The end of November used to mean something.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t just that the festive season was mere weeks away, or that Black Friday shopping madness was imminent, but that something fun and exciting was about to drop at any moment: Spotify Wrapped.<\/p>\n
The annual roundup of users’ personal listening data from the audio streaming platform first launched in 2015 \u2014 at the time, it was referred to as \u201cYear in Music\u201d \u2014 and became an online fixture in the mid to late 2010s.<\/p>\n
Like clockwork, social media platforms such as Instagram and X would be flooded with graphics from Spotify users showing their listening tastes over the past year. The feature became so popular that competing platforms, including Apple Music, began releasing their own versions in the late 2010s and early 2020s, to much less fanfare.<\/p>\n
But this year, the internet is uncharacteristically quiet during the period when Spotify Wrapped typically appears. The lack of anticipation comes during a challenging time for the streaming platform, as it faces backlash on such issues as artist compensation, AI-generated music and ICE recruitment ads.<\/p>\n
Controversies add up in 2025<\/h2>\n
Over the past decade, what has really set Spotify Wrapped apart are the unique features from year to year that summarize a user\u2019s music activity in the form of fun visualizations, like colourful auras and cities. These features regularly go viral, spawning memes that last for weeks.<\/p>\n
Statistics showing such things as the amount of minutes listened to, the number of unique songs played or the top percentage of fans for a certain artist have become a point of pride. Plus, the top song and top album lists bring a sense of nostalgia, creating a soundtrack for significant memories from the past year.<\/p>\n
But 2025’s controversies have taken a toll on the streaming service.<\/p>\n
First, there’s artist compensation. Spotify has long been criticized for its dismal payouts to artists. Earlier this year, some Grammy-nominated songwriters even boycotted a Spotify awards event<\/a> in response to the company\u2019s decision to reduce royalty rates for songwriters and publishers by merging its premium music service with audiobooks<\/a> last year. Then there was the outcry around Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek\u2019s investment in Helsing<\/a>, a German defence company. When the news broke that the CEO had been funding the AI military tech company\u00a0 through his investment firm Prima Materia, indie artists like Massive Attack, Deerhoof and Godspeed You! Black Emperor pulled their music from the platform<\/a> in protest during the summer.<\/p>\n In late September, Ek announced he would be stepping down as CEO<\/a> while remaining the executive chairman.<\/p>\n When it comes to artificial intelligence in music, users also feel Spotify is falling short<\/a>. This past summer, The Velvet Sundown, an AI-generated band<\/a>, made headlines globally for garnering more than one million streams on Spotify in just weeks. The company does not label music that is AI-generated, but it announced in September<\/u><\/a> that it is working toward strengthening AI protections for artists, including rolling out AI disclosures. Toronto-based culture writer Richie Assaly said the last 12 months have been a real tipping point for his relationship with Spotify, citing both the \u201cslow adoption of AI onto the streaming service\u201d and the choice of smaller indie artists to leave the streaming giant in response to Ek\u2019s Helsing investment.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us to change streaming platforms, to go to Apple or Tidal, is such a small thing. But for artists to really stick their neck out like that \u2026 it\u2019s a really big decision,” he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think if you\u2019re a real music fan, you have to kind of take your cues from the artists who you listen to and respect…. I do think that this is the beginning of a shift, and I\u2019m hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n Radio pays more but Spotify still wins the bet<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hip-hop veterans Mastermind and Jay Smooth join Elamin to discuss rap’s brief Billboard chart slip and why artists still invest in streaming when radio pays staggeringly more than Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n There have also been a few high-profile lawsuits. Earlier this month, a class-action lawsuit was filed accusing Spotify of accepting payment<\/a> in exchange for promotion on Discovery Mode playlists \u2014 which are intended to provide paid users with a personalized, curated playlist based on their actual music listening habits. Also filed in early November was a lawsuit against Spotify alleging billions of fraudulent streams using bots<\/a>, to the benefit of artists like Drake.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/ais\/cdec9721-32e2-4829-b28e-8507417ad530,1764087910257\/full\/max\/0\/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C1080%2C1920%29%3BResize%3D343\")
<\/div>\n‘The sheen has really worn off’<\/h2>\n
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