Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

The Art and Science Behind Spotify Wrapped

04/12/2024

Spotify Wrapped is officially here, and with it comes your highly personal look back at how you soundtracked your year.

We know your year in review evokes all the feels, but perhaps you'd like a bit more insight into all the ways your listening and our lists come together. From the skilled team of music editors who help develop Wrapped to the ace engineers who are evolving our tools to better fit your listening habits, it's truly art and science working side by side.

We caught up with JJ Italiano, Spotify's Head of Global Music Curation and Discovery, and Molly Holder, Spotify's Senior Director of Personalization, to reveal more about the magic behind Wrapped.

Happy Wrapped launch to you both! First, how does our annual experience highlight the work of both our brilliant tech team and the expertise of our editorial team? JJ: The work of Spotify's editorial experts is grounded in a deep understanding of music culture. We are always working as a global team of music editors to identify and amplify trending songs, stories, and artists to the user-and, crucially, to contextualize those moments in curated playlists or other editorial offerings to help users form a deep, lasting connection to the track or artist.

Spotify Wrapped gives listeners a chance to look back at the artist and track connections they've made over the course of the year through their personalized Wrapped list while also exploring some of the songs and artists that helped define the year in music culture more broadly through our editorial end-of-year Wrapped playlists.

Molly: The beauty of Wrapped is how much it reflects each individual user. Whether it's your top song, total minutes listened, or favorite artist, 2024 Wrapped celebrates how you listened this year.

We believe that great personalization fuels discovery: We're powering nearly 2 billion music discoveries every day, connecting listeners with artists and genres they might never have found otherwise.

In addition to the work JJ and his team are doing, we're excited to launch several brand-new personalized Wrapped features this year. From innovations like Your Music Evolution to the expansion of our AI-driven tools (such as AI DJ, AI Playlist, and Wrapped AI Podcast), users will have even more ways to explore the songs that defined their year.

JJ, can you share more about how the work of Spotify's editorial team influences what users discover throughout the year, culminating in what shows up in their Wrapped? JJ: Over the course of the year, our editors around the world are constantly monitoring new music and cultural trends to identify important rising tracks and artists. We look at a vast range of qualitative and quantitative signals both on- and off-platform which inform our editorial decisions.

We also continuously monitor in-playlist performance to understand what tracks and artists users are responding to. This helps signal what tracks should be added to more playlists. Your Wrapped may be comprised of artists that you've discovered anywhere on Spotify, including our editorial surfaces.

Molly, building on that, how do Spotify's algorithms use those editorial selections to enhance personalized recommendations outside of Wrapped to ensure our users are discovering new music all year round? Molly: Spotify personalization is a mix of giving you what you like while pushing you a bit outside your comfort zone, too. We learn about what you like based on the ways you interact with Spotify, and our personalization technology takes into account a number of signals that you, as users, provide. For example, as you add songs to a playlist, listen to an entire song, skip a song, or engage with an artist, it sends us clear signals that help us tailor our programming to your taste.

But it's also our job to determine when we should introduce you to something new. That's when we consider certain additional factors, such as signs of popularity and how other users are engaging with tracks. We also rely on our editorial team, who play a crucial role in curating playlists and, through their knowledge, intuition, and expertise, help teach our machines.

Recommendations are shaped by a number of signals, each contributing to the decision of whether a track should be suggested to a user. While these signals are weighted differently, listener satisfaction is always a priority, and we only recommend music we think listeners will want to hear. For more information on the most significant inputs that drive our personalization, you can learn more here.

How does Spotify use both human curation and algorithms to combat repetitiveness in recommendations? Molly: Finding the right balance between familiarity and discovery is incredibly difficult. One reason is that music is different from other formats. On other platforms, you may consume a piece of content once and then never revisit it again. On Spotify, you can listen to the same song dozens of times, so we know that some repetitiveness is good.

But we don't just paint by numbers. We listen to our users and the descriptive way they are saying they'd like to see us better balance familiarity with discovery, new with old, music with podcasts and audiobooks. We take that qualitative feedback to heart just as much as we weigh the quantitative signals when we make decisions about what to tweak in our algorithms.

Can you share how human expertise and algorithms have worked together to propel a song or artist to success on Spotify? JJ: One of this year's most compelling examples would be Charli xcx's BRAT album and the associated cultural moment, brat summer. Our editors were able to hear the album early and identified it as one of the top stories of the summer to come. As the album rollout and cultural conversation accelerated and branched off into new
LINK: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2024-12-04/the-art-and-science-behind-spo...
See more stories from spotify

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

13/08/2026

Dalet Demonstrates the Future of AI-Orchestrated Live Spo...

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced its participation in the IBC2026 Accelerator Media Innovation Pro...

13/08/2026

dzjinius to showcase new dzjinius on-set application at I...

dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its new application, dzjinius on-set , at IBC20...

13/08/2026

BCE Demonstrates Sovereign Cloud Media Workflows powered...

Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a leading European provider of media services, system integration and product development, will demonstrate an end-to-end sove...

13/08/2026

Clear-Com to Showcase Communications Solutions for Broadc...

Clear-Com is returning to IBC 2026, taking place September 11-14 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. At Stand 10.D29, Clear-Com will spotlight the award-winning FreeSpe...

13/08/2026

Leader to highlight advanced Test and Measurement solutio...

Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, will showcase its comprehensive portfolio of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement ...

13/08/2026

KRK Brings Advanced Wireless Control to Professional Monitoring With New V Series Five Studio MonitorsKRK Brings Advanced Wireless

KRK Brings Advanced Wireless Control to Professional Monitoring With New V Serie...

13/08/2026

Anthony Noack Captures Artist's Journey in Estonia with Blackmagic Design

Anthony Noack Captures Artist's Journey in Estonia with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton August 12, 2026 0 Comments Solo filmmaker documents concept...

13/08/2026

ARRI Image Science makes its mobile debut in the HONOR Robot Phone

ARRI Image Science makes its mobile debut in the HONOR Robot Phone Brie Clayton August 12, 2026 0 Comments Hero image displays the HONOR Robot Phone, ...

13/08/2026

ASG Adds Eran Binyamin Zeitoun as Senior Technical Program Manager

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

Vinten To Feature Manual, Robotic Camera Support Offerings At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

SMPTE Unveils IBC 2026 Plans

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

IP Showcase on the Water Announces Schedule for IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

Spectrum, Optimum Ink New Deals for News Carriage and Ads

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

IAB Tech Lab Updates Privacy Standards

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

Suitest Highlights New AI-Powered Device Testing and Qual...

Suitest's Test Automation Platform Simplifies Video Quality Assurance, Monitoring, and Device Certification Across the OTT Ecosystem At IBC2026, Suitest, a...

13/08/2026

Cinegy showcases powerful, agile, cost-effective media so...

Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will have its key software solutions ready to demonstrate at SET Expo 2026 (18 20...

13/08/2026

Scripps Research establishes endowed chair honoring Peter K. Vogt, influential pioneer in cancer research

Scripps Research has established the Peter K. Vogt Endowed Chair, a new faculty ...

13/08/2026

New research offers fresh insights for how to make better vaccines

LA JOLLA, CA-A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exp...

13/08/2026

Class Is in Session: GeForce NOW Levels Up Linux, Chromebooks and More

GeForce NOW is giving cloud gaming an extra-credit upgrade just in time for back-to-school season. The native Linux app for GeForce NOW is officially out of be...

12/08/2026

Op-Ed: The Versioning Playbook - How Rights Holders are Getting More From Live Events

Traditional live sports production has focused on creating the best possible pro...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: FOR-A to Demonstrate Production and Processing Solutions

FOR-A will showcase a range of broadcast and production products at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B53, Amsterdam RAI, September 11-14), including software-based switching, A...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: AMWA and EBU to Demo NMOS BCP-008 Multi-Vendor IP Status Reporting

The Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and EBU will host live demonstrations of NMOS BCP-008 Minimum Status Reporting at IBC2026 (September 11-14) on th...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: Dalet Launches Solution Suites for Media Production and Archive Management

Dalet has announced Dalet Solution Suites, a portfolio of cloud-native solutions...

12/08/2026

Net Insight Enables Centralized Remote Production of Blinkfestivalen 2026 for NRK

Net Insight has announced that DMC Production Norway has selected its Open Live ...

12/08/2026

Zixi Appoints Alyson Stewart as Senior Director of Sales

Zixi has appointed Alyson Stewart as Senior Director of Sales. Stewart will be responsible for direct sales and partnerships, with a focus on broadcasters, medi...

12/08/2026

LiveU Powers Host Broadcast Operations at 2026 Glasgow Games

LiveU's LU900Q intelligent production unit was deployed as part of the host broadcast operation for the Games in Glasgow (July 23-August 2, 2026). Host broa...

12/08/2026

Disney+ and ESPN Acquire Multi-Year Formula E Rights Beginning 2026/27 Season

Disney , ESPN, and Formula E have announced a multi-year deal bringing all Formula E races to Disney and ESPN in the U.S. and to Disney in most international...

12/08/2026

PSSI Launches X-LIVE Managed Service for Live Event Transmission

PSSI has launched X-LIVE, a managed service offering dedicated engineering resources and Appear encoding infrastructure for live event signal processing and tra...

12/08/2026

MoonPay X Games League Draws 18.3 Million Viewers in Inaugural Summer Season

The inaugural MoonPay X Games League Summer Season reached 18.3 million unique live viewers across three stops on ABC and ESPN, a 78.5% increase compared to the...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: BBright Adds RIST Support to IP-Gateway

BBright will showcase an expanded IP-Gateway at IBC2026, adding support for all RIST profiles to its existing support for MPEG Transport Stream over IP with SMP...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: BBright Adds EBU OGraf Graphics Support to UHD and ST 2110 Playout Platform

BBright will demonstrate EBU OGraf animated graphics support in its software-bas...

12/08/2026

Interra Systems to Showcase QC and Monitoring Solutions at SET Expo 2026

Interra Systems will demonstrate its ORION, BATON, BATON Captions, and VEGA solutions at SET Expo 2026 (August 17-20, Distrito Anhembi, S o Paulo) at partner Li...

12/08/2026

DPA Microphones Appoints Raul Contreras as West Coast Regional Sales Manager

DPA Microphones has appointed Raul Contreras as West Coast Regional Sales Manager. In the role, Contreras will oversee sales and customer relationships througho...

12/08/2026

Save the Date: SVG LIVE! Returns to LA Nov. 10 to Spotlight Sports & Entertainment Production

Live spectacles ranging from the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup to the Oscars and...

12/08/2026

Love, Separation, and the Cost of Comfort in How to Divorce During the War

Writer-Director Andrius Bla evi ius and crew attend the premiere of How to Divorce During the War at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park City, UT. (P...

12/08/2026

SSL 360 gets a major update

Enhanced DAW & plug-in control for the UC1, UF8 and UF1 The software that powers SSL's range of control surfaces has just received a major update that d...

12/08/2026

Triton Audio launch the Tilt EQ

In-line preamp features one-knob EQ In addition to their range of in-line preamps, Triton Audio recently managed to squeeze a compressor into an enclosure t...

12/08/2026

AudioRoute from Arvital Audio

Captures system audio with or without a DAW Depending on your setup, capturing system audio in a DAW can be a tedious process, so much so that Arvital Audio...

12/08/2026

2026 NATIONAL NAIDOC AWARDS TO BROADCAST ON NITV LIVE AND DIRECT FROM MPARNTWE

2026 NATIONAL NAIDOC AWARDS TO BROADCAST ON NITV LIVE AND DIRECT FROM MPARNTWE 12 August, 2026 Media releases First Nations excellence will be celebrated l...

12/08/2026

More than six million sports fans stay with SBS for Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift

More than six million sports fans stay with SBS for Tour de France and Tour de F...

12/08/2026

Nielsen Introduces Groundbreaking Streaming Ad Measurement in Brazil

Nielsen is cementing Digital Ad Intel as the new go-to currency for digital ad intelligence in Brazil-now with streaming monitoring in the mix. S o Paulo, Augu...

12/08/2026

LPTV Advocates Petition FCC for Voluntary 5G Broadcasts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/08/2026

Tubi Media Group Inks Content Discovery Deal with Gracenote

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/08/2026

Matrox Video Showcases IP-Based and Software-Defined Tech...

As Matrox Video celebrates 50 years of trusted innovation, the company will showcase its portfolio of interoperable IP technologies and software-defined innovat...

12/08/2026

SMPTE Showcases AI and Open Media Workflows and Industry...

SMPTE, the home of media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced a program of expert-led sessions, professional workshops and networking eve...

12/08/2026

Berklee Announces Full Details for Inaugural Block Party, a Music Festival Next to Fenway Park

Berklee Announces Full Details for Inaugural Block Party, a Music Festival Next ...

12/08/2026

ACLU Requests ABC Station Probe Documents from FCC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...