The end of the year is an exciting time for everyone whether it’s because of the upcoming holidays, winter break, or you just love the atmosphere this time of year. One of the more niche things I look forward to is Spotify wrapped.
In the past, the nerve-racking round-up of all your music tastes releases on the last Wed. of November. However this year there was a delay; Spotify wrapped showed up late and surprised us on Dec. 4, a week late.
The tardiness was not the only thing Spotify disappointed us with this year. Along with the late release, the creativity seemed lackluster compared to other years. They used a lot of the same ideas from the past years and completely stripped all of the uniqueness that Spotify is known to deliver on.
Many users looking forward to the round-up of music were left feeling disappointed about Spotify’s lack of creativity. Last year, Spotify gave messages from users’ top artists, thanking the listeners for their time and support. While yes, Spotify did do it this year, the messages that went out seemed lackluster compared to the ones we were given in 2023. Maybe Spotify producers could have drummed up a little enthusiasm when asking artists for their videos. After all, we do spend a lot of time listening to their music.
Spotify is known to gather data based on what you listen to and give them niche little groups. Going back to 2023, Spotify went out of the box to create different listening characters that everyone could fit into – I got the shapeshifter. While 2023’s still aren’t the best, they still are extremely better than this year’s.
With every category, everyone got a short quip that described their listening tastes. “One moment you’re head over heels for an artist. The next, you have moved on. Some say it’s erratic. We’d call it electric,” Spotify Wrapped 2023 said for the ‘Shapeshifter’ category.
This one category has a lot of personality but it still makes sense to who the individual listener is. I do fixate on one particular artist and after I listen to them non-stop, I will move on to a different one. For me then, the ‘Shapeshifter’ made a lot of sense. Another one that I find funny is the vampire.
“When it comes to your listening, you like to embrace a little…darkness. You listen to emotional, atmospheric music more than most,” Spotify 2023 said for the ‘Vampire.’
This year wrapped tried to recreate that same joy that we found with these silly titles, but completely botched it. Many people have been laughing at Spotify’s attempt to be quirky and current with titles such as “After Hours Skateboarding Hip Hop,” “Vampire Southern Hip Hop,” and “Pumpkin Spice Strut Pop.” Let’s be honest, nobody could ever interpret what this means.
Spotify tried to do something new this year and instead of having real-life people collect data and add customization, they decided to use Artificial Intelligence (AI). “This year, for the first time ever, Spotify is unveiling an AI podcast about your 2024 Spotify Wrapped music listening,” Spotify’s Newsroom said.
Because of the use of AI, it honestly felt soulless. But really what do you expect when something’s being created by a soulless machine trying to act like a human? Just as a heads up to any company trying to give their users a fun personalized experience; don’t use AI please, I beg you.
The use of AI took jobs away from human curators who could have added more character to the 2024 Wrapped. There are billions of people in this world but the CEO of Spotify Daniel Ek decided to use a computer with no emotions. Why? Is it because AI is cheaper than paying actual human beings, or because AI is “easier to work with.” Whatever the reason is it does not outbeat hiring actual human beings.
From the use of AI, the weird and unfunny labels, and the lateness, I was just utterly disappointed by the Spotify Wrapped this year. As they say in baseball, three strikes you’re out, and this year Spotify struck out hard.
While I was not the happiest with Spotify this year I have hope that they saw the backlash and learned what they can do to improve for next year. Wrapped has always been one of the highlights at the end of the year and I intend to keep it that way – I just sincerely hope that Spotify can move on from this year and improve itself.
