In the hours after Spotify dropped its Wrapped 2024 music recap, music fans around the world were left rather disappointed by the overload of unnecessary AI features replacing personal insights to your most streamed genres and albums. I should know, I’ve been vocal on how much of a major let-down it was for me.
But now that I’ve come to terms with this year’s Wrapped not living up to its predecessor, I can continue with my deep dive into Spotify’s 2024 listening stats. In Spotify’s 2023 listening stats, some of the most interesting themes were TikTok’s growing influence and the rising popularity of podcasts, and though similar trends are present within this year’s report, I’ve also noticed some further interesting changes in the listening habits of Spotify’s global audience. Let’s deep dive.
1. Pop girls are running the music industry
You can't argue with the fact that pop girls have ruled 2024, whether they've just stepped onto the scene or finally come out of hiding. The likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx, and Chappell Roan had us all hooked, but for another year running Spotify announced Taylor Swift as the Global Top Artist. This should come as no surprise given the lasting impact of her 2023 re-releases Speak Now and 1989, and of course The Eras Tour. However, the girl power didn't stop there.
Not only was there a country music renaissance (pun intended), but Beyoncé's impact was rather substantial. Following the release of her album Cowboy Carter, the record drove over 36 million people to listen to country music for the first time, as well as pushing streams for up-and-coming Black country artists Tanner Adell, Willie Jones, Reyna Roberts, and Shaboozey.
But one of the crowning moments was when Spotify announced that ‘Espresso’ by Sabrina Carpenter was the most-streamed song of the year globally. This naturally catapulted her album Short n' Sweet into Spotify's top 10 albums of the year list; one of eight albums by women artists to make the cut. Is that sweet? I guess so.
2. Viral content continues to impact our listening
You could say that 2024 was very mindful, very demure, and Spotify's 2024 stats reveal that the influence of social media is just as impactful as last year. This year we've come face-to-face with even more viral meme content thanks to TikTok, so it's not so shocking to learn that there was a 2500% surge in ‘demure’ playlists. This echoes last year's 'girl dinner' playlist stat, showing that music fans are still finding joy with creating genre-bending playlists.
In a Spotify Wrapped first, the streaming platform included included a top 10 most viral songs lists, bringing attention to the most frequently shared songs from Spotify to other social platforms.
3. Duets and collabs are on the rise
Similarly to its first ever viral song list, Spotify revealed a list of the top 10 collaborations in the US. If you've had your eyes fixed to your TikTok feed over the past year, they you're probably aware that some of the most talked-about moments on social media this year have been related to duets.
In addition to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ single ‘Die With a Smile’ being Spotify’s most viral song of the year, Charli xcx’s remix of ‘Guess’ with Billie Eilish kept the 'Brat summer' fire alight, and Beyoncé's collaborations with Post Malone and Miley Cyrus opened a new door for country duets.
4. Podcasts are only getting more popular
In my deep dive into Spotify's 2023 listening stats, its insight into podcast listening was the first thing that stood out to me. As for 2024, podcasts are only getting bigger, and Spotify has provided more insights to its growing podcast community with more specific stats, particularly for the US market.
In contrast to last year, the 2024 trend report saw Spotify split its podcast stats into different sub-categories, to include lists of the top comedy podcasts, most anticipated podcast launches, top sports podcasts, top wellness podcasts, and top video podcasts.
5. TV & movies are shaping our music listening habits
It’s no surprise that some of the biggest movies of the past year have influenced our listening habits, and I can admit that I’ve fallen victim to this. It all started in February when the first teaser trailer for Jon M. Chu's Wicked dropped at the time of the Super Bowl, leading to a spike in streams for the Original Broadway Cast Recording. A similar spike happened again in the weeks after Wicked was released in November, when the original soundtrack skyrocketed into Spotify's weekly charts.
But it wasn't just Wicked that influenced our listening habits this year. Prompted by the emotionally-scarring release of Saltburn, 'Murder on the Dancefloor' was impossible to escape, with the track making its debut on the global Spotify charts (Spotify didn't exist the first time around). Similarly, 'Unwritten' by Natasha Bedingfield made a 20-year comeback and tripled in 65 markets following the release of Anyone But You.
This year's best Netflix shows also brought with them shifts in our listening habits, but there's one example in particular that stands out from the crowd: none other than Bridgerton. Known for its classical music renditions of modern pop songs, the season three release of the show prompted the spike in streams of string quartet covers featured in the Netflix show.
