How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know (2024)

29 November 2023, 12:20

How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know (2)

By Sam Prance

How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know (3)How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know (4)

Is Spotify Wrapped inaccurate? The calculations behind your Spotify Wrapped 2023 results explained.

Spotify Wrapped 2023 is finally here but how accurate is it and when does it actually start tracking our 2023 listening habits?

It's that time of year again. With the holiday season now in full swing, there's one thing that everyone's talking about: Spotify Wrapped. Today (Nov 29), Spotify surprised the internet with their 2023 Spotify Wrapped results and they include your Top Songs, Top Artists and so much more.

READ MORE: Spotify Wrapped 2023 is here: How to find your top songs, top artists here

Is Spotify Wrapped accurate though? Here's why you may have received very different results to what you were expecting.

When does Spotify Wrapped start tracking?

How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know (5)

Despite what you may assume, Spotify Wrapped doesn't ever calculate your streaming results for a whole year. The tracking period always starts on January 1st and ends on October 31st. This gives Spotify time to put together all of your results in time for December. However, it also means that none of your November/December listening habits are ever included.

As for how accurate the results are, Spotify remains tight-lipped on how it calculates them and whether or not any streams get left out. Although it's possible that, just like Apple Music, Spotify Wrapped only counts online streams of songs and doesn't track offline streams of songs. In other words, a portion of your listening habits could be missing.

How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know (6)

That being said, for the most part, your results should be pretty accurate. In other words, that shock artist in your Top 5 is likely in your Top 5 for a reason!

Find out more of your Spotify stats here:

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How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know (2024)

FAQs

How accurate is Spotify Wrapped? Here's when it starts tracking and what you need to know? ›

Although it's possible that, just like Apple Music, Spotify Wrapped only counts online streams of songs and doesn't track offline streams of songs. In other words, a portion of your listening habits could be missing. That being said, for the most part, your results should be pretty accurate.

Is Spotify Wrapped actually accurate? ›

And it must be noted: Wrapped can also reflect a whole lot of randomness. The way listeners actually consume music can very much affect what Wrapped gets right and what it gets wrong in terms of listening habits. Ours is only about 50% accurate and I definitely won't be sharing it.

Why does my Spotify Wrapped say something is wrong? ›

Spotify Wrapped “Something Went Wrong?” solutions

Make sure that your Spotify app is updated to the latest version. On iOS you need app version 8.8. 92 to see Spotify Wrapped, while on Android version you need version 8.8.

Does Spotify actually stop tracking for wrapped? ›

When Does Spotify Wrapped Stop Tracking and Start for 2024? The platform begins tracking your listening habits from January 1st to October 31st. Within this timeframe, all Spotify tracks, albums, and playlists are taken into consideration to calculate your music taste and generate your Spotify wrapped stats.

How do they calculate Spotify Wrapped? ›

The three most awaited year-end statistics—top albums, top songs, and top artists—are all based on aggregated stream counts. The list of top podcasts is assessed differently, this time based on the number of unique listeners.

What are the criticism of Spotify Wrapped? ›

Those who loathe Spotify Wrapped—and disdain the faceless millions that seem to enjoy it—also complain about the app's design, the way listening preferences are computed, the potential misuse of personal data and the fact that Taylor Swift keeps turning up everywhere.

What are the criticism of Spotify? ›

Allegations of unfair artist compensation. Spotify, together with the music streaming industry in general, faces criticism from some artists and producers, claiming they are being unfairly compensated for their work as music sales decline and music streaming increases.

Can you fix your Spotify Wrapped? ›

If your Wrapped isn't loading and it's not due to server errors, there are a couple of workarounds you can try. In the app, you can type "spotify:datastories:wrapped" or "Wrapped 2023" into the search bar. Or you can abandon the app and try it out on mobile or desktop by going to Spotify.com/Wrapped.

Does downloaded music count towards Spotify Wrapped? ›

Offline listening, which is done through songs download to user devices, counts toward listening data once users are reconnected to the internet. Podcast listening, a feature regularly used by more than 100 million Spotify users, counts toward users' total time spent listening in addition to music.

Why is my Spotify Wrapped different to others? ›

Each user's Spotify Wrapped is tailored to them, so others won't be able to see it through the platform. However, you can take screenshots of your top stats for 2023 and share them on social media or with friends — and then, it would be seen by others that way.

What doesn t count for Spotify Wrapped? ›

"Spotify Wrapped doesn't include any listening data from the last two months of the year".

Does white noise count towards Spotify Wrapped? ›

Since a lot of your white noise playlists or kids' playlists also make their way into your annual Spotify Wrapped experience, you can use the new feature to determine what content you want to avoid seeing in your Wrapped at the end of the year.

From when to when is Spotify Wrapped counted? ›

Despite what you may assume, Spotify Wrapped doesn't ever calculate your streaming results for a whole year. The tracking period always starts on January 1st and ends on October 31st. This gives Spotify time to put together all of your results in time for December.

What does 0.1% mean in Spotify Wrapped? ›

Essentially, if you are in the top 0.1% of listeners for a particular artist or track, it means you have listened to that artist or track more than 99.9% of other Spotify users.

Why is my Spotify Wrapped not accurate? ›

There are many music streaming services today, except Spotify. And if you listen to music on other platforms regularly, Spotify will have less data to detect, which in turn will lead to inaccurate Spotify Wrapped data. The most straightforward solution is to listen to more of your favorite songs on Spotify.

Does putting a song on repeat count as a stream? ›

Spotify counts a stream if someone listens to a song for 30 seconds or more. It also counts repeat streams. However, streaming your own song on repeat is definitely not a good idea, as Spotify flags suspicious activity.

Does Spotify Wrapped show your most listened to album? ›

Just like Spotify Wrapped, this summary includes the total amount of time you spent listening to music, your top genre, top artist, top album and top song.

Does Spotify Wrapped count repeat plays? ›

Yes, as long as you listen to each song for at least 60 seconds it counts as a stream and will count in your next Spotify Wrapped.

Does December count towards Spotify Wrapped? ›

Surprisingly, no. The platform has previously confirmed to numerous news outlets, as well as on Twitter, that Spotify Wrapped only collects data from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31.

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