Sensemaker What Spotify Wrapped 2025 tells us about the streaming industry
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Dec 5, 2025 Spotify Wrapped 2025 reveals the dominance of stars like Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift, leaving smaller artists struggling for visibility. The podcast delves into Spotify's user numbers, revenue issues, and low payouts that hinder emerging talent. There’s a discussion on how the same big acts maintain their top spots, while challenges arise for new artists to break through. Listeners are urged to actively discover music rather than rely solely on curated playlists, highlighting a demand for human tastemakers in the streaming landscape.
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Top Charts Show Little Change
- Spotify Wrapped 2025 shows very little churn at the top of global charts, with 2024's biggest names still dominating.
- This highlights enduring listener habits and the platform's tendency to preserve past success rather than rapidly rotate stars.
Streaming Favors Established Hits
- The top five global artists in 2025 mirror 2024's list, showing minimal movement among mega stars.
- Olivia Williams explains that once music is on streaming platforms it continues accumulating plays, making overtaking incumbents hard.
Royalties Require Scale
- New Spotify payout rules now require a track to hit 1,000 streams before royalties are distributed.
- Reports suggest payments after the threshold are very small, often less than one pence per stream.