I can remember being outraged at the end of 2024 when Spotify issued their annual ‘Wrapped’ summary of their users’ listening choices throughout the year. It really is a marketing triumph – who can resist a personalised list of their ‘year in audio’? However, when Spotify informed me that my most streamed artist of the year was Taylor Swift, I was disbelieving and horrified in equal measure. A Swiftie I am not. It made me realise that you should never put your faith in algorithms. Especially when you don’t actually know what one is.
I haven’t really had a favourite singer or band since I was a teenager. Ever since then I’ve listened to a lot of different types of music spanning genres and centuries . Quite eclectic and impossible to define – or so I thought, quite smugly. As a feature of this year’s ‘Wrapped’, they also estimate what your listening age is. You can imagine my outrage when I learned that I apparently have the musical tastes of an 84-year-old. How did I manage that, I wondered. What do people born in the 1940s listen to anyway? Buddy Holly? Doris Day?
I delved deeper. My top song was by a singer called Ray LaMontagne, who I’ve never heard of, singing Trouble, a song I don’t recognise. How can this be? He’s also 52, I should add, and presumably not yet collecting his pension. (No, I’m not being defensive – how could you think that?) My number two song was apparently Only Love by Ben Howard, which I do vaguely recognise, but not his name The first person I recognised on the list was Norah Jones at number four. Further down the list, more familiar acts started to appear as well as a number of classic folkies like James Taylor and Leonard Cohen. Maybe that’s what 84-year-olds like?
I’ll be curious to see what Spotify makes of my listening habits this year. I have mentioned before how much I’ve loved the books Year of Wonder and Another Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill. She suggests a piece of classical music for every day of the year and writes about each one with such enthusiasm and passion that you can’t wait to listen to them. I have enjoyed 365 days of music with both books several times before and I decided to go through the Year of Wonder once again this year. It’s such a perfect start to the morning.
But what will Spotify think at the end of the year? Will ‘Wrapped’ assume that I’m 316 because I’ve listened to so much Bach and Handel? I refuse to be intimidated by an algorithm, but still, I might intersperse classical music and vintage folk with tracks by The Last Dinner Party, just to preserve my dignity.