Spotify Wrapped: What It Shows Us About Our Relationship With Music

Every year, ‘Spotify Wrapped’ arrives with colourful summaries of our listening habits. Beyond the fun, it actually offers us something meaningful: a chance to notice how we’ve used music across the year. ‘Wrapped’ often reveals patterns we weren’t always fully aware of.

Maybe it’s the calming playlists we turned to during stressful months or the tracks we needed to really feel emotions, good and bad. Maybe it was the uplifting tracks that helped us get through busy or stressful periods, or possibly it’s the nostalgic songs we revisited for comfort and reflection. It could be some or all of that.

‘Wrapped’ tells us our musical age… a bit of fun and something we might love or ignore. At the same time, ‘Wrapped’ is a really great reminder that music is more than just entertainment. Our music listening choices are tracks we might instinctively use to regulate our emotions, anchor and support our memories, express our identity, and support our wellbeing.

The Downside (And How We Can Support Artists)

As fun as ‘Wrapped’ can be, streaming has its challenges. While listeners gain so much from easy access to music, many artists earn very little from each stream. It’s a genuine downside of the current model, but one we can balance with mindful support.

If certain artists shaped your personal playlist this year, consider supporting them directly. Buy their music, attend a live gig or show, share their work, or follow them on platforms that fairly value creators. Small actions can genuinely help.

How Music Supports Health and Wellbeing

On the positive side, streaming means greater access to music that really can support our health and wellbeing. Our founder, Dr Sandra Garrido, has heavily researched this space. Feel free to connect with us if you’d like more information.

In summary, music listening, and especially personalised playlists, can be helpful to reduce stress, boost mood, support memory and strengthen social connection. Using music in healthy ways can be our own personal prescription for health and wellbeing. All of these evidenced benefits are why the right song at the right moment can feel grounding, motivating, or deeply comforting. So, when you’re looking at your ‘Wrapped’ for 2025, maybe, it can be a useful in helping you develop health enhancing playlists for the year ahead.

Overall ‘Spotify Wrapped’ is a lot of fun. Additionally, it highlights just how often we turn to music as a wellbeing resource, even without us really realising it.