Spotify Newsletter #139

Your Weekly Dose of Spotify News

Dec 9

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Hello! Thanks for connecting for issue #139 of the Spotify Newsletter!

It’s the somewhat calm after the Spotify Wrapped storm as we’re still coming down from the highs (and for many the lows) of unwrapping our wild and wonderful playlist and data visualization of everything we listened to this year.

There’s still Wrapped news trickling out, so I made a section specifically for it - at least for this week.

In fact, there’s quite a bit of news this week. Sometimes I worry I’m not going to have enough (quality) links to curate and send out to all the awesome people who subscribe to the newsletter. I’d be forced to write umpteen paragraphs about my ongoing battle with Neil Young.

The aging rock legend recently debuted a high-resolution audio experience via the fine folks at SirisuXM. Let’s hope this puts him in a good humor for the holidays.

There was some Spotify podcast news this week by way of Meghan Markle, but I just can’t get around to adding the non-news to the rundown. Something about her producer quitting and now her podcast might be doomed! Doomed, I say!

She and her husband have a Netflix documentary debuting any second now, and from the tiny part I’ve seen it’s a downright embarrassment all the way down. This is what most expected so no big surprise.

In more entertaining news… McDonald’s tapped into its inner-Spotify and debuted its own version of Spotify Wrapped.

On with the news ….. Have a nice weekend!!

★In the SPOTlight★

🔥 Has Spotify really wrapped up the mystery of musical taste?

As the streaming giant parcels up the data on our personal listening habits, two authors reflect on how taste is formed – and why our music choices are never entirely our own.

🔥 Creators and Fans Celebrate the Playfulness of Wrapped Around the World

This year’s Wrapped is all about self-expression and play—celebrating the two-way connections that bring millions of creators and fans together through audio each and every day. From Paris to Karachi, our events invited fans, creators, and influencers to celebrate how they listened in 2022, and encouraged them to revel in activities that highlighted their music listening personalities.

🔥 Stop Pretending You Don’t Care About My Spotify Wrapped

But the real answer to the question of why Spotify Wrapped is so popular is that it has turned into a competition—and people like to win.

🔥 Music to Spotify’s ears: Watchdog says streaming intervention not needed

The competition regulator said it will not intervene in the music streaming market, deeming the industry valuable to both artists and consumers.
In its final report published this morning, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that consumers actually benefited from digitisation and competition between music streaming services.