For music fans, the onset of Spotify Wrapped season can be a time of either great nostalgia, or guilty dread. All throughout 2023, the streaming service has been tracking the listening habits of its millions-strong user base, with data used to create a year-end, annual snapshot of their most listened-to songs, artists, podcasts and “music moods.”
Many users might cram in a bunch of new listening habits in a last-minute rush to alter their 2023 Spotify Wrapped, especially if said user (this writer) also works at a cafe and doesn’t want a year-end playlist consisting entirely of elevator jazz.
With this in mind, and with the release of Spotify Wrapped due out by the end of the year, we’re figuring out exactly when Spotify Wrapped stops tracking for 2023.
When does Spotify Wrapped stop tracking for 2023?
The data collection process for Spotify Wrapped 2023 began on January 1, with all listening habits recorded from that day onwards. In 2019, the streaming service revealed that it stopped tracking listening habits on October 31, however that hasn’t been the case in all years.
In 2023, Spotify announced that Wrapped will continue counting beyond October 31, and while no cut off date was provided, one X (formerly known as Twitter) user claimed that the Spotify Artists Website said tracking will end on November 15. In any case, it’s safe to assume that much of your November playlists will be tracked for Spotify Wrapped 2023.
Tracking beyond October is a new move for Spotify, as representatives from the streamer have confirmed in previous years that the earlier cut-off allowed time for them to finalize playlists and avoid Christmas-based listening habits. In terms of tracking metrics, a stream is only counted after thirty seconds of a track is played, either offline or online.
The reveal of Spotify’s extended tracking period gives you enough time to alter the algorithm in your favour, particularly if the number of Taylor Swift songs verges on embarrassing.
When will Spotify Wrapped 2023 be released?
With no official release date announced, we can only look to previous years for an idea of when Spotify Wrapped 2023 might drop. In 2022, the year-end report landed on Spotify on November 30. In the two years prior, Spotify Wrapped arrived on December 1. With that window in mind, it’s safe to assume that 2023’s Spotify Wrapped will be released within the first few days of December, if not a little earlier.
As for the artists likely to comprise most listeners’ annual playlist, analysis platform ChartMasters predicted this year that Drake, Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd are among the most-streamed musicians on Spotify throughout 2023.
