Spotify Wrapped has sparked mixed reactions this year.

Since its launch in 2016, it’s been copied by major brands and competitors, proof of its brilliance.

But what makes Wrapped so impactful?

People don’t care about data, they care about stories.

Numbers inform us; stories move us.

Humans aren't rational beings. We're emotional creatures.

In a world overloaded with information, options, and content, Spotify included (I listened to 106,272 minutes this year).

Spotify wrapped builds a story of your year.

With something as personal and tribal as music, this story showcases your desires, fears, hopes, and dreams.

The story of wrapped showcases each person's identity.

The numbers mean nothing without real people behind them, this is why the Wrapped campaign is so compelling.

But for me, the most fascinating piece from Spotify Wrapped this year is what I would argue the best media partnership of the year…

Spotify partnered with Google to create an AI-generated podcast personalised to users based on their listening data and powered by Notebook LM.

It wasn’t universally loved, but it gave us a glimpse into the future.

Imagine this: a 10-minute morning podcast tailored to you. It covers yesterday’s top stories relevant to you, and syncs with your emails and calendar to prep you for the day. While setting the mood with your favourite songs & some personalised advice to make sure you’re ready for a great day.

Sounds crazy right? But within 3 years it could be the norm.

You may think you’d never listen to an AI generated podcast, but for me, listening to a reflection on my year in music, was fascinating.

My music taste is a little all over the shop, nobody would have heard of the majority of my top songs or artists.

But hearing two podcast hosts talk about the songs and artists I listened to across the year, and how this reflects my identity, almost made me want to share my Wrapped with others.

It made me resonate more with my music selection. I won’t of been the only one.

75% of 18 - 34s in the US are using Spotify and they’re slowly becoming acclimatised to AI usage and products.

Spotify is laying the groundwork for an AI-centric future while expanding into video and creator partnerships, doubling down on the importance of the artist.

Daniel Ek has done some fascinating interviews recently talking about the future direction of the company.

They currently have 250 million paying subscribers, almost the size of Netflix.

They’re looking to give creators the chance to tap into that base, positioning themselves to be a platform for all kinds of content consumption.

As AI continues to change the content game, and social media platforms are under increased scrutiny, the future of content distribution, creation, and viewership is going to be very interesting to watch.

What would your morning AI powered podcast say about you?

Think it’s far-fetched? So was streaming music 20 years ago…