use it. Or, even worse, you’ve been in my position and posted the “knock-off” Apple Music version of Spotify Wrapped and have been met with petty criticism, laughter and a sense of shame.
As a music-lover watching from the sidelines, I’ve seen just how serious Spotify Wrapped has become to young listeners. I have heard of people who stream “embarrassing” songs or artists on other apps to avoid it reflecting in their Wrapped. I’ve even heard of others who play an album muted on Spotify while spinning the vinyl to make sure those minutes don’t go undocumented once Spotify Wrapped is revealed.
This seriousness adds to the importance of this day, further stressing that non-Spotify users have no place to post their favorite songs and albums; this is Spotify’s day.
As a music lover who has watched the Spotify community from the outside looking in, I believe that non-Spotify users need to rise above, fully embracing the fact that we deviate from the norm. Proudly post your Apple Music Replay, show off that CD you play on repeat and rave about your favorite radio station that somehow always knows to play the song you need at the moment. So what if we don’t have an app that tells us our musical “aura” and if we were in the top 1% listeners of Chappell Roan? There is something special about every music service.
Although Spotify Wrapped has become a prominent way to encourage the intersections of music and social media, not using the Spotify app should allow a unique perspective of the culture of Spotify that users may not be able to recognize. To all non-Spotify users, use your music viewpoint to your advantage, rather than your disadvantage. Deviate from the norm, and listen to music freely knowing that you won’t have to worry about others judging your music choice. Personally, I will continue to proudly stream the Hamilton Cast, knowing that Spotify Wrapped holds no power over me.
