A brief overview of what is currently trending on X in news, culture, and/or trending hashtags and formats.
Hawk Tuah: Hailey Welch, also known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” is facing backlash after launching a meme coin that has lost investors money.
Walter Payton: The NFL announced 32 nominees for the league’s prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.
Bitcoin: Bitcoin price rose to $100,000 for the first time, fueled by optimism that the next Presidential administration will usher in crypto-friendly policies.
A deeper dive into a subject that is impacting culture on a macro level, beyond just the social space.
Has Spotify Wrapped Lost Its Touch?
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What It Is: On Wednesday, Spotify launched its highly anticipated 2024 Spotify Wrapped campaign that delivers unique, personalized insights for Spotify users based on their listening habits throughout the year. Over the last few years, Wrapped has become a social media favorite as it evolved from simple recaps of fans’ top songs, artists, and total minutes streamed to something more personal and eccentric — for example, including each users’ niche top genres, their audio aura based on listening history, or what cities around the world have the same music tastes. Wrapped is also designed to be sharable, with its fun, eccentric, visual formats that prompt endless memes across platforms. This year’s drop, however widely shared, was met with notably less excitement on social media than last year’s.
Although this year’s Wrapped featured a few new additions such as, “Your Music Evolution,” which identifies different phases in users’ music tastes, recaps for Podcast and Audiobook listeners, and an AI DJ that recommends music based on users’ top songs, many are feeling like they don’t live up to the special features included in previous editions. Some were unhappy with the uninspired visuals and missing features, with others accusing the streaming platform of using AI to generate this year’s Wrapped as a result of Spotify’s workforce layoffs in 2023.
Brand Takeaway: Although other music platforms like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Soundcloud have introduced their own annual personalized recap campaigns, Spotify has remained the most popular. And while the reason for Wrapped’s decline in quality is yet to be determined, it’s clear that fans took notice and felt this year’s lacked the personal touch of previous editions that made them feel excited to learn more about themselves through the lens of music. For brands looking to create personalized and sharable assets, it’s key to research audiences for insights that spark creative executions that can really speak to consumers’ unique quirks and make them feel seen.
It’s hard to deny that Wrapped continues to dominate the social media landscape every year and creates a shared moment on social at the time of its release. People are still flooding social media with screenshots of their top artists and songs of the year — at the end of the day, music fans have no shame in sharing what they love and will continue to use Wrapped to express themselves and build community as long as something like it exists. Also now an annual trend, brands have jumped in on the moment by sharing their own end-of-year recaps in the Wrapped format. Those that do should take precaution that the content feels targeted to their specific audiences’ niche interests, habits, and personalities to ensure it resonates with their communities.
Four must-click links that crossed our feeds today.
For the first time ever, female albums dominated the top 8 albums of the year on Spotify.
LinkedIn News just shared their 25 big ideas for 2025, offering a glimpse at what trends may define the new year.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow bought a real-life Batmobile, and honestly, goals.
Paul Mescal is channeling his inner gladiator in the latest promo for his upcoming guest stint on Saturday Night Live.
Y2K - Theaters, 12/6
Nightbitch - Theaters, 12/6
The Sticky - Prime Video, 12/6
A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter - Netflix, 12/6
Rosie - ROSÉ
Dua Lipa Live From The Royal Albert Hall - Dua Lipa
Maybe in Nirvana - Smino
THE NAVY ALBUM - Roddy Rich
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