Wrapped isn't just for fans-it's for creators too. And today, Spotify for Artists launched its annual 2021 Artist Wrapped microsite, presenting artists with a custom experience and sharecard showcasing their success on Spotify over the past year. It's a moment created specially for artists, who can also be delighted by a year's worth of streaming data driven by their fans worldwide. On the microsite, artists can view their total hours streamed; increases in followers, total listeners, streams, or playlist adds; total numbers of top listeners and shares; and information showing the journey of an artist's top track. This year, artists can also enjoy an Audio Aura that gives them their own aura based on elements of their artwork and sonics; a Throwback Track that showcases their top catalog track that is still streaming strong; and a list of all their collaborators.
Since its inception in 2017, Artist Wrapped has become a moment that artists and fans alike look forward to all year. It has seen tremendous growth in the five years since its launch:
From year to year, Spotify's Artist Wrapped has been an opportunity for creators to see how they've grown on the platform. One such artist is 16-year-old, LA-based DJ Omar Davis, who creates dreamy dance music under the alias of Moore Kismet. They grew up in a musical family and aspired to be in music or film since childhood. Then, in eighth grade, they created their first piece of music after being inspired by a YouTube video.
I came across the official audio video for Hindsight' by Audien, Omar explained. Listening to that song, I was blown away. It made me feel happy; it made me feel energetic. It made me feel safe and uplifted. It was a very eye-opening experience for me. And when I started delving deeper into that, I was like, Hmm, maybe I should try doing this myself.' So I just downloaded the trial version of FL Studio and I started playing around in it.
In the nearly five years since, they've increased their production, invested in collaborations, and honed their sound. They ultimately posted a single to Spotify in 2018. Now, they have 300,000 plus monthly listeners and two songs with over a million streams.
For the Record chatted with Moore about creating music during a pandemic, speaking to their audience, and what they look forward to in their 2021 Artist Wrapped.
Tell us a little about your music. How would you describe your sound? If we're going for a specific vibe, I've been using this phrase that a fan once called my music: beautifully controlled chaos. But to put more, genre-specific labels on it: I make experimental electronic pop that touches a little bit with dubstep, R&B, indie folk, soul music, stuff of that nature.
And that's kind of always been my style. But I'd never truly known how to articulate it in music until the pandemic hit. So, a lot of the music that I've been writing more recently feels more like myself than anything I've ever written before. So I'm just very grateful for that.
Can you talk a little bit more about how the pandemic allowed you to to find this space for yourself and and claim your music? When the shutdown first hit, I didn't know what to do. But my coping mechanism for whenever sh*t hits the fan is always writing music. It creates a kind of catharsis for me. That energy allowed me to access parts of my creativity that I've literally never been able to touch before. During that time, I realized that when I was writing something, I could actually get out what I was thinking about in my head-and then make it even crazier. And I'm just like, Whoa, wait. I've literally never been able to do that before. What just happened? For me, this time has been my way of rediscovering what it truly is I want to create and what I want to put out to the world.
You've been on Spotify since about 2018. When did you start looking at your Artist Wrapped? Right away. I first started because I saw everybody else posting theirs and I was like, Damn, they have all of these insane streaming numbers! I wonder what mine is. And then when I went to check, I only had like 3,000. Well that's anticlimactic! It was kind of disappointing at first. But I've been checking every year ever since, especially once I started working on myself, working on my music, and working with Anthony, my manager.
I would honestly have to say that this year is the biggest year I've had and I'm really, really, really grateful for that because I was not expecting anything that I released this year to do well or to have as much of an impact on people. I hit my first two million streams this year. Rumor is on its way to hitting three million, which is f%#*ing crazy because it hit two million quicker than it hit one million.
What type of information have you been able to take away from previous years of Artist Wrapped and then utilize as you go into the next year of work? Pre-saves, monthly listeners, streams, and followers. Those are the four most important things that I take into consideration every year when I look at my Wrapped. But also, growth is growth. It's such a crazy feeling to see how far you've come since the last time you got one of these things rendered for you.
I also love seeing demographics-like the pie split up-of what specific demographics or gender identities are listening to my music. I'm noticing that the genderqueer categories are starting to grow exponentially, which makes me incredibly happy because I write my music for other queer people. I've always tried to do my best to make my Black ancestors and my trans ancestors proud, and it gets hard sometimes when I'm feeling down on myself and my body and my music, and my mind and my ability to do things.
So I guess I really just try
